Your wedding day is a timeline & you can do as much or as little as you want in the time you have. I would advise to not try and squeeze loads in as this will take away from time with family & friends. One major issue I see on a couples wedding day is a lack of structure or a tendency to go off of the timeline. Timelines can be challenging as for the most part this is your first ever wedding day and it is difficult to know what will take place and how it will all come together. As I have done numerous weddings I think I can help with giving you a realistic idea of the day and some tips and tricks to keep that timeline running seamlessly. 

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You may think "Im always on time" , "I will stick to those times no problem", however on your wedding day you actually have no control of that timeline at all! You and your groom are merely two people moving through the day and are completely dependant on everyone else to get ye through on time. I'll give you an example, in the morning your hair and makeup control the time you and your bridal party are ready, if your driver is late then you too are late, if your videographer or photographer take a long time doing your couple shoot then ye miss the drinks reception, if your venue is slow at service then your band/dancing is delayed, if your speeches go on longer than you anticipated (which believe me they always do) this further delays the night, if your band are slow to set up or haven't arrived on time you have less time dancing and first dance can be after 11pm. 

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One way you can help to control these factors is through communication. When your timeline is set out, communicate this timeline to ALL vendors. In doing this your hair/makeup artist will know when you need to be ready to get in the dress, your photographer/videographer will know how long to spend on your couple shoot, your venue will then know when your speeches are and when your band is booked to set up and start so they can have dinner service finished and cleaned up on time, your band will know when your videographer/photographer are finished so the band can set up and start on time so they can capture your first dance. 

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Your vendors are in full control of your day, make sure to book the right team and they will give you a lovely relaxed day!

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I am going to create this timeline based on the following key details.

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Coverage Booked:

- Morning Prep Bride

- Morning Prep Groom

- Full Ceremony

- Drinks Reception

- Full Speeches

- 1st Dance & Afters

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Wedding Details:

- Groom is 10 minutes from bride

- Bride is 10 minutes from the church

- Ceremony Time: 1pm

- Photos will be taken at the venue

- Venue is 30 minutes from the church

- Dinner Call is 5:30pm

- Speeches are before the meal with 4 speakers

- First dance is planned for 9:30pm

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Lets begin!

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The Morning

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So when doing a morning timeline I always work backwards from the ceremony, so if the ceremony is at 1pm and if you have a videographer booked who is doing a multi-cam set up (what I do) then he/she will need 30 minutes in the church before the ceremony to set up the cameras, microphones and get establishing shots. So this means that your videographer will need to be in the church at 12:30pm to set up for a 1pm ceremony. I like to have approx 1 hour 30 minutes with the bridal party and 30/40 minutes with the lads. So based on this here is the morning times.

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- Groom Prep: 10:20am - 10:50am

- Bride Prep: 11am - 12:20pm

- Set Up Ceremony - 12:30pm - 1pm

- Ceremony Start - 1pm

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Groom Prep

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When it comes to the groom prep I need ALL the lads there when I arrive (tell them to arrive 30 minutes earlier). Tell the groomsmen to have shoes, pants and shirts on them. I will arrive at 10:20am and will get detail shots of the grooms suit and shoes etc. I will then get the groom dressed with his best man/dad, and after I will get shots of the groomsmen finishing getting ready with a nice glass of whiskey/beer for a toast. Simple as that!

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It's now 10:50am and I will drive 10 minutes to the bride!

 

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Bridal Party

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 When I arrive at 11am I will start with all the details such as dress, jewellery, shoes, bag, flowers, invitation etc. I would advise leaving your dress and details in a room that has the most natural light & keep it as clutter free as possible (this will be where I will shoot you getting ready). The detail shots usually take me about 15/20 minutes. After this I will be in the background capturing your morning as it happens until around 11:45am where I will set up the bridal party for a champagne shot. At this point we would want all hair and makeup finished so when the champagne shot is done the bridal party can go and get dressed. When they are getting dressed I will get the brides final makeup shots. As I am leaving at 12:20pm I would need the bride in the dress for 12pm. This will then give us a relaxed 20 minutes to get the shots of her in the dress and any first look with family and friends.

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*Trust me on this.... you are WAY better off to be in your dress with a glass of champagne in your hand with time to spare then leaving it last minute as if you leave it last minute and something happens then you are going to be very late! Give yourself loads of time and have a nice relaxed morning! 

