Over the past couple of years of photographing weddings all over the Washington DC Metropolitan Area and beyond, I have come up with a formula of how to help my clients make wedding photography timelines that best suit their needs and wants while also being realistic with the time we need to get each event done. My personal approach to creating wedding photography timelines is doing so in a way where my clients do not feel overwhelmed with the time spent on photos so they can enjoy their wedding day ( that’s the most important thing after all!). In this blog post, I want to chat about how I approach an 8 hour day of wedding photography coverage which is the average amount of time most of my clients book me for. I will address how much time I commit to each major event I photograph at weddings, some tips to keep the day running smoothly and the differences between a timeline with a first look and a timeline without one.

Coverage for Each Major Wedding Event

Bride Getting Ready

• I arrive usually the last 1.5 hours to 45 minutes of the bride and bridesmaids getting ready. The first 15-20 minutes after my arrival is spent photographing any details my bride has for me (dress, shoes, rings, flowers, jewelry and paper goods). Once I am done that, I focus on capturing everyone getting their final hair and makeup touches, hanging out and any other special events happening around me. I always include a time for the bride to step into her dress which helps everyone with keeping on schedule. 

Groom Getting Ready

• I arrive usually 20-30 minutes prior to the groom and groomsmen finishing getting ready. Before arriving to photograph the groom and groomsmen, I ask that they have their dress shirts and pants on so when I arrive I can photograph them putting on their finishing touches. Once I arrive, I pull the groom away for about 5 minutes to get those standard solo getting ready shots of him putting on his jacket and final details. Once we finish that, I photograph the other groomsmen and the groom hanging out and finishing getting ready.

First Look 

• If my couple choose to do a first look, I ask them to set aside 15-30 minutes for me to get them both set up, capture the first look itself and then do some portraits of just them.  

Bride and Groom Portraits

• For bride and groom portraits, if the couple chooses to do a first look we take the bulk of their portraits following that in a 15 to 30 minute timeframe. Then depending on the time of the sunset that day, I take my couple out for 10-20 minutes during the end of cocktail hour or some point during dinner to get some portraits in the beautiful, warm and glowing light. If my couple chooses not to do a first look, we save the bulk of their portraits for during cocktail hour after we get their family and full bridal party portraits which is usually 10-20 minutes and depending on the time of the sunset another 10-20 minutes later on. I definitely recommend to my couples who want lots of bride and groom portraits to do a first look to ensure there is plenty of time to get a large variety of shots.

Bridal Party Portraits

• When I photograph bridal party portraits is also dependent on whether or not my couple chooses to do a first look. For my couples that do a first look, right after that and their portraits I photograph the bridal party. It takes me about 15-20 minutes to shoot individual photos of the bride and groom with each member of their bridal party and about 15-20 minutes to photograph group shots of the bride and bridesmaids, groom and groomsmen and the full bridal party. When my couples choose to not do first looks, I break up when I shoot the bridal party into 2 separate times. I shoot the groomsmen and groom and then the bride and bridesmaids separate before the ceremony and then shoot the full bridal party during cocktail hour.

Family Portraits 

• Family portraits are also dependent on whether there is a first look or not. If there is a first look, I photograph family portraits following the first look / portraits and bridal party portraits. For no first look, I photograph the family portraits immediately following the ceremony at cocktail hour. Depending on the size of the family list, it takes me between 15 - 30 minutes to photograph each combination. If we are running short on time or having trouble gathering family members for larger group shots, I save those combinations for the reception.

Reception Events / Dancing / Grand Exit 

• For the reception, I advise my couples who are not doing a grand exit to keep me 45 minutes to an hour into open floor dancing and plan to do all their reception events such as first dances, toasts, cake cutting, garter and flower tosses and other other special event they may have planned before my end time. By doing this, I am able to capture all the special events at their reception and everyone having fun on the dance floor. For my couples that choose to do a grand exit that they want captured then I definitely suggest booking me a bit longer or having their start time a little later if they don’t want extra hours.

Tips to Keep Your Timeline Running Smoothly

• Make sure your bridal party and family knows where and when they have to be available for photos. I suggest to all my couples that their bridal parties and families are made aware the day before the wedding and then reminded again early the day of what time and where they need to be for photos. As for family, I also like to make sure that there are two people delegated on each side of couple’s families to make sure everyone knows where to be and account for the family members in photos. Also I highly suggest if you are doing family portraits and bridal party portraits following the ceremony to ask your officiant to make an announce at the end of your ceremony reminding immediate family and the bridal party to stay for portraits. Having everyone where they need to be and on time is super important for insuring your timeline does not run behind.

• Have your details you want photographed organized and set aside prior to my arrival. So you or no one has to spend time looking for and gathering the details you want photographed, make sure you have them set aside for me so you can focus on getting ready and being present. 

• Always add a little buffer room in your timeline for each major photography event. Going to be super honest here… Wedding days ALWAYS go off schedule a little bit throughout the day and that is totally 100% fine! Some parts of the day go quicker than expected, others run a little behind and some run right on schedule. To prevent these influxes from having a major effect on the day I always try to work in an extra 5-10 minutes to even things out.

• Make sure there is enough time to account for travel. For my couples who are at multiple locations for getting ready, the ceremony and reception make sure that you have accounted for travel time and traffic. I highly recommend making sure you book adequate time with me and if you have multiple locations for your wedding day to try to book them within close proximity to avoid long travel times.

Timelines with First Looks vs Timelines with No First Looks

Its your wedding day and I am a HUGE proponent of doing whatever you want. Some of my couples are all about doing first looks while others are very traditional and want the first time they see each other to be when they are walking down the aisle. You do you! However, I will say this… from a timeline prospective it makes a lot more sense to add a first look to your day if you are a couple that really values having a large variety of bride and groom portraits and wants to enjoy their cocktail hour. By doing a first look, we have more time for portraits of just the two of you. We also will be able to get all your family portraits and bridal party portraits done prior to your ceremony so once cocktail hour hits you can all enjoy more time celebrating with your guests. As far as choosing not to do a first look, I recommend this to my couples who want to spend more time relaxing before the ceremony and don’t mind cramming in a lot of portraits during cocktail hour. Whatever you choose we can make either work for you! Below I put two samples of 8 hour timelines with a first look and one without for you to view!

Are you searching for a wedding photographer? Brooke is a wedding photographer serving the Washington DC Metropolitan Area and beyond. View her work here and if you like what you see, reach out to info@brookesilvermphotography.com to learn more!