There are so many things that go into creating the perfect wedding! With 400+ weddings photographed and 1000+ wedding day timelines under my belt, I have learned a lot throughout the years. Through this, I have curated a process that allows me to create a wedding day timeline that takes stress out of your day and makes it as smooth as possible!

First things first, I ask three main questions to use as pillars to form the day's schedule.

What time is the ceremony and where will it be?
What time would you like dinner served and where will it be?
Are you open to a “first look” or will the ceremony be the first time you see each other?

These questions give me most of the information needed to build a timeline for photography on the wedding day. I use the answers to form past and future guidelines for their specific scheduling.

How this helps with all things getting ready and photo related:

Once I know the ceremony time and whether the couple would like to have a “first look”, I am able to work backward in 30 minute increments to the point of when the photography team arrives.

Based on the 6pm ceremony time below and a couple having a first look, I am able to create blocks of time for both immediate and extended family photos, wedding party portraits, the bride and groom’s first look, getting ready as well as travel from the hotel to the ceremony location.

Once the ceremony is complete:

Most couples think it’s dinner time once the ceremony is over, but they forget that they want to ensure guests move from the ceremony space to dinner location. So time must be built in for guest dismissal and travel to the reception location.

Once on site, guests are moved into the space for dinner, seated and then the wedding party is announced with all the traditional fanfare.

Following the announcement, dinner, toasts, cake cutting and other events throughout the evening can be scheduled.

The specific timeline above (from an actual wedding in 2022), provided the couple with an estimate of 8 hours of photography time on their wedding day.

It also gave the couple the ability to provide the schedule to family, friends and other vendors involved in the wedding day who continued to ask them, “Hey, do you know when we are supposed to be there?”

The three questions above are the main questions I ask to help plan a wedding day and the schedule can also help answer the questions below:

What time does the bride need to be in her dress?
What time do the guys need to be ready?
What time will the photographer arrive?
How should I plan "getting ready" photos?

When will family photos happen?
I would like to go to another location, how do we plan for that?
Should we wait to see each other or have a first look?
How to plan a reception where guests don't get bored?

Here at Tiberius Images we want to capture you at your best, and with over 400+ weddings and 1500+ events in our portfolio we know exactly what your next shoot needs! If you are in need of a photographer contact us here at Tiberius Images.

How To Create A Wedding Day Timeline