One of the hardest parts of planning a wedding day is coming up with the perfect timeline. There are so many moving pieces to plan for. You have your wedding party, guests, vendors, and multiple locations to plan for. So below are some pro-tips for how to plan the perfect wedding day timeline!

Getting Ready

Take into consideration everything that needs to happen. Does your dress or tux take a long time to get on? Try and do a trial run for hair and makeup so you know about how long it will take. Who else will need hair and makeup? You may need two or even three people to do hair and makeup for all your bridesmaids, mom. and mother in law.

Locations

If you have a location in mind that is away from the wedding venues, you can save a ton of time by leaving the wedding party behind. Knock out the full wedding party images before you go, then load up just you and the photographers to finish up the bride and groom portraits at your new fancy location.

Bridal portraits

Save time by scheduling your bridal portraits before or after the wedding. Not only will this give you more time to shoot, but it will also make the day less stressful. You will still shoot portraits on the actual day of your wedding, but knowing you have another session will allow you to spend far less time with them.

Family Formals

This section of the day has the potential to eat up a ton of your wedding day timeline. It’s super important to make sure your photographer has a list of all the groupings you want to have photos of. Make sure these people know when and where the photos will be taken and remind them the night before not to leave until all the images are taken or they are told they are done. It is also extremely helpful to place a family member in charge of gathering people for each setup. The list may say uncle Bob needs to be in the picture, but we don’t know what uncle bob looks like in case he is not paying attention. So having someone in charge of helping that knows most of the people can help speed things up.

Transportation

It can be a huge hassle to try and get everyone to a location when everyone is driving their own car. Booking a party bus or limo can take away a lot of pain when it comes to transportation. Just make sure your driver knows where all the locations are so you don’t end up in the wrong spot. Also, make sure there is enough room for your photographer to tag along on the ride to get those fun moments of celebration!

Guests

The people at your wedding are some of your most cherished friends and family. They are going to be extremely thrilled to celebrate with you and talk with you about their excitement. Because of this, we recommend staying pretty hidden from guests after the wedding. Totally plan on doing a cool ceremony exit with bubbles or confetti. But try and make it a big exit with very little time to stop and talk. Spending a few minutes with a handful of guests can quickly add up and set your schedule behind. Try and save all your talking time for the cocktail hour and the reception.

Trust Your Vendors

When picking who you will be working with on your wedding day, it’s important to hire someone you can trust. If you feel the need to check in on vendors to make sure things are getting done, then you are spending time away from what you should be doing. Having fun with the love of your life and your closest loved ones.

Want more?

If you are looking for more detailed advice on creating the perfect timeline and so much more, make sure to download our free wedding pkanning guide!

It’s Your Day

With all these little hints and tips at your fingertips now, the most important thing to remember is that this is your day. If you want the ceremony to start a few minutes late or you want your reception entrance pushed back a few minutes, then do it. While it’s nice to have a timeline and schedule, don’t let it be a cause for stress on your big day. Instead, look at it as a guideline that can bend and mold if and when things come up.

Are you recently engaged and looking for a wedding photographer? We would love to talk with you about what we offer. Make sure to fill out our contact form below!