Building a Successful Wedding Day Timeline

Creating a timeline for your wedding day might feel like a daunting task. There are a lot of moving parts to consider (and a lot of people who need to be wrangled), but I’m confident you’ll be able to build the perfect timeline for a seamless day! 

My NUMBER ONE PIECE OF ADVICE is to allow more time than you think you’ll actually need. This has literally saved me at countless weddings, and the best part was that no one knew I had lightly padded the schedule - they never realized they were at risk of running behind! I have seen too many instances when everything is running along smoothly until it takes 15 minutes longer than expected to get dressed or a key member of the bridal party is on the other side of the venue helping set up at the same time they’re scheduled for photos. 

With this idea in mind, I tell my couples that in an ideal world, I would love an hour for first look + portraits, 30 minutes for wedding party photos, and 30 minutes for family photos. 

I would much rather be able to send you off to your cocktail hour early because you built a little extra time into your timeline than need to grab just 15 minutes for all of your portraits right before dinner because things unexpectedly got a bit behind schedule. 

The second most important thing to do is to share (and maybe overshare if you’re really into organization like me!) your timeline with all the people who are playing a part in your wedding day, from hair and makeup artists, to your family and wedding party, to your officiant. By communicating with them ahead of time and letting them know where they should be and when, they won’t start their day with questions and confusion. 

No timeline is perfect, but at the end of the day, my priorities are always to make sure you have an incredible experience and can soak in every moment of your wedding day. In the instance that something pops up and pushes event times back, I’ll be there to identify options and solutions so we can still get great pictures and you won’t have to stress about it!

Originally posted July 25, 2022