Every photographer works different, so it’s important to understand what their ideal wedding photography timeline looks like.  It may or may not line up with what you consider to be your ideal wedding day timeline, so it’s important to understand this before booking your photographer.  Wedding photographers all approach the wedding day differently from each other, focus on different things throughout the wedding day, and ultimately document in different ways from each other.  This is what makes us each so unique and special – and typically this is why you hire one photographer over another.

For me to create the types of images I’m proud of, I need time on the wedding day.  Period.  Whenever I am rushed on the wedding day, that’s when my work suffers and when the day becomes more stressful than enjoyable for everyone.  That is why I offer custom proposals to all of my clients, centered around full day wedding photography coverage.  Why?  Because I know that every couple is unique.  Every wedding day is unique.  It’s important for me to understand what’s important to you in terms of photography, what kind of wedding day experience you want to have, the logistical details surrounding your venue(s), whether or not you want to do a First Look, where you envision your portraits being taken, and all of this crucial information before I can understand how I can best serve you.  For me and the way I like to work, most weddings will require at least 10 hours of wedding coverage.  I’m not the type of photographer who wants to try and cram everything into 8 hours.  I understand that this approach won’t resonate with every couple and that’s okay!  Just as much as clients are interviewing me for the job as their wedding photographer, I am interviewing them to see if we’re a good fit to work together.  I only take on 15-20 weddings per year, so it’s crucial that I am choosing those 15-20 couples carefully.

So with that said, this is what the ideal wedding photo timeline looks like for me.  This is the exact timeline that allows me to ease into the day, create the types of styled detail photos I’m known for, and give my clients a stress-free wedding photography experience:

12/12:30pm Dana + second shooter arrive to begin photographing bridal details (gown, shoes, invitations, bouquets) and girls getting ready (90-120 minutes before bride gets into gown)

1:45pm Second shooter goes to photograph groom’s details and guys getting ready (45 minutes before First Look)

2pm Bride gets into her gown (30 minutes before First Look)

2:30pm First Look, immediately followed by bride + groom portraits (45 minutes before wedding party photos)

3:15pm Wedding party photos (30-45 minutes before family formals, depending on wedding party size)

3:45pm Family formals (30 minutes before being tucked away)

4:15pm Bridal party tucked away; Dana + second shooter to photograph ceremony + reception details during this time; guests begin to arrive (45 minutes before ceremony starts)

5pm Ceremony

5:30pm Cocktail hour to be covered by second shooter; Dana to photograph lingering family photos + reception details during this time

6:30pm Reception begins

10:30pm Reception ends

As you can see, this timeline is 10+ hours and this is assuming that everything and everyone is on-site at your wedding venue.  There is no travel time built into this timeline, so if you’re getting ready off-site, if you want to go somewhere else (like downtown) for photos, if you are having a church ceremony, etc. this timeline will get longer.

With a First Look, I need to start shooting about 5 hours PLUS travel time before the ceremony in order to do my best work and get everything done in a stress-free manner.  Without a First Look, I’d need to start shooting about 4 hours PLUS travel time before the ceremony.

Like I said before, every photographer is different and want/needs different amounts of time for different things.  We all work at different paces throughout the wedding day and, personally, I want to work with couples who value a stress-free wedding day experience and who don’t mind paying more for a fabulous experience versus just trying to book the cheapest option.  I’ve been in this industry for 12 years now and know that those couples and those kind of wedding days are what allows me to create my favorite work.  So there you have it… my ideal wedding photography timeline.  I hope this is helpful!