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- 11am-11:20am dress & detail shots

- 11:20am-11:45 morning shots

- 11:45am champagne shot

- 12pm in the dress 

- 12pm-12:20pm dress shots & first look

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​​The Church

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I arrive to the church at 12:30pm and I set up all the cameras & microphones, I then get some lovely shots of the church and then at 1:15pm the bride arrives (the bride is always late...for tradition!). Also remember your guests may not be as good timekeepers as you! Your ceremony will be 1 hour approx so ending at 2:15pm. Here I would advise you do a meet and greet as it allows me to pack down my gear as it will take me the same time to pack up as it will take your meet and greet, thus not losing any time for your photos, by not doing a meet and greet you do not gain any extra time as I will still be at the ceremony packing down. If when I am finished there is still a lot of people I will interfere and whisk ye away so as to keep ye on that all important timeline (remember I said its good vendors that keep your day running smoothly) 

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- 1:15pm ceremony​

- 2:15pm meet & greet (pack down)

- 2:30pm leave for photos (30 minute journey)

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The Photoshoot

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At 3pm we arrive to the venue and we take you off for 20/30 minutes for your couples shoot (This is all I require so it is important to ensure your photographer aligns with this time, possibly before booking otherwise it can disrupt your intended timeline), at 3:30pm we do the bridal party shoot for 10 minutes and then at 3:40pm we do the family shoot. Now this is where it can get messy! I cannot stress enough how making sure all your family are aware you want them in photos and are all there! People going missing is one of the biggest reasons these photos go way overtime.  The family shoot can take 10 minutes or 50 minutes and thats no exaggeration, have a bridesmaid/grooms man with a shot list and let them round people up as myself and the photographer wont know who's who. So lets just say this takes 20 minutes, it's now 4pm and it's time for your drinks reception!

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​If we get all the photos done by 4pm and your dinner call is 5:30pm that means you now have an hour and a half of a drinks reception which is AMAZING!!!

(the average normal time for a drinks reception can be 20/40 minutes if you have a lot of travel on your wedding day)

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- 3pm couple photos at venue 

- 3:30pm bridal party shoot

- 3:40pm family shoot 

- 4pm drinks reception 

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Drinks Reception

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Between 4pm & 5:30pm I will capture the natural moments of your drinks reception and the details of the ballroom and get some drone shots (if you have the drone booked). Then at 5:30pm all your guest will be called for dinner. From 5:30pm - 6pm I will get footage of your guests in the ball room and set up the cameras for the speeches which are before the meal.

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At 6pm you will enter the room, once you are seated the venue will take wine orders and ill put in place the cameras for the speeches, at 6:10pm your speeches will begin and here is one of the most important parts of your day timeline wise.....

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- 4pm-5:30pm drinks reception shots

- 5:30pm-6pm dinner call shots

- 6:10pm speeches

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Speeches

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The longer the speeches the later your first dance.  4 speakers at 10 minutes each is the perfect time, your speeches should be no longer than 40 minutes and here is why.

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If your speeches start at 6:10pm and they are 40 minutes, this brings dinner service to 6:50pm dinner service is usually 2 hours/ 2 hours 30 minutes depending on how many guests and how fast the venue is at service. So lets say dinner service is 2 hours then your dinner service and speeches will be finished by 8:50pm. If your venue does not have a stage free then they will need to take down and clear the top table before the band can set up.  A band will take 40 minutes to 1 hour to set up (some can even take longer) so based on an hour set up your first dance is at 9:50/10pm.

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Also please do not split your speeches, either do all of them before or all of them after the meal, if you decide to do 2 before and 2 after you can easily add an extra 15/20 minutes of a delay to your first dance.

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- 6:10pm - 9pm speeches & dinner service 

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First Dance

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If your speeches are longer than 40minutes, before you know it your first dance is 10:30pm or even worse 11pm! I have seen it! You want to be dancing by 10pm on your wedding day, you have spent all this money, you have all your family and friends in the one room, get the party started as early as you can! Also the band you choose is SO SO important. Some bands are fantastic for setting up and getting started, others not so much so if you can get past references/recommendations of bands and make sure you have the conversation with the band on when you want to dance, remember it's your wedding and your paying them so they should start when you want not when they feel like it. Highlight to them that your other vendors finish at specific time and you want them to shoot your first dance/dancing as your paying a lot of money for these shots and it may actually incur a cost if they don't start on time, its worth highlighting this to your venue also 

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Full Day Timeline:

- Groom Prep: 10:20am - 10:50am​

- Bridal Prep: 11am - 12:20pm

(bride in dress for 12pm)

- Set Up Ceremony: 12:30pm - 1pm

Ceremony: 1pm - 2pm

Photoshoot: 3pm - 4pm

Drinks Reception: 4pm - 5:30pm

Dinner Call: 6pm

Speeches: Before the meal (4 speaking)

First Dance: 9:30/10pm

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What you have read is the reality of a wedding day, if you have a big distance between the morning prep and the church then you need to account for the travel time to the church (be in the dress even earlier) if you have a long distance between the church and the venue expect to have a shorter drinks reception and if your speeches go longer than 40 minutes expect to not be dancing until 10:30pm the earliest. 

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I suppose in summary...

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The less you have to travel on your wedding day the more time you have to spend with family and friends, booking the right vendors will ensure that you stick to your timeline and at the end of the day all a wedding day really is, is a timeline, don't try and squeeze too much in and give yourself plenty of time and have that day you have been dreaming of!

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I hope this helps!​​​​​

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