Stress no more over your wedding day timeline. I’ve got your back with an easy 6 step guide. We will walk through the steps together to curate a day designed just for you.

Let’s get together for coffee, drinks or on the phone and create yours.

I recommend creating your timeline 60 days before your wedding. This way you have all the big details and we can piece them all together.*

* We can make your timeline anytime you want. Eight months before the big day? Sure. Let’s do it!

1. Determine what is important to you.

Make a list of what you want to be photographed on your wedding day. Is there a family heirloom that you would like a picture of? Or a specific guest that traveled a great distance to see you wed? Maybe candid photographs are your highest priority- let me know!

I love lists, so please, share this one with me!

Can’t think of anything? That’s ok- I’ll be documenting everything I can, no list required.

A special, personalized gift from the bride to the father of the bride on her wedding day.

2. Decide if you are going to have a first look

I’m a huge, huge HUGE fan of first looks, and I’ll tell you why:

Privacy- you get to control who witnesses this intimate moment.

Variety- Without the time crunch I can take a larger variety of photos with more artistic compositions. We can slow down and think about each location and prompt through.

Patience- Your guests don’t have to wait for us to take pictures after the ceremony. We can all get to celebrating right away!

Send off- If we have photos completed before the ceremony, then after the ceremony we can do a fun send-off- which is great for photos and fun for all. Try biodegradable confetti, bubbles or ribbon banner send-offs.

All being said, if you want that special moment to be while you are walking down the aisle- that is what we will do. The key to a smooth wedding day is to have a plan and share the plan with everyone involved.

Bonus:

Here’s my new first look/first dance concept: to avoid the awkward ‘what do we do now’ after the first 20 seconds of your first look, I will play a song of your choice over a speaker while you two dance together.

Now you have almost three minutes of privacy- your faces close together, your arms are around each other, and the day could not be more perfect. Meanwhile I’m getting all the angles in silent mode. You won’t even know I am there.

Many of my 2020 brides are jumping on this new idea!

3. Start at the ceremony and plan the rest of the day

Pretty self-explanatory: if your ceremony begins at 4 pm, then plan everything from then to the end of the wedding day.

Make sure to include travel times in your plan!

I recommend cutting off photo and video one hour after the first dance. Here’s why: by this time in the night, everyone’s hair is just starting to come out. We’ve probably had a drink spill on the floor, and everyone is sweaty- not the look most couples want in their gallery.

I also recommend a reception sneak out photo session lasting 10-15 minutes at sunset.

4. Start at the ceremony and work to the beginning of the day

Photo cut off- I recommend finishing photos 30-60 minutes before the ceremony. During this time, your guests have begun showing up. So, sit down, grab a sandwich, hydrate, use the bathroom or touch up your hair/makeup.

I call this time ‘bubble time’ because it’s like our safety net- if we aren’t on time earlier in the day, we can use this block of time to catch up. Rarely do we have to do so, but better safe than sorry!

Last October I sewed a bride into her gown during the bubble time. Her hook and eye broke and the zipper was not staying up. I’m so happy we had the extra time to do that so she could focus on the things that really matter.

Since We know what the end of the day looks like, subtract the number of hours remaining in your contract and (generally) that is the right time for photo to start.

If this isn’t making any sense to you, that’s OK. I am happy to walk through these steps with you. I’m here every step of the way.

Getting Ready Photos at Crooked Lane Farm Colfax, North Dakota | Farm Wedding Photos

5. Review & Make adjustments

We now have a pretty good idea of how the day will go. Now we just need to smooth out any wrinkles or wholes there might be. I recommend spending more time doing what is important to you on your wedding day. If you have extra time to spend, spend it doing the things you love.

Couples Wedding Photos at Crooked Lane Farm Colfax North Dakota

6. Distribute

Send out your timeline to anyone involved in your wedding day: your wedding party, family and other vendors.

It’s a great idea to include important contact information or location information on your timeline sheet. Check out the customized PDF all my clients receive when we work together:

We work together to create your custom wedding timeline. This helpful print off is great to send out with invitations to those involved in your big day.

6 Steps to Build Your Dream Wedding Day Timeline