example timelines
example timelines
what usually happens, when it happens, and how much time you need
JENNA MARIE
JENNA MARIE
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what usually happens, when it happens, and how much time you need
When looking through, please keep in mind that they are simply examples and not necessarily be what yours will looks like. Every wedding is different and varies in time depending on a number of factors - how big your wedding party is, how many locations you want to shoot at, where those locations are, the time of year you're getting married, etc. Two months before your wedding, you'll receive my questionnaire to capture all the final details of your wedding. From there, I'll work on the specific of your day. I aim to have a timeline to send to you within a month or so from the wedding. Until then, this should help answer most of your general "what time will/should we" questions.
- jenna
Here to answer all your timeline questions.
Getting ready
Jenna arrives to Bride’s location, and Second Shooter arrives at Groom’s location. Ideally by the time we arrive, hair and make-up is starting to wrap up. If something is going to delay the beginning of the day, it’s often HAMU.
12:00pm
Guys leave
Groom + groomsmen depart for first look.
1:25pm
Girls leave
Bride and bridesmaids depart for first look. A great option for first looks is at your getting ready hotel. I recommend looking for one that has rooftop access, that way it's just a walk away to get to the first look! The views are always amazing!
1:45pm
first look
The first look is often a private moment with just you two, me, and my photography assistant. However if you'd prefer people there, you're more than welcome to!
2:15pm
portraits
This is the time we will get all of our portraits in - the girls, the guys, and everyone together. Afterwords, we will do your portraits of you two together!
2:30pm
family portraits
We can take these before or after the ceremony. Most couples opt to do them before so we can use some of cocktail hour to shoot more portraits of you two officially married or so you can mingle with guests! Regardless, I’ll help you create a list of family portraits before the big day. And don't worry, we'll have you done before the doors open for guests.
4:00pm
ceremony
Once family portraits are over, I'll shoot your ceremony details. Doors will open for your guests 30 minutes before the ceremony.
5:00pm
ADDITIONAL PORTRAITS
Depending on what was taken before the ceremony, I may grab 1 or 2 more full bridal party shots. At the very least, I’ll grab more portraits of just you two now that you're officially married! These will all be done on-site.
5:35pm
SPEECHES
I recommend having all of your speeches up front, as that's when your guests are most likely to listen. I recommend having them be toasts (2-3 minutes) versus speeches, which I've seen go as long as 25 minutes before. Once speeches are over, dinner will be served. During that time, we'll tuck away to grab dinner and recharge for the dancing!
7:00pm
cocktail hour
The great thing about doing a first look is that it gives you more time at cocktail hour. We’ll grab some pictures of your guests while you enjoy the hour. For the second half of cocktail hour, I'll disappear to grab details of your reception space!
5:30pm
RECEPTION BEGINS
Guests are invited to be seated, and then we work our way into introductions around 6:45pm, cake cutting, and your first dance.
6:30pm
Dancing
If you have special dances, those will happen first. Then the dance floor will open up!
8:15pm
JENNA DEPARTS
I usually recommend we end coverage about 20-30 minutes into open dance. During that time, I am on the dance floor dancing with your guests and getting so many dance moves! Anything longer usually results in a bit of redundant photos (we only have so many dance moves). And sooner or later they end up being photos of super drunk people, which aren't nearly as flattering of photos.
8:45pm
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example timelines
Getting ready
Jenna arrives to Bride’s location, and Second Shooter arrives at Groom’s location. Ideally by the time we arrive, hair and make-up is starting to wrap up. If something is going to delay the beginning of the day, it’s often HAMU.
1:00pm
Guys leave
Groom and groomsmen depart for groomsmen only photos
2:25pm
Girls leave
Bride and bridesmaids depart for bridesmaids only photos .
2:45pm
ceremony
I shoot details of the ceremony space 35 minutes before the ceremony starts. Guests will start arriving about 30 minutes before.
5:00pm
Family portraits
We do family portraits right after the ceremony because everyone you need will be easy to grab. If you can give your family notice that we’ll be taking pictures immediately after the ceremony, that will also ensure that no one wanders off. I’ll help you create a list of family portraits before the big day.
5:35pm
portraits
Our time is very limited in this scenario for portraits. We'll take a quick group shot, then focus on portraits of just you two.
6:00pm
cocktail hour
We will have no coverage of this part of the day, as we're using this time for portraits.
5:30pm
SPEECHES
I recommend having all of your speeches up front, as that's when your guests are most likely to listen. I recommend having them be toasts (2-3 minutes) versus speeches, which I've seen go as long as 25 minutes before. Once speeches are over, dinner will be served. During that time, we'll tuck away to grab dinner and recharge for the dancing!
7:00pm
JENNA DEPARTS
I usually recommend we end coverage about 20-30 minutes into open dance. During that time, I am on the dance floor dancing with your guests and getting so many dance moves! Anything longer usually results in a bit of redundant photos (we only have so many dance moves). And sooner or later they end up being photos of super drunk people, which aren't nearly as flattering of photos.
8:45pm
reception begins
Guests are invited to be seated, and then we work our way into introductions around 6:45pm, cake cutting, and your first dance. Also please note that reception details will not be captured, as I do that during cocktail hour. And in this scenario, we'll be using cocktail hour time for portraits.
6:30pm
DANCING BEGINS
If you have special dances, those will happen first. Then the dance floor will open up!
