The day has come that you have been planning for months, if not years!  It is time for everything you have worked on to come together.  The planning is not over though.  Your wedding day timeline is important to create and share with all VIPS (wedding party, family, and vendors) so that everyone knows where to be and when for a smooth day.

If you have the answers to these questions, you are ready to create your wedding day timeline:

1. Will you be getting ready at the same location as your ceremony or somewhere else?
2. Is the ceremony and reception in the same location?  If not, you will need to factor in travel time.
3. Will you be providing transportation for the wedding party between locations?
4. Do you want to have a first look/reveal before the ceremony and do all the portraits beforehand, or have a traditional timeline with the first look being during the ceremony?
5. How long will the ceremony last?  Generally, a wedding ceremony is approximately 30 minutes, some religious ceremonies may take longer.
6. Will you have a receiving line?
7. Do you have to be out of your reception location at a certain time?
8. Are you doing all the activities at the reception: Dances, tosses, toasts, cake, etc.
9. Are you doing anything out of the ordinary at the reception: the shoe game, dollar dances, dance battles, etc.
10. How much time is included in your photographer, videographer, and DJ/Band?

Next you will want to make a list of all of the events (getting ready, photo sessions, cocktail hour, first dance, etc.) that need to happen before and after the ceremony, and then determine how much time you need for each of these events.    Here are some samples of time blocks to help you…

• Wedding party getting ready – 2 hours (Time your hair and makeup trials and block off extra time. Nothing throws off a timeline like hair and makeup)
• Photographer arrives and gets detail shots (dress, shoes, flowers, ring) – 15min
• Bride gets dressed – 15min
• First Look – 15-30min (If you’re doing a traditional timeline/ceremony we would just be shooting half the wedding party at a time to keep the couple from seeing each other)
• Wedding party portraits – 30-45min
• Tuck away – 45min (we want to hide the bride from the guests arriving!)
• Ceremony – 30min
• Family Photos/Couple Portraits/Cocktail Hour – 60min (this is when we get all the photos that we didn’t get before the wedding. If there wasn’t a first look, we need to do family, wedding party, and couple portraits within the hour. Your guests will need to be entertained during this time, so it’s a great time to have a cocktail hour and games)
• Reception begins, Newlyweds introduced and Dinner – 1hour
• Toasts & Cake – 30min
• Sunset Photos – 30min (I always like to sneak my couple out again for some private sunset photos. It’s the best part of the day!)
• First Dances – 15-30min
• Tosses – 15min
• Dancing – However long you’d like! Dancing can be intermingled between all the reception activities. If you have a DJ they will be the point person for this timeline.
• Exit – 15min (if you choose to do one. This could be sparklers, fireworks, ribbons, silly string – We’ve seen it all!)

Keep in mind that every wedding day is unique.  You will want to have a wedding planner, day-of coordinator or a loved one that can act as point person for the day.  This person will help keep everyone on track and in the right place at the right time to keep things running smoothly and remove any stress from you that may arise.  Let’s face it, no matter how much planning you do, something will be forgotten or go wrong, but it will be minor and it is best the bride is unaware of it until well after the wedding day. Have questions? Book a free consultation with Erin of Gambles Photography!