Wedding Blog
HOORAY! We have a wedding photographer! More on that exciting news soon!
Our photographer will be with us for 8 hours, which led me to wonder if that is enough time for everything. Since we won’t have our reception at a place with lush gardens and outdoor wonders, I want to set aside time for taking pictures in a scenic park. I tried creating a general timeline for the wedding day to see how much 8 hours would cover, but I really have no idea where to start. Thankfully, there are other fabulous wedding websites out there with plenty of advice!
Our own hive has a timeline wiki with links to bees’ wedding day schedules. Also, Weddingchicks has a detailed wedding day schedule that I adore, because it’s broken down into small increments—down to 5 minutes at some points! And it includes nuggets of wisdom like these:
7:10. Salads Plated and Speeches *TIP* Serve salads BEFORE speeches. Speeches that run long make for wilting salads and put dinner behind schedule.
7:45. Entrées Served *TIP* Serve your vendors as you are served so they can take a break and be back for all of the action! No one likes their picture taken while they are eating so it’s the perfect time.
All the little details and increments are overwhelming right now… so I’ll make a detailed schedule later. (Phew. Glad I took care of that task!) For now, I only want a rough outline of the day, just to see what 8 hours of photography can cover!
11:00 Getting Ready
1:00 Skup Svatova (More on that soon, too!)
3:00 Ceremony
6:00 Cocktail Hour
7:00 Dinner and Dancing
11:00 Goodnight!
It looks like we won’t have any professional getting-ready shots or boogieing-on-the-dance-floor shots. We could pay for our photographer to stay for more hours, but I’m not even sure I’d want pictures of my sweaty (ahem, extra-glowy) self late into the night!
Is your photographer going to be with you from start to finish on your wedding day? If not, which parts of the day are you leaving out of your professional pictures?
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im so glad you posted this! i’ve been worrying about my photographer giving us only 7 hours…i too will not have “glowy” dancing pics, but that’s ok! and i don’t need getting ready pics, bc i dont want photos of me without my wedding day makeup anyways 
Very good tips! I have been working on the timeline stuff as well, and just increased our photog coverage from 6 to 7 hours!!
We’re having six hours, but I am not having him take pictures when I get ready. He’s just coming before the ceremony.
Oh, i’ve been looking for a good timeline as of late! Glad you posted this! I’ll have my photographer for 8 hours as well, but fortunately our ceremony & reception will be in the same place, so we’ll be able to have her from getting ready until goodbye!
We extended our photography coverage as the wedding was approaching, asking her to come an hour earlier — to catch the tail end of getting ready — and stay a half hour late (’til the end of the reception). All told, it was a bit over 12 hours of coverage — an exhausting day, but I’m really looking forward to seeing the pics. Could you negotiate extensions with your photographer if you decide to go that route closer to the wedding?
We had 6 hours - plenty of time… but our ceremony and reception were at the same place.
8 hours should be fine - you can skip the last hour or two of the reception - people will just be sloppy and sweaty at that point anyways.
Our original contract was for 6, and we added two more. (2PM - 10PM) This allowed for 1/2 hr. getting ready, 1 hr. bridal party pics then ceremony/cocktail hour/and a fair amount of our reception.
Our contract is for 5 but I may pay for an extra hour. Such is the consequence of getting the cheapest package
We had 12 hours too and I was really glad to have every part of our wedding documented, from the last touches of getting ready to the send-off. I did pay a pretty penny for this… but I was glad, since really my guests didn’t document the beginning or the end (they were to busy holding sparklers!) You might think about keeping your photographer from 3-11pm to get professional pictures of all that you worked hard on. And then hire a student, or photographer who is just beginning to take pictures of you getting ready or any additional ceremonies.
We have a full day/unlimited time, which is good because we’re having a night wedding. He’s also doing our rehearsal dinner and some other stuffs too. Homeboy’s (and his assistant) gonna get tired of us. :p
@Mrs. Bruschetta: We could…and I’m starting to think it might be worth it, just to make sure every part of our event is captured.
@Lynn: Thanks for sharing your experience–that’s a great idea!
@fiftyfootbride: Haha, it’ll be nice to have pro pix of everything, though!
When we met with photographers, one suggested to just the photographer stay for the first 30 minutes or so of dancing. He reasoned that 30 minutes is enough time to get a variety of dancing photos because more than that and they tend to all start looking very similar. He also pointed out that usually weddings there are the “dancers” and the “nondancers” so that 30 minutes will hopefully capture the majority of the “dancers”. I think you’ll be fine!
