Planning your wedding day timeline can be a bit of an art! There are so many things to consider, from the needs of the venue to vendors to guests, and of course - what you want for your day! I was a wedding planner for a 5-star hotel for 4 seasons prior to becoming a wedding photographer, so I have a ton of experience to help you plan the perfect timeline.

My goal here is to share my expertise as both a wedding photographer and former wedding planner to help you understand the flow of a traditional wedding day. Hopefully this will make it easier for you to plan your Big Day! Keep in mind, this is based on a traditional wedding format. In reality, you can do whatever you want to make your day as unique as you are! Before we jump into the details and pro tips of a timeline, here is a sample based on a traditional day…

11:30 - Photographers Arrive
11:45 - Getting Ready Photos
1:30 - First Look (if applicable)
2:00 - Ceremony
2:30 - Family Portraits
3:00 - Wedding Party Portraits
4:00 - Couples Creative Portraits
5:00 - Cocktail Hour for Guests
6:00 - Reception Grand Entrance
6:30 - Dinner & Speeches
7:45 - Cake Cutting & Dessert
8:15 - First Dance
9:00 - Sunset Portraits
10:00 - Dance Photos
10:30 - Photographers Leave

Getting Ready & Pre-Ceremony (1-2 hours coverage)

During this time, I will capture all your detail shots and the excitement leading up to the ceremony. There is a lot of emotion before the ceremony. This time is full of great candid moments of bonding, love, and joy. These are great storytelling images, that help set the scene of your photographs as a whole package, especially if you’re planning to print an album. You don’t get to see what happens in your partner’s getting ready space, so it’s fun to look back on! And don’t worry, your online gallery has the ability to hide images from guests in case there are some more intimate shots that you don’t want to share!

You don’t need a thousand images of the wedding party getting ready, so I recommend that your photographer arrives a maximum of 2-hours prior to the ceremony and a minimum of 1 hour prior to the ceremony. Your second shooter will photograph all the little details like invitations, rings, flowers, dresses, the ceremony site before anyone arrives, guests as they arrive, etc.

PRO TIP: If there are any planned moments, such as gift exchanges or letters written to each other, be sure to let me know! These moments can create some great expressions for candid shots.

2. The First Look (15 mins or +/- 60 mins)

One option for couples is to have a first look. Two benefits of this are letting go of some nerves pre-ceremony and getting couples and wedding party photographs done before the ceremony, allowing for more time with family post-ceremony. This is a chance for couples to spend a few minutes together before the ceremony. It can be overwhelming to have strong emotions with hundreds of people watching you.

Schedule about 15 minutes for a First Look plus any applicable travel time. If you are doing wedding party photos pre-ceremony, schedule anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 for this, depending on the number of photos you want to take and how many locations you want to visit.

PRO TIP: Whenever you are moving between locations, add 5-15 mins travel time to account for all the random things that can happen, from forgetting flowers to losing dogs - I have seen it all happen! :)

3. Ceremony (30-60 minutes)

Typically, a wedding ceremony can last anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes. Yours may be a bit shorter or longer depending on the ceremony you create with your officiant. Booking an officiant early is important because the best ones book up very fast! Leaving this task last-minute could result in you getting legally married earlier in the day and having someone stand in as a non-legal officiant during your ceremony. Because of the weddings we see in movies, couples sometimes think that a friend can officiate their wedding. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Canada. But if your heart is set on this, you can totally hire an officiant for an earlier time that day for the paperwork and legal pieces, and then have your friend perform a non-legal ceremony at your wedding. If you are going the traditional route, you will work with your officiant to create a ceremony that is meaningful to you. There are a couple of statements that are required and they will have suggestions for pieces to add to celebrate your unique union.

While the ceremony typically takes 20-45 minutes, you will also want to schedule time for guests to be seated and the wedding party to enter or having a receiving line post-ceremony. At times, traffic or other delays can cause guests to arrive a bit late or technical issues can arise with music/mics/speakers, so having someone out on the site to communicate these hiccups, such as an usher or day-of coordinator, can be helpful.

PRO TIP: When you and the wedding party are walking down the isle, don’t hold your flowers up too high. Rest your arms on your waste and angle the flowers forward. This helps both you and the flowers pop for the camera.

