How to Plan Your Wedding Day Timeline

Created by MR + MRS | Melbourne Wedding Photographers

Imagine the perfect wedding day: everything runs smoothly, no one is rushed and there’s plenty of time for portraits amidst the celebrations. It might sound like wishful thinking… but we know how it can be done!

Although every wedding day is unique, most weddings follow the same pattern of events. With over five years’ experience shooting weddings, MR + MRS have worked out the ideal amount of time required for each part of the day and created this helpful PDF. Stay stress-free and relaxed with an easy-to-follow wedding day timeline created by our Melbourne wedding photographers.

MR + MRS Melbourne wedding photographer Isabella Cullen discusses all things wedding timelines, planning your photo schedule and how to keep your day as stress-free as possible.

Wedding Photography Timeline PDF

Created by MR + MRS Melbourne Wedding Photographers

Use this wedding day timeline to craft your own stress-free photography schedule. Melbourne wedding photographers, MR + MRS, have created this guide to give you an idea of how long your photographer will usually need for each part of your day.

Getting Ready Photos

 As a photographer, I typically begin a wedding day with the getting ready photos. This is usually in the morning or early afternoon on the wedding day. As the name suggests, these photos capture the bride and groom getting ready. Whoever gets their photos first depends on who is closer to the ceremony location. We will usually photograph the groom first, and there’s a few reasons for this.

First of all, he usually takes much less time getting ready and it’s a lot easier to take a suit off than it is to get out of a complicated dress. Secondly, the groom is usually leaving for the ceremony a lot earlier than the bride in order to greet the guests as they arrive and to wait for his bride to arrive. It’s not essential that the groom goes first, but it’s often the easier method. 

Alternatively, you can always hire a second photographer (AKA a second shooter) who can photograph the groom while your main photographer shoots the bride. This means both of you can get ready at the same time and it can save on travel and overall coverage costs. Check with your photographer if they offer this additional service.

The Groom: 45 mins - 1 hour

For the groom, this means capturing him hanging out with his groomsmen, getting his tux on and getting a few photos with his groomsmen and his parents. 

The Bride: 1 - 1.5 hours 

For the bride, this means photos of her makeup and hair styling, pyjama/robe photos with her bridesmaids and then getting her dress on.

We’ll usually get some photos with her bridesmaids and her parents and also some solo portraits.

HOT TIP: Set aside both the bride and groom’s details for your photographer to grab a detail shot. Think: perfume, flowers, a spare invite, shoes, jewellery.

First Look *OPTIONAL*

30mins - 1 hour

If you’d like to do a first look, this is the time to do it. I highly recommend meeting at your ceremony location. This way, you’re both already dressed and there’s no rushing to get to your ceremony. You can really soak this moment in, and enjoy a few minutes together before you get officially married. 

A first look is a great option if you are having a late ceremony and there won’t be much natural light by the time it is over, or if it looks like the weather will be bad later in the day. This has saved a number of weddings that we’ve photographed, where, if we hadn’t have done a first look, all of their wedding pictures would have been either in the dark or in the pouring rain. Having your portraits taken before the ceremony can ensure you’re not rushing to use the last bit of sunlight after your ceremony, and it can also give you more time to celebrate with your family and friends at your reception. 

If you’d like, ask your photographer if you can do a first look, and then take your bridal party and couple portraits together before your ceremony. 

Ceremony Setup

30mins

Now both the bride and groom are ready, it’s time to head off to the ceremony. I will usually arrive to the ceremony location 30 minutes before your ceremony start time. This allows enough time for me to capture your ceremony setup without any guests milling around, and it also gives me some time to get photos of your guests arriving. This is a great way for me to get some candid photos of your guests, as they walk into your ceremony space, smiling and laughing with anticipation.

I’ll also get photos of the groom at this point, usually looking very nervous and excited!

Ceremony

30 mins - 1 hour

AKA time to get married!! The length of the ceremony differs for every wedding but there’s always one thing in common: the first kiss. To get the best shot, make sure to kiss for at least 10 seconds, and if you feel like it, go for another!

As you walk down the aisle, we also recommend your guests throw their confetti *up*, not *at* you. This way, you’ll be smiling and happy in your photos, instead of having a squinty/attacked look on your face!

At the end of the aisle, give each other a big kiss and you’ll get some epic just-married photos. 

