Wedding planning can be stressful. At some point you’re probably going to look at your timeline and think, where do I even start?
This is the timeline I tend to work from with my couples.
It isn’t a strict formula and I definitely don’t think every wedding should run the same way. Your venue, travel, bridal party, ceremony time and all the little things you’ve planned will change it.
But this is a really good starting point if you want your day to feel relaxed, give us enough time for beautiful photos and, most importantly, let you actually enjoy your own wedding.
I photograph weddings throughout Wollongong, the Illawarra, South Coast NSW and the Southern Highlands, and this is generally the flow I find works really well.
TOO MUCH TO READ? HERE’S THE SHORT VERSION
Start with your ceremony time and work backwards.
For a 3:00 pm ceremony, I usually like the bride completely ready by around 1:00 pm.
Give yourself more time to get dressed than you think you’ll need.
Do your family photos straight after the ceremony while everyone is still there and easy to find.
You do not need to disappear for two hours for portraits. Give us enough time to make something beautiful, then get back to your wedding.
If the sunset is good, I will absolutely try to steal you for another ten minutes.
At the reception, I like getting some speeches done early, then letting everyone eat and relax.
Cake cutting into first dance flows really nicely.
Then invite everyone onto the dance floor so we can get some fun party photos before coverage finishes.
Most importantly, leave some breathing room.
Weddings run late. Earrings disappear. Someone suddenly cannot find the rings they were literally holding five minutes ago.
It happens.
Your timeline should make the day easier, not make you feel like you are racing a stopwatch.
If that’s all you needed, screenshot it and go forth.
If you want the longer version, keep reading.
START WITH TWO TIMES
The two times I care about most when we start planning are:
Your ceremony time.
And the time your hairdresser and makeup artist can realistically have you completely ready.
Once we know those two things, everything else becomes a lot easier to piece together.
The ceremony gives us the framework for the afternoon.
Hair and makeup gives us the framework for the morning.
CHOOSING YOUR CEREMONY TIME
For a lot of weddings, somewhere around 3:30-4 pm works really well.
Obviously this changes depending on the time of year, your venue, sunset and where you are getting married, so please do not take 4:00 pm as wedding law.
The reason I like an afternoon ceremony is because the light generally starts improving as the day goes on, while still leaving us enough time afterwards for family photos, wedding party photos and portraits.
If the ceremony finishes around 3:30 or 4:00 pm, we can do congratulations and family photos fairly quickly, then head into your portraits.
That often puts us in a really nice part of the afternoon for photos without pushing everything too late.
FAMILY PHOTOS FIRST, THEN EVERYONE CAN GO AND GET A DRINK
Straight after the ceremony is usually the easiest time to do family photos.
Everyone is there.
Everyone is dressed.
Nobody has disappeared yet.
This is our window.
Because once people scatter, somehow one uncle will be at the bar, someone else will be in the bathroom and your cousin will have decided this is the perfect time to go and check into their hotel room.
We get through the important combinations, keep it moving, then send everyone off to enjoy themselves.
After that we can do wedding party photos and your couple portraits.
YOUR PORTRAITS SHOULD NOT TAKE OVER YOUR WEDDING
I love making beautiful, dramatic wedding portraits.
I do not love dragging couples away from their wedding for hours.
You paid for this whole thing. You should probably get to enjoy some of it.
With a good timeline, we can get the big beautiful photos without turning your day into one giant photoshoot.
Sometimes we’ll stay around your venue.
Sometimes we might duck somewhere nearby if there’s a location worth using.
Around Wollongong, the Illawarra and the South Coast, we are pretty spoilt for choice, so we usually don’t have to go far.
The main thing is giving us enough time that it does not feel rushed.
IF THE SUN IS GOOD, I’M STEALING YOU FOR TEN MINUTES
If we’ve made it to the reception and the sun hasn’t set yet, there is a very good chance I’m going to suggest sneaking outside.
Not for another huge portrait session.
Ten minutes is plenty.
Think of it as a little breather together.
You’ve just married each other, there are probably a hundred people asking for your attention and suddenly you get ten quiet minutes away together while the light is beautiful.
And yes, there is also a pretty good chance we create one of my favourite photos of your whole gallery.
Golden hour around the South Coast, Wollongong, the Illawarra and Southern Highlands can be unreal.
