Photography Timeline

canadianhearts

Dream photographers replied and said they would be honored to work with us. I'm on cloud nine right now!

I wanted to ask if I've allocated enough time for things and if you guys have any suggestions about "can't miss shots".

1. Getting ready - I really don't need them to be there for all of it - just getting some prep stuff in the bridal suite with me and my girls and FI and his boys and maybe the reception room all set up. (2 hours.)

2. First look and some pre-wedding shots with just the two of us. (1.5 hours.)

3. Bridal party and family photos. (1.5 hours.)

4. Ceremony. (1.5 hours - it won't be longer than 20 minutes, but I'm rounding way up here since they will be getting some pre and post stuff, I'm sure.)

5. After ceremony photos - we'll be getting a lot done beforehand so that we can see our guests earlier, so I'm going to say 1 hour - one photographer covering the cocktail hour and the other with us. (1 hour.)

6. First dance, cake cutting, reception stuff including speeches and photo booth. (4.5 hours.)

We will be hiring them for the full day - 12 hours.

Am I missing anything important? Did I allocate enough time for everything or should I switch things around? Do I need to cut out some time after speeches and first dance for some "us" at night? How about photos with guests at the photo booth? Ahh!

I know I put three hours for first look, couple shots, and bridal party and family shots, but I think that eats up a lot of time and we need it. I also put a lot for the ceremony, but I figured it would involve everything from the of guests getting seated (right before the ceremony) and the processional to the dismissal.

Oh, I should say that we have the venue for the day all to ourselves - this was important to us for photos! Also, the ceremony is outdoors and at the same venue as the cocktail hour and reception. I'm hoping it won't rain, but that it won't be very suunny since I love the venue and want a lot of photos outside.

Those of you getting married - feel free to share your timeline. Those of you already married - share your experience. What were some of your "glad I didn't miss" photos or "wish I'd done them" photos?

JoanE2012

I think that's more than enough time for the areas you mentioned.  

I didn't want many getting ready photos (let's face it, hair up and a mess is not a picture I want!).  I think the photographer spent maybe 45 min total between both sides.  Girls were just down the hall from the guys, so it was easy.

Taking first look/B&G photos doesn't take long, especially when everything is at the same location.  Ditto for family/bridal party photos.  

Our ceremony was 20 minutes, and the photographer was there for the processional, ceremony and recessional.  We did not care about guests being seated.

As for the reception, ours was there for the majority of the night.  He left not too long after the cake cutting.

My tip - If there are any "must have" photos that you will be upset if you don't get, jot them down so your photographer has them the day of.  But don't overwhelm him or her with a list of hundreds of shots.  You'll spend more time trying to check off the line items than you do taking photos.

canadianhearts

Great advice! Thank you!

I also don't want many getting ready shots. What am I going to do with hundreds of pictures of me getting my make-up done? I guess I estimated extra time for everythingbecause I have experience assisting on wedding shoots and know that sometimes things can go wrong - weather, set-up, getting everyone to "set" - "WHERE DID GRANDMA GO?!", etc.

Pictures of guests being seated can go - definitely.

I have a list of must-have shots, but kept it small and down to the important or unique shots since I trust that they don't need me micromanaging every single picture.

AprilH81

I would write down a list of every picture you want to make sure gets taken (even if it is 100 pictures).  Then take a look over the list and ask yourself if why you want the picture.  Do you want to document the details of the day?  Do you want pictures of people just having fun?  Do you want a lot of portraits?

Once you know WHY you want these pictures this will let you tell your photographer what is important.  "I want to make sure you capture the details of the day, so please get shots of the tables, the flowers, the cake and all of the small things that we did." or "I really want to try to get a picture of every guest, so take a lot of pictures of people hanging out, dancing and having fun.

On top of giving the photographer(s) the feel of what you want you can also give them a must have list of pictures that will hopefully be smaller than the whole list you started with.

I think you have plenty of time to get what you want and have overestimated the time everything will take.  But the cushion will be nice to have in case things run long.