8:15pm
EXAMPLE TIMELINE
pick your wedding type
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Getting ready
Jenna arrives to Bride’s location, and Second Shooter arrives at Groom’s location. Ideally by the time we arrive, hair and make-up is starting to wrap up. If something is going to delay the beginning of the day, it’s often HAMU.
11:00am
Guys leave
Groom + groomsmen depart for first look.
12:25pm
Girls leave
Bride and bridesmaids depart for first look. A great option for first looks is at your getting ready hotel. I recommend looking for one that has rooftop access, that way it's just a walk away to get to the first look! The views are always amazing!
12:45pm
first look
The first look is often a private moment with just you two, me, and my photography assistant. However if you'd prefer people there, you're more than welcome to!
1:15pm
portraits
This is the time we will get all of our portraits in - the girls, the guys, and everyone together. Afterwords, we will do your portraits of you two together!
1:30pm
ceremony
Guests start to arrive about 30 minutes before your ceremony. I make sure we're back at the venue at least 45 minutes before the ceremony so I can shoot your ceremony details before guests arrive.
3:00pm
family portraits
Times may shift based on if you're having a ceremony (like this example) or a full mass. If you're having a full mass, then the rest of the timeline will shift back about 15 minutes. Keep in mind that churches often want us out of there within 30 minutes of you walking down the aisle.
3:55pm
ADDITIONAL PORTRAITS
Depending on what was taken before the ceremony, I may grab 1 or 2 more full bridal party shots. At the very least, I’ll grab more portraits of just you two now that you're officially married!
4:45pm
Reception begins
Guests are invited to be seated, and then we work our way into introductions around 6:45pm, cake cutting, and your first dance.
6:30pm
Leave church
Off to a portrait location! This will vary from wedding to wedding depending on if we did all of the portraits before the ceremony or if you want to do some afterwards as well.
4:15pm
cocktail hour
The great thing about doing a first look is that it gives you more time at cocktail hour. We’ll grab some pictures of your guests while you enjoy the hour. For the second half of cocktail hour, I'll disappear to grab details of your reception space!
5:30pm
Speeches
I recommend having all of your speeches up front, as that's when your guests are most likely to listen. I recommend having them be toasts (2-3 minutes) versus speeches, which I've seen go as long as 25 minutes before. Once speeches are over, dinner will be served. During that time, we'll tuck away to grab dinner and recharge for the dancing!
7:00pm
Dancing begins
If you have special dances, those will happen first. Then the dance floor will open up!
8:15pm
Jenna departs
I usually recommend we end coverage about 20-30 minutes into open dance. During that time, I am on the dance floor dancing with your guests and getting so many dance moves! Anything longer usually results in a bit of redundant photos (we only have so many dance moves). And sooner or later they end up being photos of super drunk people, which aren't nearly as flattering of photos.
8:45pm
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Getting ready
Jenna arrives to Bride’s location, and Second Shooter arrives at Groom’s location. Ideally by the time we arrive, hair and make-up is starting to wrap up. If something is going to delay the beginning of the day, it’s often HAMU.
12:30pm
Guys leave
Groom and groomsmen depart for church.
2:00pm
Girls leave
Bride and bridesmaids depart for church.
2:15pm
ceremony
We usually arrive to the church 35 minutes before the ceremony starts. Guests will start arriving about 30 minutes before.
3:00pm
Family portraits
Times may shift based on if you're having a ceremony (like this example) or a full mass. If you're having a full mass, then the rest of the timeline will shift back about 15 minutes. Keep in mind that churches often want us out of there within 30 minutes of you walking down the aisle.
3:55pm
portraits
We will take all of our portraits during this time - so the girls, the guys, the whole wedding party, and then just you two. If you want multiple locations, then we may shift the timeline back a bit.
4:45pm
cocktail hour
We will have no coverage of this part of the day, as we're using this time for portraits.
5:30pm
SPEECHES
I recommend having all of your speeches up front, as that's when your guests are most likely to listen. I recommend having them be toasts (2-3 minutes) versus speeches, which I've seen go as long as 25 minutes before. Once speeches are over, dinner will be served. During that time, we'll tuck away to grab dinner and recharge for the dancing!
7:00pm
JENNA DEPARTS
I usually recommend we end coverage about 20-30 minutes into open dance. During that time, I am on the dance floor dancing with your guests and getting so many dance moves! Anything longer usually results in a bit of redundant photos (we only have so many dance moves). And sooner or later they end up being photos of super drunk people, which aren't nearly as flattering of photos.
8:45pm
reception begins
Guests are invited to be seated, and then we work our way into introductions around 6:45pm, cake cutting, and your first dance. Please note that reception details may be hard to capture. I prefer to get you back to the venue 30 minutes before the reception starts so I can grab those details. But it's not always possible for every wedding depending on how many portrait locations you select.
6:30pm
DANCING BEGINS
If you have special dances, those will happen first. Then the dance floor will open up!
8:15pm
EXAMPLE TIMELINE
pick your wedding type
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ALBUMS we deliver annually
THE NUMBER OF
25
GROOMS THAT CRied. HARD.
THE NUMBER OF
24
MILES WE DROVE LAST YEAR
THE NUMBER OF
15k
COUNTRIES we've traveled to
THE NUMBER OF
9
OUR COUPLES WHO DO FIRST LOOKS
THE NUMBER OF
95%
WEDDINGS WE SHOOT PER YEAR
THE NUMBER OF
25
AT A GLANCE
by the numbers
THANK YOU!
I hope this helped you. At the very least, I hope this helped you feel more at ease having a better sense of the flow of your wedding. I cannot wait for your big day to get here.