Coastline, hills, long grass, escarpment, open fields.
We’ve got options.
If the sky really decides to show off, I apologise in advance for becoming slightly overexcited.
HOW I LIKE A RECEPTION TO FLOW
Once we get into the reception, things get a lot easier from a photography point of view.
The natural light is mostly gone, I’m using flash anyway and we have a lot more freedom with how the formalities are arranged.
I generally like a grand entrance followed by some speeches or toasts reasonably early.
Then everyone eats.
That little break works well for everyone.
It is also when I can eat, change batteries, check gear and have a quick wee.
Very glamorous profession.
It is also one of the few parts of the day where I am not desperately trying to photograph every person in the room.
Nobody needs a close-up of themselves halfway through a mouthful of steak.
After dinner, you can finish the rest of the speeches.
If you’re doing a cake cutting, I love going from cake straight into first dance.
It flows really naturally and gives everyone the signal that the formal part is done.
Time to party.
GET THE DANCE FLOOR STARTED
I normally encourage couples to use their first dance to open the dance floor.
Have your moment, then invite everyone in.
That way the room already has energy and I can jump straight into fun dance floor photos.
It works especially well if photography coverage is finishing not too long afterwards.
I much prefer that to doing the first dance, sitting everyone back down for another forty-five minutes and then trying to convince them all to get up again later.
Once people are dancing, leave them dancing.
This is also normally around the time someone’s tie ends up around their head, which is exactly the kind of thing I want photographic evidence of.
NOW LET’S GO BACK TO THE MORNING
Yes, we just got you married and onto the dance floor and now I’m taking you back to hair and makeup.
There is a reason.
I find the afternoon and reception side of the timeline easier to work out first.
Once we know the ceremony time, roughly when portraits will happen and how the reception will flow, we can work backwards and see how much time we need at the start of the day.
Now we come back to the second big question:
When can hair and makeup actually have you ready?
HAIR AND MAKEUP: PLEASE DON’T PUT THE BRIDE LAST
The morning will depend a lot on how many people are having hair and makeup done.
Most wedding hairdressers and makeup artists are well and truly used to early starts.
The good news is the bride normally does not have to be first.
That honour usually goes to Mum, the mother-in-law or whichever poor relative has drawn the short straw.
Sorry, Mum.
Where possible, I like the bride to go second last rather than last.
Hair and makeup can run late.
It just happens.
If the bride is already finished, somebody else can still be having their final touches while we start bridal portraits or photograph other parts of the morning.
What we do not want is the bride sitting in the makeup chair while somebody announces the car is outside.
FOR A 4:00 PM CEREMONY, I LIKE THE BRIDE READY AROUND 2 PM
If you’re having a 3:00 pm ceremony, I’ll usually aim for the bride to be completely ready around 1:00 pm.
That obviously changes if there is lots of travel involved, but it gives us roughly an hour to an hour and a half for getting-ready photos without everything feeling frantic.
Getting dressed also takes much longer than people expect.
You are not chucking on jeans because your Uber has arrived.
This is the dress.
You’ve probably spent months choosing it, altering it, thinking about it and imagining what it will feel like to finally put it on.
Take the time to enjoy that.
WE CAN PLAN MOMENTS WITHOUT MAKING THEM FAKE
During our pre-wedding call, I’ll normally ask whether there are any moments you want to make space for during the morning.
Maybe you want your mum to help zip up your dress.
Maybe there is a best friend or sibling you want involved.
Maybe you want a first look with your bridesmaids.
Maybe you want your dad to see you dressed for the first time.
None of that needs to feel staged.
We are not telling people how to react.
We are simply making sure the timeline gives that moment room to happen.
That matters to me.
I love candid wedding photography, but sometimes the best candid moments happen because we were organised enough to actually leave space for them.
PLEASE GIVE ME FIVE MINUTES WITH JUST YOU
Before we leave, I always want a few photos of you by yourself.
Beautiful window light.
The dress.
The flowers.
You.
You have put a lot into this day and you deserve a few photos where you are not surrounded by twelve other people.
These are often some of my favourite photos from the morning.
WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER PARTNER?
Now we work backwards again.
Depending on where everyone is getting ready, I’ll work out when I can photograph the other partner and their wedding party.
If the locations are close together, I’ll often start with the person who wants more of their morning documented, photograph the details and atmosphere, then head to the second location before coming back for the final getting-dressed moments.
