When planning a wedding, there are so many things to consider: your venues, your wedding gown, your vendors, your color scheme, and so much more. However, your timeline is something extremely important to prioritize because you only get married once and you certainly do not want to be rushed on such a special day. The day is already going to fly by, so as a wedding photographer, it is my job to help you figure out what that timeline will look like. I love it when brides tell me they haven’t nailed down their timeline yet because that means that I will have the opportunity to share why it’s important that certain aspects of the day get more time allocated to them than others. Here are a few reasons why it’s SO important to include your photographer when planning out your wedding day timeline:

1. Something to keep in mind is that most people don’t immediately think about is what time the sun sets. As you may know, this differs depending on the time of year. If you are having a winter wedding, you will lose light much faster than you would if you had a summer celebration. This is so important to keep in mind especially if you love the outdoor portraits that I typically do for my couples. Those are achieved with natural light, so we would need to allocate time earlier in the day for them to make sure that we capture the memories that you want on your wedding day.

2. As a photographer, I’ve trained my eye to look for the best light and I understand which times of day are best for portraits and which times aren’t. I’m happy to provide recommendations for when each set of portraits should be taken in order to achieve the look in my portfolio, and I would love to help you set up your timeline around those portrait times. Plus, if you are willing, I love to sneak out of the reception for a few bride and groom portraits during the sunset. They usually end up being some of my favorites!

3. Pictures can take a lot longer than you would expect, especially if things are not organized. I recommend a specific amount of time for each group of people (bride + bridesmaids, groom + groomsmen, bridal party, etc.) and will work with you to determine the desired groupings. By having open communication about what you’d like for me to capture, we are able to fly through the portrait times without rushing the timeline. However, it is extremely important to allocate enough time for each grouping, because inevitably, the timeline will be more of a “guideline” because weddings always run behind!

Going into planning your big day, I’m sure the last thing you’ll think of is that your photographer wants to contribute in the planning of the timeline. However, we do!! And most photographers would dream of the day that our brides let us have full reign of your timeline. 🙂