WEDDING TIMELINE – 7 TIPS FOR PERFECT DAY
WEDDING TIMELINE – 7 TIPS FOR PERFECT DAY
Senior Portrait, Personal Branding & Wedding Photographer in Sarasota
WEDDING TIMELINE – 7 TIPS TO CREATE A PERFECT
We all know that planning a wedding can be a lot of work! There’s a lot of advice out there and sometimes it’s hard to know what’s good advice and what’s not. After photographing countless weddings, I’ve put together few simple tips, based on my experience, that will help you stay on track and rock your wedding day timeline.
1) Hire a wedding planner
I know a lot of brides might opt out of hiring a wedding planner because they think they can coordinate and plan everything themselves, but my number one tip for having a seamless wedding day schedule is to hire a wedding planner. Even if you are super Type A and organized as heck, a wedding planner is going to be your new best friend. Their job is to know the wedding industry, help you find vendors you love, and be there coordinating everything on your big day. Trust me on this: your wedding day will run a LOT smoother if you have a wedding planner. Without one, people who shouldn’t be doing that job typically get left trying to fill the gap, like family members or unqualified friends. Ease your stress, let your family and friends actually enjoy your day, and hire a professional for this. You can thank me later.
2. Timeline Is Everything
My second tip is to take into consideration any extra time-consuming details that may occur at the beginning of the day while you are getting ready. Do you have a gift to open? Are you exchanging letters with your soon to be spouse? Are there any special moments that you want to have with a loved one? Does your dress or tux take an army to get into? Scheduling time for each of these things will keep you on track and from falling behind schedule.
3. Allow For More Time Than You Think You Need
Even the most organized couple with the most well thought out timeline can find themselves a little behind schedule on the big day. Sometimes things don’t go exactly as planned. People can get caught in traffic, a dress can malfunction and….as a rule of thumb, everything will take a little bit longer than you expect. Adding an extra 15 minutes to your getting ready time, travel times and portrait time will help keep things running smoothly. If you don’t need it there’s absolutely nothing lost. Sit back and enjoy yourself!
4. Maximize Your Wedding Timeline With A First Look
More and more couples are opting to have a first look before the ceremony. While they’re not for everyone there are a lot of benefits to seeing each other before the ceremony. This FIRST LOOK provides you with a quiet moment to connect as a couple, too, before you make your powerful vows to each other. A first look also allows you to get the majority of your formal photos out of the way before the ceremony. Your photographer will capture beautiful emotive photos of you seeing each other for the first time and then do photos of you together. This will give you a much better chance of attending your cocktail hour!
If you’re worried that having a first look will make walking down the aisle less emotional, I promise that it will not. If you were to look at all of the ceremony images I’ve ever taken, you’d never be able to guess who saw each other before the ceremony and who did not. As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
5. Organize Family Portraits for Maximize Your Wedding Timeline
If not well organized, this could be the biggest time suck of the day! In order to avoid that, make sure to provide your photographer with a detailed list of the groups you want portraits of. Reminding those people the night before where to be and when, as well as asking them not to leave that spot until the photographers are finished, could save you your sanity. It’s also helpful to have a family member (or even one from each side) on hand to find missing family members. Your photography team doesn’t know who people are so they are not the best ones to track down people for family and group photos!
6. Be Mindful Of Travel Time
Unless your ceremony, portrait location, and reception are all being held in the same location, you will have to consider how much time it will take to travel to and from each venue.
Booking a party bus or limousine if you have to travel on a wedding day keeps your whole party together without having to worry about anyone getting lost, broken down, etc…Also, make sure that you communicate ahead of time with your driver exactly where they will be taking you, addresses and all!
When selecting which companies you will be hiring to make your wedding day perfect, it is of the utmost importance that you are able to put your full trust into these professionals. Micromanaging your own wedding can actually cause a delay in the timeline because you have to focus on all the details instead of celebrating your marriage.
I’ve had the privilege of working with some amazing vendors over the years. If you need recommendations for anything, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. I’d be happy to share my favorites with you.
Be Prepared
Even the most carefully planned day can have a minor hiccup or two. Don’t let something like a loose button on the groom’s shirt or a broken strap on a bridesmaids dress turn into a bigger problem than it is. A well-packed emergency kit is a must-have! Things like double-sided tape, a lint roller, safety pins, band-aids, extra bobby pins and a sewing kit will keep your day on track.
I hope that you found my tips for having a stress free wedding day helpful!
Wedding planning, and sometimes even the wedding day, can be stressful but it doesn’t have to be. All of the tips that I’ve shared are based on the experience that I’ve gained from shooting dozens of weddings each season. I’ve seen it all and I know that following these tips will help make your day go smoothly.
© 2022 Aga Ignas|ProPhoto Photo Blog