I say “second location” rather than “the groom” because every wedding looks different.
It might be another bride, another groom or simply the person who is less fussed about having heaps of getting-ready coverage.
If I’m photographing a groom, I might get everyone dressed early for photos.
Yes, you can take the suit back off.
That is one of the great advantages of not having spent three hours getting your hair curled and false lashes glued to your face.
I usually want to photograph the suit going on, shoes, watch, cufflinks, cologne, a drink with the boys and whatever the morning actually feels like.
I’ll also always try to get a few proper portraits.
It is your wedding too.
You deserve to look bloody good in the gallery.
Then I head back to the other getting-ready location at the time we worked out earlier.
And suddenly the whole day has come together.
THE LESS-YAPPY VERSION
Here is what a 3:00 pm ceremony might look like.
11:30 am
Photography starts. Details, candid getting-ready photos and coverage of the second getting-ready location.
1:00 pm
Bride fully ready. Getting dressed, portraits, first looks with family or wedding party and final moments before leaving.
2:30 pm
I arrive at the ceremony. Venue details, guests arriving and your partner waiting.
3:00 pm
Ceremony.
3:45 pm
Congratulations and family photos.
4:00 pm
Wedding party photos.
4:20 pm
Couple portraits.
5:30–6:00 pm
Reception. Grand entrance, some speeches or toasts and dinner depending on the venue.
Around sunset
Quick ten-minute escape if the light is beautiful.
After dinner
Remaining speeches, cake cutting and first dance.
Dance floor
Everyone up. Fun photos. Somebody eventually loses a shoe.
The exact times will change depending on your venue, wedding date, sunset and travel, but this is the general flow I really like.
If you’re still staring at a blank timeline and wondering where to start, I’ve made it easy.
[Grab my copy-and-paste wedding day timeline template here.]
Use it as your starting point, move things around to suit your plans, then we can fine-tune the photography side together before your wedding.
HOW DO WE FIT IN A FIRST LOOK?
Easy.
We just bring the earlier part of the day forward.
You do not need a huge amount of time.
Fifteen minutes can be enough for the actual first look.
Allow around thirty minutes if you also want a few portraits together afterwards and a bit of time to freshen up before the ceremony.
I do not always recommend doing your entire couple portrait session before the wedding.
Depending on the season, the light can be harsher earlier in the day and nobody wants to arrive at their ceremony already hot and sweaty.
But if doing more photos beforehand makes sense for your wedding, we can absolutely make it work.
There are no hard rules.
WHAT IF WE DON’T CARE ABOUT GETTING-READY PHOTOS?
You do not have to have them.
I will say though, I love them.
A huge part of the way I photograph weddings is capturing the whole feeling of the day.
I want your wedding album to feel a bit like a movie.
What did the room look like?
Who was there?
What were you doing?
What did you eat for breakfast?
Who helped you get dressed?
What did the morning actually feel like?
Those details might feel completely normal now.
In twenty or thirty years, they probably won’t.
That is why I see getting-ready photos as more than someone putting on mascara.
They are the beginning of the story.
WHAT IF WE HAVE SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PLANNED?
Perfect.
If you have something weird, sentimental, funny or completely specific to the two of you planned, tell me.
I want to know.
That is exactly why I do a pre-wedding call.
We talk about what matters to you, who matters to you, what you are excited about and what you are nervous about.
The more I know about your day, the better I can photograph it.
I do not want to show up and run through the same checklist I used at somebody else’s wedding.
Your wedding should look and feel like yours.
THE WHOLE POINT IS TO MAKE THE DAY EASIER
I do not build a wedding photography timeline because I want every minute of your day scheduled.
Quite the opposite.
I want to plan enough beforehand that you do not need to think about it on the day.
We already know when family photos are happening.
We know when we have time for portraits.
We know when we might sneak outside at sunset.
You should not be looking at the clock all day.
You should be enjoying your wedding and trusting that I know what is happening next.
That is the goal.
If you are planning a wedding in Wollongong, the Illawarra, South Coast NSW, Kiama, Gerringong or the Southern Highlands, this is exactly the kind of planning we will work through together before your day.
Take whatever parts of this timeline work for you.
Ignore the bits that do not.
And if you have something completely different planned, even better.
I would love to hear From you.
