If your wedding-day priorities are being present, having a good time, and enjoying the day to the fullest, you’re in the right place. A jam-packed wedding timeline can leave you feeling stressed and prevent you from really enjoying this day that you’ve worked so hard to plan! Here’s the exact system I use to craft a stress-free wedding timeline for my couples as a documentary-style wedding photographer in Boston.
How Much Time you REALLY Need for Each Portion of the Day:
1. Getting Ready (Photography Coverage): 1+ hour
Have your photographer arrive at least one hour before you plan to do a first look. This allows enough time to capture detail photos, getting dressed, and plenty of candid moments in between! I suggest a 1-hour minimum, but if your timeline allows for it, definitely consider extending this! The longer the photographer is with you throughout your wedding day, the more opportunity for authentic and candid moments to unfold naturally. 🙂
Pro tip: Put together a box of meaningful items before your wedding day so when your photographer arrives they have everything they need for detail photos. Some items you may want to include:
- Wedding invitation suite (invite, RSVP, save the date, envelope)
- Engagement ring and wedding bands
- Family heirlooms
- Polaroids
- Ring box
- Shoes
- Perfume
- Love notes
- Vow books
2. First Look: 15 minutes
If you’re set on the idea of seeing your soon-to-be-spouse for the first time at the aisle, I am all for that and am in absolutely no place to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do — it’s your wedding after all! But, if you’re on the fence with whether or not to do a first look, I highly suggest opting for a first look for a few reasons:
- A first look can ease pre-ceremony jitters
- It allows you complete all photos before your wedding truly begins so you can enjoy the day to the fullest
- You get to spend time quality time with your soon-to-be-spouse
- A first look doesn’t HAVE to be a “tap on the shoulder and turn around” spiel if that’s not your thing. There is no one specific way to do it which leaves so much room for creativity!
Fifteen minutes is honestly more time than probably needed but as you’ll realize, the overarching theme for creating a stress-free wedding timeline is scheduling in extra time wherever you can to avoid any stress if things run behind.
3. Couple’s Portraits: 15 minutes – 1 hour
Although I’m a documentary-style wedding photographer, I still find portrait photos highly valuable and suggest each couple allocates at least 15 minutes into their wedding day timeline for some more classic portraits. These photos become timeless family heirlooms that you and future generations will cherish forever.
You really only need about 15-20 minutes if you’re thinking of using one location for your portraits. If you want to incorporate lots of different locations that may require some travel between, I’d recommend leaning towards 45 minutes!
4. Family Photos: 30 minutes
I highly recommend keeping your family photo list small to streamline the process. I recommend sticking to immediate family only if possible, especially if you have a big family! If you’re working with me, I’ll ask for an entire family photo list beforehand so on the day of your wedding my second photographer can read right down the list to ensure we get every family photo you were hoping for without you needing to worry about getting each shot!
What’s a second photographer you ask? Read more about why you should consider adding a second photographer for your wedding day here!
5. Wedding Party Photos: 15-20 minutes
Similarly, allocate 15-20 minutes for wedding party photos. The smaller the group, the quicker and easier it will be. As a documentary-style wedding photographer, I like to keep these super casual, fun, and relatively quick. If you want a ton of variations of group photos you may want to add on some additional time which we can chat about!
6. Pre-Ceremony Downtime: 30 minutes
If you take one thing away from this blog let it be this: plan for pre-ceremony downtime! I always suggest planning to be totally done with photos 30 minutes before your ceremony start time. This gives you time to relax, freshen up, and enjoy some quiet moments together before walking down the aisle. 🙂
7. Ceremony: 15+ minutes
Ceremony lengths vary from anywhere between 15 minutes-1 hour depending. Something to consider is that the shorter the ceremony, the less opportunity for your photographer to capture close shots, wide shots, guest shots, shots of you and your partner, etc. This is why I think the sweet spot for ceremony length is anywhere between 15-30 minutes. Plus, having a ceremony that’s a minimum of 15 minutes gives you some time to breathe and really take in this once-in-a-lifetime moment you’re experiencing — further leading to a stress-free wedding timeline and day.
Pro tip: If you want to recite personal vows but the thought of reading them in front of everyone is STRESSING you out, consider reading them to each other privately during your first look!
8. Cocktail Hour: 1 hour
Cocktail hour is self explanatory — 1 hour is perfect! Sometimes couples tuck away after the ceremony and have a drink privately which is a sweet idea and gives you a moment to enjoy being officially married before joining guests!!
9. Dinner and Toasts: 1.5-2 hours
Allow 1.5-2 hours for dinner and toasts. 2-4 minutes per toast is a nice sweet spot for allowing everyone to share their heartfelt thoughts while also avoiding guests getting bored.
10. Cake Cutting: 5 minutes
Sometimes couples have the DJ announce cake cutting is happening, while other couples decide to do it off to the side in private! Whichever direction you go, you only need about 5 minutes 🙂
11. Dancing Photos: 30+ minutes
You don’t need your photographer to stay until the end unless you’re planning a big send-off. Typically, 30 minutes of dancing photos is enough to capture the spirit of the night. The longer I stay, the funnier and wilder the photos get. So if your timeline allows for it, I’m down to stay as long as you want! But, if your timeline only allows for 30, you’ll get all the dancing photos you need and more 🙂
Tips for a Relaxed Day
Build in Buffer Time: Adding in extra time in your timeline wherever you can helps ease the pressure and stress that can come with any unexpected delays.
Communicate with Vendors and Important People: Ensure all your vendors have the timeline ahead of time and give your family a heads up of where they’ll need to be and when for family photos.
Stay Flexible: If things don’t go exactly as planned, try to just roll with it! Sometimes the best moments happen spontaneously.
Hire a Documentary-Style Wedding Photographer: As a documentary-style wedding photographer, I’m showing up to your wedding with one goal and one goal only: for you and your partner to have a good time. However this isn’t always the case for photographers. For example, an editorial-style photographer may show up with the goal of getting a particular shot at sunset, or need additional time for couples portraits. As a documentary-style photographer, the key to capturing memorable photos is if the people in them are enjoying themselves! Hiring a photographer that will go with the flow of your day and not feel the need to interject or take up your time doing photos is key. I believe that a relaxed and stress-free day allows natural moments to unfold beautifully. This approach captures genuine emotions and interactions, creating timeless wedding memories.
By following these tips, you’ll create a stress-free wedding day timeline that’s relaxed, enjoyable, and filled with unforgettable moments.
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