May 25, 2024

Having the right timeline is essential to having a stress-free and enjoyable day. One of the worst things you can do to yourself on your wedding day is to pack your schedule too tightly or to waste valuable time.

Here we cover a standard wedding day but if you’ve got a Tea Ceremony or other traditional event, things may look different. We’ll be making more posts soon so keep an eye out or subscribe to our mailing list on your wedding specific email (if you haven’t made one yet, you’ll probably want to).

We work closely with our couples before their wedding day to make sure their timeline is going to give them the experience and film/photos they want. Below is what that normally looks like:

This is primarily a photography/videography timeline but as you’ll see, this will give you a base for all the rest of the times you need to organise.

I’ve put this at the very top because it’s interspersed throughout the day but you should always keep in mind worst case travel times and plan it into your day, particularly if you’re travelling near the city during peak hour. You can always avoid travel times by having the wedding all onsite for a location but this might not fit what you’re after.

The Breakdown

Travel

Order

We usually start the day with Partner One (the Groom) and then move sequentially to Partner Two (the Bride).

We go in this order so the bride and bridesmaids have time to get their hair and make up completed and so they can get dressed closer to the ceremony time. This just makes sense, particularly for the bride as she usually doesn’t want to be hanging out in her wedding dress if she doesn’t need to be. Wedding dresses are beautiful but aren’t normally the most comfortable outfits.

Time Allocated

We’d suggest 60 minutes with a groom and 90 minutes with a bride. Getting guys dressed normally just takes less time.

If it came down to it, we could push for tighter timings (45 minutes with a groom, 60 minutes with a bride) but when there’s space to breathe for us as well as you, then everyone is more likely to be themselves instead of feeling a duty to get through certain timings. For video particularly, some of the best moments are when nothing’s happening and people are able to talk about what’s on their mind.

When we arrive we first get detail shots of important items, as well as shots of the space if it’s significant. Then it’s just actually getting ready and a small number of solo portraits with the bride/groom before doing some group shots with those around, including family if they’re there. Either side may want to capture moments before they get into their final outfits, while they’re still in robes/pjs or more casual outfits.

While simple, don’t be fooled, it can sometimes take quite a bit of time to get everyone ready.

Exceptions

Sometimes we’ll capture both the bride and groom simultaneously in a big chunk if they’re both getting ready at the same location. This works well when there’s a lot of time for us to wander and find moments. It would still work out to about the same total time.

Sometimes we’ll have an additional team to capture both sides of the getting ready at the same time (start time may vary). This tends to happen when one or both sides have traditions that go on all the way until the time when they depart for the ceremony.

Speaking of traditions, this can also impact the amount of coverage you may want when you’re getting ready. We’ll work with you on a case to case basis but make sure you’ve accounted for about 30 minutes to have a few solo portraits and formal group photos on top of the time you need for your traditions and getting dressed.

Getting Ready

Hair and Make-Up (HMU)

As you’re reading through this, you’re probably wondering what this means for hair and make-up. The finish time (and ultimately start time) for hair and make-up depends on what you want to get out of your getting ready time.

If you’ve finished your hair and make-up by the time we arrive, then all the images we’ll be capturing will more likely be keepers. There are some great shots we can get of you and your team getting make-up and hair done, but there are only so many.

Going back to talking about having space for everyone to breathe, if you’re all ready and nothing is happening on your wedding day… Trust me, something is going to happen and these things are usually worth a lot more than make up photos.

We’d suggest make-up and hair be scheduled to finish 15 minutes before your photographer and videographer arrive to give a bit of breathing room for delays. We also recognize that hair and make up take a while and if you have a big bridal party this can mean a very early wake up time, so our suggestion might not work for everyone. Whatever the case, a great photographer and videographer will make things work, you’ll just get more moments when there’s more time.

This part of the day varies a lot from couple to couple. What we always ask for with photography and videography in mind, is to allow us to arrive 30 to 45 minutes before the aisle walk happens for us to get set up, get details and get guests arriving. That means your photographer and videographer will usually need to depart from the getting ready location 30 minutes before you do, maybe even earlier if parking will be difficult.

Your celebrant/priest/rabbi can usually give you a great idea for how long the ceremony will be. So all you need to do after that is add an extra 15 to 30 minutes after the ceremony for group/family photos and you’ve got it scheduled in.

We tend to do family photos right after the ceremony because everyone is gathered and you’re at a significant location, usually with decent light.

The Ceremony

This is the part where you get some great shots of you, your partner and your bridal party.

The amount of time you need for this part of the day again depends on what you want to get out of it. The more time, the more variety and number of great shots you’ll get. A good photographer and videographer will get some amazing images even with barely any time, but there just won’t be a lot of them.

It’s not just about getting photos though. We always try to make this part of the day fun, after all it’s when you get to be with your partner and closest friends at a beautiful location, away from the sometimes-overwhelming presence of all your guests and family.

Without accounting for travel time, our suggestion is 45 minutes per location if you’re doing multiple spots like at Parliament House, Fitzroy Garden, etc. If you’re just on site at a venue, you’ll want around 60 minutes to explore and enjoy the process.

Location Session

Sunset Session

If you’re lucky enough to be able to catch the sunset on your wedding day then we always suggest putting aside 20 minutes for just you and your partner to get some dramatic and theatrical images. This usually happens at some point after you’ve entered the evening reception during summer. During winter you’ll likely already be getting sunset lighting during a location session after the ceremony.

Depending on the surrounding area, you’ll want to start this anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour before the sunset time according to Google. Areas with tall trees, mountains or buildings won’t get the full sun setting over the horizon so the sunset session needs to start earlier. We’ll give you guidance with this when organising the exact schedule.

Besides the images, there’s nothing quite like being with your partner and sharing a sunset on your wedding day.

The final part of the day! As videographers and photographers we tend to be pretty hands off with the specific reception timings as reception timings can vary greatly depending on how you want your celebration to go. The coordinators, venue and MC or DJ are going to be your primary guides here.

Just remember to budget time for a sunset session if it fits your day!

With regards to photography and videography timings, we again ask to arrive at the venue 30 to 45 minutes before the bridal party enters. This allows us to set up audio capture and basic lighting for the formalities if necessary and capture clean details of the styling and set up.

We always suggest getting coverage with your photography and videographer for all the things that matter to you, plus 30 minutes of open dance floor footage.

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And that’s it, we’ll say bye to each other with tears in our eyes as we reflect on our newly forged bonds and within 48 hours you’ll receive a set of sneak peek photos to look at and share.

You can download the timeline template in word doc format below: