Crafting Your Wedding Day Timeline: A Photographer's Perspective
Wedding timelines can seem overwhelming to create, but with a little bit of skilled help, it can alleviate worry and stress on your big day. My name is Holly Seigmund and I’m a Central Texas Wedding Photographer and I can help! Why it’s important, how to create your timeline and other tips and tricks to make your wedding day run as flawless as possible.
The Importance of Timing
As a wedding photographer, a thorough, well-crafted timeline keeps me on track so every important moment of your day is documented. Time passes in a heartbeat, and without a thoughtful schedule it’s easy to fall behind on the events you want captured. You don’t need a planner or coordinator to have a timeline — many couples don’t, and that’s perfectly fine. About two weeks before your wedding I’ll walk through the day with you and create a detailed timeline. I then set discreet alarms on my watch for each key moment so we stay on schedule and capture everything that matters.
Getting Ready Magic
Typically your wedding day starts with getting ready photos from the photographer. This is a time where we get those beautiful flat lay photos of your shoes, jewelry, dress and bouquet. We capture hair and make up, the last minute prep, the relaxed candid moments before the ceremony. With a well built timeline, we can even get in the wedding party photos before the ceremony, saving time after the ceremony for just the family photos. Some things to make the getting ready photos smoother are:
Have all your lay flat detail items in basket off to the side. Typical lay flat detail shots include the wedding invitation, rings, marriage license, jewelry, perfume, shoes, bouquet, veil and any special items you’ll have with you as you exchange vows. Having these items ready for when your photographer arrives saves time so they can get to arranging and knocking those photos out of the way.
Take your dresses off the plastic hangers from the store and hang them on wooden hangers if you don’t have personalized hangers. Photos of the dresses look much nicer with a simple wood hanger.
Hair and makeup typically starts early in the day. To maximize the photographer’s allotted time, I suggest having the Bride’s hair and makeup started last. This is typically when I come in to start photographing your wedding day. By the time the Bride starts on hair and makeup, you’re bridesmaids are already beautiful laughing and hanging out in the background for photos.
Getting ready photos for the Groom are simple. Depending on venue dressing rooms and timeline, the men may already come dressed. Getting ready photos for the men are just putting on jackets, or buttoning up shirts and adjusting ties or bowties. They’re typically just a few minutes to get them knocked out and back to hanging out with the rest of the groomsmen.
Ceremony Serenity
When it comes to the ceremony, I recommend planning a few extra minutes into the schedule. If you are doing a short and sweet ceremony about 5 minutes long, I usually put about 15 minutes on the schedule to give a little breathing room. After the ceremony is family photos and any wedding party photos not captured when getting ready. My biggest tip for family photos after the ceremony is to make a list! Each bullet point on your list should be one photo. This will give you time in the weeks leading up to the wedding to make sure you have everyone included and get the family photos you want. Typically family photos include the Bride & Grooms parents, grandparents and siblings. I suggest that extended family get more candid shots with the Bride & Groom during the reception. Making your family photo list is an efficient way to quickly get through family photos and onto the reception fun!
Golden Hour Magic
For the dreamy, golden-hour Bride & Groom pictures, I build in 15-20 minutes in the evening to sneak you away from the hustle and bustle of the reception. This is a great time to just soak it all in and take a breath in your busy day. I find that this is some of the most precious moments to have built into your schedule. These are the photos that end up printed and displayed in your home for years to come.
Dinner and Toasts
I often find that incorporating time for toasts and speeches at the end of dinner creates a seamless flow into the rest of the evening before the party gets started. This allows me to capture the heartfelt words shared by loved ones without interrupting the natural progression of the evening.
Dance Floor Party
When the dance floor opens, the party really starts. These are the candid moments, the dancing and the smiles that your wedding guests love to see. The special dances like the father daughter and mother son dances really get me in the feels, special moments to capture and hold onto.
Flexibility is Key
Flexibility is just as important on your big day as a well thought out timeline. The important thing to remember is that it’s YOUR DAY! The guests don’t have a detailed time line and the show can’t go on without you. Wedding timelines are just a guideline to try and stay on task for the day, but it’s nothing to stress about if it’s not right on schedule. You enjoying your day and staying stress free is the most important part of your day.
Your wedding timeline is a collaborate effort. Together we’ll make a schedule that fits your vision and lets us capture the real emotions and details that make your day memorable.
Wishing you joy and seamless planning,
Holly Seigmund