We paid for just 4 hours with our main shooter to make sure we got the best portraits and ceremony shots. Our second-shooter was equally fantastic, but much cheaper, so we had him for 10 hours (1pm - 11pm). It was a more cost effective option for us, and allowed us to get all of the coverage we needed, plus some really fantastic photos
i’d like to have a photog there for the bulk of the day. so far i think between 8-10. i’m really hoping i’ll be able to snag my friend who’s a wedding photog so it’ll be a lot easier to make happen.
If you are doing an album, I would suggest extending their coverage so they catch at least some getting ready photos and the dancing/grand exit…it just helps complete the wedding story for your album. Plus, who wouldn’t want fun pictures of all their guests dancing and having a blast?
We left out the getting ready shots, and honestly I don’t miss them at all!
I’m hoping to have a photographer from start-to-finish which is where I guess it helps that I have tons of friends that are photographers …and while I want them to just enjoy the ceremony and reception - I really want them to capture the getting-ready pictures as well … and hopefully my mom and friends will capture the reception after our photographer is done!
Hi Miss P, I agree with the first 30 minutes being enough of the dancing. I suggest you have your photog arrive up to an hour later (this would give you some buffer time should things run later than you expect and the dancing starts a bit late). I LOVE getting ready shots and can’t wait for mine, but the photographer does not need to be there for every step of the way to get some amazing shots. Your friends and family will be there with cameras too, and how many pro pics do you want of yourself pre-hair and makeup for your album? I was a little disappointed when my photographer first mentioned that she usually arrives in time for my finishing touches, but after thinking about it, she’ll still get the shots I dream of - dress in window, shoes in cool poses, me sitting in the chair for hair and/or makeup, me in jeans with my hair and face all dolled up, my girls helping me put my dress on. Just think about the getting ready shots you most want, and see if she can get those with less time. Sorry so long - I love sweaty dance pro pics too and want you to get some!
Our photographer did both ends, getting ready and reception. I will say I LOVE my reception pictures all the people with my husband and I having fun…The getting ready pictures…well its people getting ready. LOL!
Good luck deciding!
we were so grossed up and sweaty dancing (and drunk!) by the end of the night, we wish we had let our photographers off early. i haven’t seen the late into the night boogie pictures yet, but I’m sure we all look like a hot mess!
I think 8 hours will be just fine. Can you squeeze in a picture of you getting into your dress at least? that’s the best getting ready picture moment!
We had our photographer for 6 hours, and as the ceremony got closer, I worried that it wouldn’t be enought time. Turns out, it was plenty, we just had to keep on time and everything was great. She was able to get pictures of me putting on my dress and accessories, and stayed for about the first hour of dancing at the reception, it was perfect.
Hey Miss P- I’m a wedding photog and I think you can definitely optimize your 8 hours to get all the best stuff. Have your photographer come for the very end of your getting ready - half an hour to an hour is more than enough time to get plenty of shots as long as you hold off on putting on your dress till the very end. (and maybe wait on your jewels too so you can get shots of your bm’s or mom helping you). And I know others have mentioned this before me, but it really is true that everyone starts to wilt after about an hour of dancing - nobody wants photos of themselves with pit stains and frizzy hair! Just make sure that you get in your dances & cake cutting (and toss too if you’re doing one) in early.
Thank you so much for this post! It wasn’t even something I had thought of yet!
@shelliduke: You make a great point—those are the getting-ready shots I dream about, too.
@LatteLove: Lol, at least those shots will make you smile!
@Jennycakes: Thanks for your insight! Haha, I’ll make sure to do the dances/cake-cutting early in the evening.
We’re having the photographers come for getting ready, ceremony, running away for silly shots, reception, main dances and food. Then about the time when it’s just all partying and all the formalities are over the photographers will sneak away.
I’m on the same boat as you! I wish I could magically stretch time
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Miss Parfait, Chicago
Age and Occupation: 26, Teacher
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Senior Online Consultant
Engagement Date: February 14, 2009
Wedding Date: April 2010
Venue: Signature Events
About Me: I have a soft spot for all things sweet and romantic. Desserts, love songs, sappy movies? Yes, yes, and ohh yes. My fiance and I enjoy singing to our dogs, creating crazy ice cream sundaes, and generally being lovey dovey cuddle bunnies. We also do socially acceptable things like dancing, throwing Frisbees, playing high stakes board games, and taking unreasonably fun road-trips. We're planning a Korean/Serbian wedding with plenty of playful, personal touches!
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