Having a well thought out timeline is crucial to the flow of the day and will allow you to relax and enjoy everything rather than feeling rushed. Arranging events in a certain way can also save you a couple hours of photography coverage and save you some money!

Make sure to e-mail us your final timeline a minimum of one month prior to your wedding. We are always happy to advise you on your timeline at any stage.

A few things to note when making your timeline are listed below.

Allow extra time for getting ready, things always run late. If getting ready runs late, so does everything else, and to get the night back on time, typically the portrait time gets cut short! We only need a minimum of 45 minutes with the groom for getting ready photos, if you chose to have these done. We need 1 to 1.5 hours with the bride. If you have gifts for each other or the wedding party and you think it will take them a long time to open and read everything, please allot extra time for getting ready images. If you want to do multiple first looks, for example with the bridesmaids or your dad etc. Read the ‘Getting Ready’ page for more details.

Decide if you are going to do a receiving line after the ceremony or not. Keep in mind if you have 120 guests and you only spend 30 seconds greeting each guest; that still takes 60 minutes. Make sure you allot enough time for this if you choose to have one. Read the ‘Ceremony’ page for many more tips! If you want your photography coverage to start at the ceremony and your ceremony starts at 2pm, the start time needs to be 1:45pm, there are lots of things we have to do before the ceremony starts to ensure the event is photographed well and successfully.

For family photos we require approximately 30 minutes. This of course varies based on the list you send us. Keep in mind it takes 3 to 5 minutes for each combination. If you want any large group photos, they may take longer, the larger the group the more time it takes. We are happy to do as many as you like as long as you leave enough time for this. Make sure if photos are not at the ceremony site you allow for travel time. Read the ‘Family Photos’ page for more details and a sample list.

For formal photos with the wedding party and just the two of you, if you have a limo, leave extra time as they tend to drive slower than regular vehicles & make sure you notify us ahead of time so we can prepare our photo locations to ensure the limo can access all of them. Typically we need 45 minutes with the wedding party & 60+ minutes with the bride and groom. If you want multiple locations to get a variety of looks you will need to leave more time. Make sure you allow for travel time. If you will be hungry at this stage in the day, allow extra time to stop for food or pack it ahead of time to keep in the limo. If you do not have alcohol in your limo and you plan on stopping at a liquor store, make sure you leave extra time. If your reception venue has nice surroundings, leave 15 minutes for sunset photos of just the two of you later in the evening. Read the ‘Portraits’ page for more tips. Anything not accounted for in the day/timeline typically means that portrait time gets cut short. If portraits are important to you and you want a lot of them, you need to plan accordingly and leave time for it.

For the reception & cocktails, if you would like decor/detail photos of the room, make sure you discuss this with us so we can schedule time to do this before all of the guests arrive! Typically it is best to do the cake cutting right after dinner, and speeches to follow that. If things run later than expected we can always stay later. We only bill you in 15 minute increments so if you don't need a full extra hour that’s not a problem! Just make sure you let us know what events you would like covered. That way if things are still going on we wont interrupt anything to chat about it! Read the ‘Reception’ page for more details and tips.