Family Photos

30 mins

Immediately after your ceremony, we highly recommend you go straight into your family photos.

There’s a few reasons for this. First of all, your guests are all right there, in one place. It can be hard to wrangle people as they start drifting off to cocktail hour and catching up with friends, so now is the best time while they’re all together! One way to keep everyone in place is to also have your MC/celebrant announce that family photos will be happening straight after the ceremony, and this will usually keep people hanging around for longer.

To make family photos run smoothly and efficiently, make sure to send your photographer a list of the family groups you’d like photographed. This ensures all of your important people get a photo and nobody gets missed. 

One time-saving tip is to ask your bossiest/loudest friend or relative to help your photographer find each group on the list. If you have a friend who knows both sides of the wedding, this helps too! This will make the family photos fly by, as the bride and groom stay planted in one place, and each family group will sub in and out on either side.

Bridal Party Portraits

30 mins

After you’ve finished up with family photos, it’s time to get some bridal party portraits! These are photos of the bride and groom, the bridesmaids and the groomsmen. It’s totally up to you where you’d like to do these photos. Some people like to travel to a separate location or even multiple locations for these photos - the choice is yours! Just bear in mind any travel time and how everyone will be transported from A to B. 

It’s up to you how many photos you’d like with your bridal party. Most people get some group shots together, maybe pop a bottle of champagne and then get some photos of you guys just hanging out. Once you’re happy with that, let’s move onto the bride and groom’s photos!

Bridal Portraits

30 mins - 1 hour

These portraits are for just the two of you. We usually ask the bridal party to head off to the reception at this stage so you two can be alone and have some photos as a newly married couple. It’s a really special time where you can soak in those just-married feels and take some time to relax and enjoy your day. Again, it’s totally up to you on how much time you’d like to spend on your bridal portraits. For some couples, getting a wide range of photos in multiple locations is really important to them; others are happy with just a few. There’s no right or wrong - it’s your day so spend it how you like!

Reception

1-3 hours (open-ended)

Now that your official wedding photos are completed, there’s usually a bit of time before your reception begins. I like to spend this time by heading to the reception venue (if we’re not already there) and I will take some photos of your venue, empty and beautiful. I’ll get some close-ups of the tables, the cake and the details (after all, you’ve spent months planning this!). If cocktail hour/canapés are still going, I will also head out to that and capture some photos of your guests mingling. 

If you’d like your entire cocktail hour captured, you can also hire a second photographer to capture this while your primary photographer is away with you during your portraits. As mentioned earlier, this is totally optional and will usually incur an additional cost, but it is great for capturing a wider range of candid guest photos.

Once your reception starts, it’s up to you how long you’d like your photographer to stay. Typically, I will stay until the end of formalities: this includes the bridal entrance, cake cutting, speeches and first dance. After formalities are completed, I’ll stay for some dance-floor action shots and then I’ll call it a night. If you’re doing a sparkler exit or your formalities are drawn out throughout the whole reception, you can always hire your photographer until the very end of the night. Just keep in mind that this may mean paying for extra coverage.

Sunset Portraits

15 mins

Last but not least, please please please don’t skip on sunset portraits! As the name suggests, these photos are taken anytime during the last hour before sunset (AKA golden hour). This time of day usually has the best light for photos and will most likely result in your favourite photos from your wedding day. With the sun so low to the horizon, shadows become soft and non-existent, creating a beautiful, even, golden light that gives your photos a magical, romantic look to them. Not to mention this light is incredibly flattering! 

The only thing is that sunset usually occurs during your reception. It can take as little as 10-15 minutes to get some amazing portraits of just the two of you, so if you can squeeze these in sometime during your reception, DO IT. 

To find out what time the sun will set on your wedding day, simply type in your wedding date and location into Google e.g. (7 October 2022, Melbourne Australia sunset time). Alternatively, head to this website:

https://www.sunrise-and-sunset.com/en/sun/australia/melbourne

And that’s a wrap! As mentioned above, this is just a general guide for your wedding day and can be adjusted to suit your unique day and photography needs. There are certainly no rules about how you should schedule your day! Hopefully this guide has given you a better idea of what to expect and it can get you developing your own wedding day timeline!

If you’d like to download your own copy of this timeline, simply click here.