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Writer's pictureAFH Media

Wedding Day Timeline Tips | Help Planning Your Wedding Day

Your perfect wedding day comes with a lot of big decisions to make. Don't stress it. As wedding photographers and videographers, we've helped couples create timelines for their special day for years. Now we're giving you 5 of our tips to help you make it through the planning to the partying without even breaking a sweat.


Groomsman picture in blue suits


Wedding Day Timeline Tips


Start Early

Choosing to start your wedding day early is the best place to start. You don’t want to feel rushed or panicked on your special day. Wedding days fly by as it is, so make sure you breathe and schedule enough time to be able to enjoy the wonderful occasion. It is much better to be early than late on your wedding day. Hair and makeup and photography sessions take a whole lot of time. So keep that in mind when setting up your timeline. Create a buffer zone just in case something goes wrong.


Decide On Locations

The easiest locations are your ceremony, reception venue, and the place where you will be getting ready. If there’s a particular spot that you have always dreamed of to take photos, such as, the beach or local park make sure you account for travel time in your timeline. Choosing locations is critical to planning a good timeline on your wedding day.


First kiss

How Long Will Pictures Take?

Talk to your wedding photographer about timing and details. Get his or her advice on how long the various types of wedding portraits will take. On average wedding party portraits take about 45 minutes, family portraits around 45 minutes, and couple portraits range from 30 minutes to an hour.

Note if you’re having a “first look moment,” all of these can be completed before the ceremony. If you’re not having a “first look moment,” you can still take separate family portraits, and photos of the bridesmaids and groomsmen before the ceremony, but any portraits with the couple together will be taken during cocktail hour. Your wedding photographer will be able to walk you through the exact timing of pictures.


Nighttime wedding couple pictures

Talk To The Experts

If you get stuck or have any questions just talk to the experts. Reach out to your wedding planner and venue event manager, they are your go to source. They’ll have a good idea of how to plan out the day based on their experience, and know how to adjust your vision to fit the realities of time. Here at AFH Media, we offer wedding timeline help to all of our couple's, complementary.


Share Your Timeline

Distribute your timeline, once it's completed, to all of your vendors and important wedding party members and family. It's also a good idea to have one person be in charge of the timeline and making sure that the day stays on track. Usually, the photographer will be in charge of the day to make sure that they get all of the images that are important to you. The DJ is also great at timeline keeping (or should be). If you feel comfortable putting the job on one of your bridal party or family members, make sure you trust them to stay sober enough to keep the day on track and keep people in line.


As mentioned above, AFH Media, LLC will help it's wedding photography and videography couples create their wedding day timeline. It's our job. It's what we do, wedding after wedding. We'd love to help you plan and capture your special day!




5 Comments


Brandi Price
Brandi Price
Jul 20, 2022

Having a nice, organized timeline ahead of the wedding day helps so much in keeping the stress level at a minimum on the big day! Great tips for engaged couples to consider when preparing for their wedding day.

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Michelle Robertson
Michelle Robertson
Jul 19, 2022

What a great list of tips for your wedding day timeline! The day goes by quickly and you want to enjoy every minute! This is a must-have list for all couples planning a wedding to be sure that their day is stress free!

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AFH Media
AFH Media
Jul 19, 2022
Replying to

Yes, planning a wedding is tough. The timeline doesn't have to be

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candace miller
candace miller
Jul 18, 2022

These are great tips to keep in mind on your wedding day! Wedding photography can be all over the place if it's not scheduled. Make sure everyone is on the same page and knows where they need to be by giving them the timeline to follow along as well. The last thing you need to be worrying about on your wedding day, is where everyone is for their photos!!

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AFH Media
AFH Media
Jul 19, 2022
Replying to

EXACTLY!! It doesn't have to be one more stressor on the wedding day!

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