A wedding timeline is one of the most essential things - it matters regardless of the size of the event. Every planner has their own timeline, usually indicating the arrival time of each vendor and countless details from the start to the departure from the venue. Definitely , it makes sense and is necessary.
In our examples of photography and videography, you can see perfect shots with beautiful soft light and proper composition. This is exactly why you choose us—for our professionalism, talent, and many years of experience. But the key to beautiful shots is a well-crafted timeline specifically created for the photographer and videographer.
We will try to explain just how important a good timeline is for photographers and videographers and how it’s connected to the final photo and video results.
Getting ready/details
The approximate time: 1.5-2.5 hours
Usually our coverage starts from capturing the details. It reflects the concept of your wedding day. Shoes, rings, dress, jewelry, perfume, bouquet, invitations, vows and other important objects for you allow us to get unique shots. In addition, we often shoot a location/view. Basically, we need from half an hour to an hour to shoot the details.
Groom’s Getting Ready.
We usually start shooting from the final part — when all the groom’s outfit details are ready. We love capturing the emotions, excitement, laughter and joy, so our focus is more on the vibe rather than the literal “getting dressed” process.
We’re not a big fans of standard hotel rooms or closed, dark spaces. Large windows and natural light are exactly what both the photographer and videographer are happiest about.
If you’ve rented an Airbnb for your preparation, make sure one room is kept clean — no bags, clothes, or water bottles around. Choose the brightest room for the shoot!
Please keep in mind that we’ll need about 30–40 minutes to shoot the groom’s getting ready. If there’s more time it’s better.
Bride’s Getting Ready.
We usually start with the final touches of makeup. Think about what you’ll wear in the morning — a beautiful robe or a cute pajama set. It’s always lovely when your outfit matches your bridesmaids completely. Don’t forget champagne, coffee, or anything else you enjoy — just have a great time and fun!
We’ll capture it beautifully no matter what, but for truly cinematic shots, we need plenty of natural light and a clean, minimalistic interior without clutter in the frame.
We’d be very grateful if you could discuss this with your photographer and videographer before booking your getting ready location.
Best time for capturing bride’s getting ready is 1 hour.
First look
We love this touching and exciting moment! We’ll be happy to help you find a private spot where you can read your private vows and fully enjoy the emotions.
We usually mic the groom up in advance so that the most heartfelt words are beautifully captured on video.
This moment typically takes about 20–30 minutes.
Couple session
We usually take a few couple portraits right after the first look. During the day, the sunlight can be quite harsh, so our goal is to capture just a few portraits with your genuine emotions right away.
We’ll need about 20–30 minutes for this part.
Please let the maid of honor or best man know that right after these photos, we usually move on to the bridal party portraits.
Bridal party
We always shoot guys and girls separately and together. Just relax and celebrate it! Right after the bride will go into hiding. During this small gap we will take photos of the ceremony venue, and videographer will set up their sound recording equipment, tripod with the second camera and another stuff. This time is crucially important for preparing for the shooting of the ceremony! For bridal party shots we need 30 minutes.
Ceremony setup/Church setup
If your ceremony, getting ready, and reception are all in the same location, that’s wonderful! It’s very important for us to capture the ceremony and reception decor UNTOUCHED — before anyone arrives, even early guests. We prefer to shoot the decor before the ceremony, so that right after it we can have enough time for beautiful family pictures and cocktail hour shots.
Or, it’s a great idea to have the cocktail hour outside the reception area, so guests don’t leave their purses and jackets on the seats before we’ve captured the setup.
We usually need about 30–40 minutes for these moments.
Church setup
Please make sure there’s available parking lots and plan extra time for traffic.
This is critical: the videographer needs at least 30 minutes before the ceremony in the church to set up the tripod, mic up the groom and preacher, and take a few cinematic shots inside the church.
This time is absolutely essential to ensure your church ceremony is captured beautifully and professionally.
After the ceremony, we always take family pictures outside the church, which takes about 30 minutes after ceremony.
Please send us a list of family members you’d like to include in the portrait shots in advance.
Ceremony
It’s time to get married! The ceremony usually lasts about 30 minutes, or up to an hour if it’s in a church. But this is the most emotional moment of the entire wedding day!
When you walk down the aisle, don’t forget to share a kiss — yes, one more after the first kiss! Try to hold it for at least 3 seconds, and remember that a wedding dip will spark an explosion of emotions from your guests and look gorgeous in both photos and video.
Also, keep in mind that after the ceremony, the videographer will need about 10 minutes to plug-out the audio equipment and the second camera. Right after that, family portraits begin.
Family portraits and cocktail hour
The approximate time: 1 hour
Family portraits begin immediately after the ceremony. Based on our extensive experience, it’s much more convenient if you provide us a list with the names of family members we must be sure to shoot. If one of your close friends (for example, a bridesmaid) can help make sure that immediate family members stay near the ceremony area, it will greatly help us avoid confusion and time delays.
We’ll take some time to move our equipment to the reception area and set it up (connect the audio recorder, set up the light stands, prepare the tripod, and handle many other necessary details). After that, we’ll have time to capture a few beautiful and atmospheric shots of the cocktail hour. We’ll need about one hour for all of this, from the start of the family portraits until the beginning of the reception.
Sunset portraits
Sunset photos are usually the most beautiful ones. The soft light, the setting sun, and the golden background create truly stunning images that will become a highlight of your wedding album. We usually take you away from your guests for about 30 minutes so that after the sunset pictures, you can fully enjoy spending time with your loved ones during the cocktail hour.
Reception
And finally, it’s party time! Here are a few simple but very important tips for the reception.
If possible, please allow us about 15 minutes to capture the reception details, if we won’t be able to shoot them earlier.
It’s very important that the vendors’ meals are served at the same time as yours, so we don’t miss any key moments.
Since our coverage time is limited, please make sure that important events like the cake cutting, bouquet/garter toss, and parent dances take place earlier in the evening if we’re not staying until the end of the reception.
If possible, leave small gaps (about 5 minutes) between these events so the videographer can adjust the lighting (for example, for the cake cutting) or switch lenses.
These simple recommendations will help you enjoy a relaxed wedding day — and allow us to capture stunning photos that you, your children, and your grandchildren will cherish for years to come.