Firstly, I should tell you that when we meet to discuss your wedding plans, we’ll create a personalised schedule for you, which means you don’t really need to think about a lot of the stuff described below. If you’re eager to start planning though, hopefully this helps.
Please note: If you’ve got a large bridal party, any mobility issues (e.g., disabilities, injuries etc), young kids involved in the wedding or if you just think things might run a bit late, you should allow extra time on top of what’s described below.
Before the ceremony: To capture details such as the rings, flowers, cufflinks etc, a few portraits of each of you and the special people you’ve chosen to help you prepare for the wedding, as well as to capture a sense of the atmosphere and the action in the leadup to the ceremony, we suggest a minimum of 45 minutes at the groom’s house and 60 at the bride’s, plus another 30 minutes if you’d like us to photograph the dress before you put it on (we’ll spend a big chunk of this time finding somewhere special to set the shot up). We’ll plan to arrive at your ceremony 30 minutes before the start, partly to photograph the action as it builds up to the ceremony but also to reduce the risk of either us or you being late (because you’ll have an extra 30 minutes to get to the ceremony location).
Travel time: If you get a few extra red lights or a bit of traffic on the day, it shouldn’t have a big impact on the day. Here’s the rule we use to make sure of that. If Google Maps suggests less than 20 minutes, we add 10 as buffer, and if Google’s guess is more than 20 minutes, we add 50%.
After the ceremony: A lot of couples and even some venues overlook this part of the day in their schedules. When your ceremony finishes, the people who love you most in this world are going to be happy for you, so we don’t like the idea of tearing you away from them too quickly. You’ll probably only need ten minutes, but it might be the most special ten minutes of your day. Then we’ll get to work on the formal family photos with your parents, siblings, nieces, nephews etc. We’ll have planned these with you beforehand so that it’s all smooth and efficient. For most weddings, 30 minutes is a good amount of time for celebrations and family photos combined, which helps to ensure that your smiles don’t have time to completely wear out!
The photo shoot: This depends entirely on how many locations you want to get to, but we recommend a minimum of one hour plus travel time. With any less than that you’ll feel a bit rushed, and that feeling makes it much harder to relax and be yourselves in the pictures.
Reception: We don’t really have a rule for reception coverage. Some couples want us there until the very end while others only want us to capture a few details of the room and the cake. It will depend a bit on your package and what you’re expecting to happen at the reception, but we’ll help you get this balance just right.
