The
Alisandra Photography Blog

I’m going to make a bold statement and say that a timeline can make or break your wedding day.

A BAD timeline can make you late and leave you in tears. It can make you feel regretful and puts you and your vendors in a tizzy. I’m not even sure what a tizzy is, but I think I’ve seen one a few times, and you don’t want to be in one, especially on your wedding day.

A GOOD timeline allows you to be late. It allows you to move things around. It has buffers. It is written and revised and is a collaboration between vendors rather than a template. And, it allows you to ENJOY and RELAX on your wedding day! I used to receive the timeline a few days before the wedding, but I’ve changed things up. I am interested in being involved in the building of the timeline. And really there are only a few nuggets I plug in to the wedding day schedule that are critical to my job, but also a few other pieces of advice that I give brides based on my experience.

1. Decide if you’re going to do a first look before you being your timeline. This decision will really alter things about your wedding day. If you choose to do a first look, you allow yourself PLENTY of extra time to wiggle things around. If you’re not sure about this and want help making a decision, talk to you planner and photographer about the pro’s and con’s.

2. Gather all of the details you’d like photographed BEFORE your wedding day and put them in a bag. Include shoes, garter, hair accessories, perfume, jewelry, the rings, an extra invitation and other paper products, and anything else you’d like photographed.

3. Talk to you photographer about what time they’re arriving and find out how far along you should be in the “getting ready” process. I have brides 45 minutes away from putting their dress on when I arrive, allowing me time to photograph a little getting ready, and all of the details.

4. Ask your photographer how long portrait sessions will take. I ask for at least 45 minutes for bride and groom photos, 20 minutes for bridal party photos, and 20 minutes for family. Can I deal with less time? Of course! But putting these times into the timeline allows for some wiggle room if things get a little tight!

5. After the ceremony, the last bit of requested time most photographers look for is 10-20 minutes to photograph the reception details before everyone has started mingling around. These are important parts of the story and beautiful images. They also help if you want to get your wedding published on a wedding blog or in a magazine.