A good wedding day timeline starts from the ceremony time and works outwards. Allow about ninety minutes of getting ready before you leave, fifteen minutes of confetti and congratulations straight after the ceremony, twenty to thirty minutes for family groups and twenty minutes for the two of you, then follow the venue’s plan for the meal, speeches and first dance. Leave fifteen spare minutes after the ceremony, because something always runs late.
The venue, the caterers and the registrar set the fixed points. The photographs usually get squeezed into whatever gaps are left, and that’s where days start to feel rushed. A few decisions about timing make a bigger difference to the photographs than anything else, and they cost nothing.
How long each part actually needs
These are planning allowances, not rules. Your day might need more or less, but they’re a sensible starting point.
- Getting ready: about ninety minutes of coverage before you leave is usually plenty. Earlier than that and there isn’t much happening yet.
- Travel: whatever the journey takes, plus fifteen minutes. Cars, traffic and photographs on the doorstep all take longer than expected.
- The ceremony: your registrar or celebrant will tell you how long to allow. Ask them, rather than guessing.
- Straight after the ceremony: leave at least fifteen minutes for congratulations and confetti before anyone tries to organise anything. This is often the best part of the day for natural photographs.
- Family and group photographs: once everyone is in the right place, each group is quick. A short, agreed list of eight to ten groups fits into around twenty to thirty minutes. A long list without a plan can take an hour.
- Photographs of the two of you: twenty minutes is enough for a relaxed set if I already know where we’re going. Split it into two short sessions if you can.
- Speeches, first dance and the evening: follow the venue’s plan. The first dance and a few songs afterwards is usually where coverage ends.
An example full day
Here’s how that might look with a 2pm ceremony at one venue. It’s an example to adjust, not a template to follow.
- 11.30: photographer arrives, photographs the venue and details, then joins getting ready.
- 12.30: getting ready, final touches, people arriving.
- 1.45: guests seated.
- 2.00: ceremony.
- 2.30: confetti, congratulations, drinks.
- 3.00: family and group photographs, from an agreed list.
- 3.30: twenty minutes for the two of you, then back to your guests.
- 4.30: wedding breakfast.
- 6.30: speeches, if they’re after the meal.
- Golden hour: ten minutes outside if the light is good.
- 8.00: first dance, a few songs, then coverage ends.
That’s roughly eight and a half hours of photography. If you’d rather start at the ceremony or finish after the meal, the hours drop accordingly. There’s more on that in how many hours of wedding photography you need.
An example short day
A registry office or civil ceremony needs much less. Something like this works well:
- 30 minutes before: arrivals outside the venue, guests, the two of you arriving.
- The ceremony: photographed within the registrar’s rules for that room.
- Straight after: confetti and congratulations on the steps.
- Next 20 minutes: a handful of family groups.
- Next 20 to 30 minutes: a short walk somewhere nearby for photographs of the two of you.
Two to three hours covers all of that comfortably. If you’re heading on to a meal or a party, add the hours you want covered there.
If the ceremony and reception are in different places
Two venues add a block of travel that’s easy to underestimate. I travel with you, so whatever the journey takes, the photography pauses for it, and it still counts towards the hours.
It also changes where the group photographs happen. Doing them at the ceremony venue catches everyone while they’re still together. Doing them at the reception gives you more space but means waiting for every car to arrive. Either works, as long as it’s decided before the day rather than on the pavement.
Where to leave slack
Every wedding runs late somewhere. The trick is deciding in advance where that lateness gets absorbed, so it doesn’t eat into the parts you care about.
- Put fifteen spare minutes between the ceremony and the group photographs. If nothing slips, you get more time with your guests.
- Don’t schedule the couple photographs right before the meal. If they overrun, the kitchen is waiting.
- Give someone who knows your family the group list on the day. They can round people up while I set up the next group.
Think about the light
Check what time the sun sets on your date. In summer, the softest light can arrive after the meal. In winter, it may be gone before the ceremony has finished, which changes when it’s worth heading outside.
Ten minutes in good evening light is worth more than half an hour in harsh midday sun, so if your timeline has a gap at the right moment, it’s worth protecting.
Share it early
Send your draft timeline to your photographer as soon as you have one, even if it’s rough. I’d much rather suggest a tweak in March than discover on the day that the group photographs are clashing with the drinks reception.
If you’ve got a date and a rough plan, see how coverage is priced or send it over and I’ll tell you what I’d suggest.