A typical wedding day timeline - A wedding photographers point of view
As Somerset wedding photographers, timings are probably one of our top priorities for any wedding day, ok so we don’t need to know what’s going to be happening every single second of the day, but we need to know key moments so we can prepare. You have probably never done this before, and unless you are in the wedding industry, you may have only been to 1 or 2 wedding in the past so you probably have no idea how long things will take or when they should be happening, that’s where we come in!
In this weeks wedding blog, we give you an example of what should be happening and when on a typical wedding day.
THE MORNING PREP:
In regards to what time your hair and makeup team will arrive and how long it will take really depends on the number of people in your bridal party, the complexity of the styles you are going for, and the time of your ceremony. As a guide we would say allow at least 45 mins each for the bridesmaids and between 60-90 minutes for the bride. Speak to your hair and make up team who will advise you well ahead of the big day what time they will arrive and how long things should take. We don’t feel the need to arrive at the very beginning of the day, girls don’t typically want photos taken before hair and makeup, so as a rough guide, having your wedding photographers arrive around 2 hours before you are due to step into your dress is a good time, obviously if you have a huge bridal party, or lots and lots of details you may want them a little earlier, but 2 hours of bridal prep is usually enough time to capture everything.
We advise all our JK brides to have all their details ready to hand to us, things like shoes, perfume, jewellery, pack them all in a box or bag so you don’t have to spend time scrambling around for them in the morning. And think of anything with sentimental value that you may want photographed, a brooch that belonged to your Grandma for example. And guys, same rules apply to you too, keep everything together, like your cufflinks, pocket watch, personalised socks so they are ready to be photographed.
GETTING DRESSED:
Brides, you should be getting into your wedding dress at least 45 minutes before the ceremony, or before you are due to leave for your ceremony if it’s not happening at the same venue. Everybody else should be dressed by this point, your Mum, Aunt, Grandma or whoever will be in the room with you. Bridesmaids need to be dressed if they are going to be helping you, or they can use this time to go and get dressed so you can enjoy the moment alone with Mum/Aunt/Grandma, then it’s great to get their reaction when they walk in and see you for the first time! After you are dressed, if your Dad is going to be there, this would be the time to do a first look with him, if time allows, it’s great to get a final few photos of you in the bridal suite before heading to the ceremony.
Grooms, you should be fully dressed at least an hour before the ceremony is due to start or when you are due to leave to travel there, this way you can get a few photos with your groomsmen and then head to your ceremony to start greeting your guests.
THE WEDDING CEREMONY:
A typical wedding ceremony time in England is around 13:30-14:00, of course that varies some days but we would say at least 90% of our weddings are around this time of day. For a winter ceremony, we always advise to aim for a ceremony time of 13:00-13:30 as you lose the daylight so much quicker at this time of year so having an earlier ceremony means you can have photos outside before it gets dark. Ceremonies usually last around 30 minutes unless it’s a Church which can last up to 60 minutes. In regards as to what order you should walk down the aisle, from our experience, the bridesmaids usually walk down the aisle first, we always advise to leave a 5 second gap between each other walking down, and the bride to wait until the girls are all the way to the front before making her grand entrance! Your photographer should remind you of this on the day, we certainly do!
CONFETTI & FAMILY PHOTOS:
Straight after the ceremony you would usually go into a confetti shot, of course not all venues allow this so do double check with them! Then we would advise to go straight into your family photos before everybody has the chance to disappear!
Allow at least 30 minutes for family photos with a combination of around 8-10 different group photos, this will depend on exactly how many photos you want and the amount of people in each photo, but for 8-10 photos, 30 minutes should be enough time. If you are having a videographer, these times will need to be extended as they will need to get their footage too, so allow an extra 15 minutes at least for family photos and certainly your couple photos as they will take longer when a videographer is there.
COUPLE PORTRAITS:
Ah, our favourite part of the wedding day! We advise to go straight into your couple photos after the family formals. Your wedding photographers should guide you on the day as to what they think will work best, if things are running slightly behind due to the weather or a late ceremony start for instance, they will advise accordingly so relax and know you are in good hands.
Allow at leat 30 minutes for your couple portraits. Depending on the time of year, you may want to schedule in another 15 minutes to go out for photos later in the day as the light is so much more flattering as the sun gets lower in the sky. Again, if you are having a videographer, allow extra time for portraits to allow them to get their footage also.
WEDDING BREAKFAST:
There is usually around a 2 hour gap between the end of the ceremony to being called for your wedding breakfast, sometimes it’s a bit longer sometimes a bit shorter, but typically it’s around 2 hours.
Your wedding breakfast would normally start around 16:00-16:30 and can last anywhere form 2-3 hours from our experience. The speeches can be done at anytime during your wedding breakfast, it really is your preference, if you or a member of your party are a little nervous about doing the speech, you may want to get them done first, or you may want to enjoy your food and do them at the end, there is no right or wrong here!
After your wedding breakfast, this is when your room is usually turned around for your evening reception, depending on your venue, it can take anywhere from 1-2 hours. This will be the time to go around and talk to your guests, have a few informal photos with people like your work colleagues or uni-friends, and of course have a few more couple portraits if possible. Your photographer will guide you on the day whether they recommend you doing this depending on the weather and how many couple portraits have been taken earlier in the day.
EVENING RECEPTION:
Your evening reception and all your evening guests arriving would usually begin around 19:00-19:30. Your DJ or band will be have already set-up, they will advise you the best time for them to arrive on the day, some need a couple of hours, others a bit longer. You would then typically have your cake cutting and head straight into your first dance. We feel you want to have your wedding photographers stay for at least 3-4 songs after your first dance, that way they should be able to get some great party shots for you. Of course, you can ask them to stay later into the evening if you wish, especially if you are having fireworks or a sparkler exit.
We hope that we have given you more of an idea of a typical wedding day timeline. Take as much advice from your wedding venue and wedding suppliers as to what will work best for your big day, the last thing you want to feel is rushed or stressed on your wedding day so let the experts guide you! Much love, J&K x