4. Family Photos (+/- 1 hour)

This part of the day is often overlooked and can be the family’s least favourite part of the day, since few people enjoy having their picture taken! With that in mind, I’ve come up with a great way to make this part of the day fun and efficient. Families always love how I flow this part of the day and make it easy for them to willingly and joyfully participate! I put a lot of emphasis on this part of the day because, as awful as it sounds, these photos are often the last ones we have of ourselves with some of the people we love the most. On a happier note, these photos are also often the only shots we have of family and friends who visit from afar to see us! They carry a lot of weight, so I want to make sure we capture everyone and that it’s a positive and memorable time together.

Below is a pretty solid list of the shots you may want to capture.
PRO TIPS: Take these photos right after the ceremony so you don’t lose anyone, and communicate this widely to your guests. Schedule 3 to 5 minutes per grouping. It sounds like a lot, but it always ends up working perfectly, between the ceremony running overtime or losing someone to the bathrooms or the bar. Also, dedicate one person or the second shooter to gathering the next grouping. Having one group “on deck” while the other is getting photographed keeps things running smoothly!

Some Groupings to Consider:

All guests
Entire Side A of family
Entire Side B of family
Side A with Grandparents
Side B with Grandparents
Side A & B with Grandparents
Side A close relatives (aunts/uncles, nieces/nephews, grandparents) - can be several groupings
Side B close relatives (aunts/uncles, nieces/nephews, grandparents) - can be several groupings
Side A & B with all parents
Side A & B with parents & siblings
Side A with parents & siblings
Side B with parents & siblings
Side A with parents (with and without B, with only mom, with only dad, etc) - can be several groupings
Side B with parents (with and without A, with only mom, with only dad, etc) - can be several groupings
Side A with siblings - can be several groupings
Side B with siblings - can be several groupings
Side A with close friends and/or co-workers
Side B with close friends and/or co-workers

5. Creative Photographs (1 to 3 hours)

Creative time is held in two parts. The first part is to capture you and the wedding party. If you didn’t already get these shots pre-ceremony, you will get images of each of you with each of the special people you invited to stand by your side. You also get to do fun group shots together! We will capture posed group shots and fun group shots - be prepared to be making silly faces or jumping up and down with your besties. For this part of the day, the timing will depend on how many people are in your wedding party and how hyped they are for photos! I suggest anywhere from 30 mins for a small group to 1 hour for a large group.

Next, is the couples shots! These are the epic shots we want to print, hang on our walls, and share on social media! If you aren’t comfortable in front of the camera and just want to get this part over with, 45-mins is the minimum amount of time I’d recommend to get a few good shots. Just keep in mind, you won’t get a lot of variety or opportunity to relax and take in the day if the time is crunched. I find the best amount of time is between 1 to 1.5 hours if you are in one location. If you are changing locations, add on travel time (plus an extra 10 mins each way for contingency). Adding locations is a great way to add to variety of poses and backgrounds you get, as well as how creative I can be as your photographer. We can try some really fun and creative things with more time!

PRO TIP: Add 10-30 mins to chill and relax alone as a couple. This day goes by SO fast and we remember things best when we have time to process them. Spend a bit of alone time going over the funny and emotional moments of the ceremony or the things your partner missed while you were getting ready! This will help embed the memory of your wedding day so you will never forget it!

6. Reception (1 to 3 hours)

Ahh, the reception! Time to eat, mingle, drink, and be merry! Capture some of the more candid moments of your day, as well as some epic dancing. I will eat when you eat, so that I don’t get photos of you are chewing… but I will also be at the ready, capturing shots of the speeches and reactions. I love to stay through any games and about 30 minutes into dancing in order to capture the real mood and fun of the night. It really helps to put a cap on the story of the day. Just like the getting ready images start the story, the dancing helps to end it.

PRO TIP: This is the part of the day where the timeline can escape you. Caterers could serve food late and speeches could go long. Communicate well with your food service provider and be clear on how long you want speeches to be so that you can properly plan the timing of this part of the night. Having an M/C who can help guide the flow of the night is a major bonus! You don’t want to be stuck asking your photographer about the cost for extra hours while you’re eating.

I hope this is a big help for your planning process! As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out.