Don’t Set Your Wedding Time Until You Know What Impacts Your Timeline, from a Photo Perspective!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
The Collection has put together a few photo tips for use when creating your wedding day timeline! That's right, when considering the start time for your wedding day, there's more than just when your venue is available or what time you think your bridesmaids and groomsmen will drag out of bed to get the day started. But that's why we have the experts help us with the details!
From Erin of The Collection...
So you’ve got the ideal location, the perfect dress, the most beautiful flowers and you’ve spent way too much time on Pinterest designing your fairytale wedding that now you also have your dream kitchen designed too. When I was asked to write an educational article for Ashley’s Bride Guide, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about - The Photography Timeline.
This very important piece of the puzzle is often taken for granted. Let me reword that. It’s not taken for granted so much as brides are not given a good, feasible base to build on.
You’ve looked at tons and tons of photographers and you’ve decided on one that you love. Their style, their personality, and their product fit your needs, and most importantly you trust them. Your photographer has an idea of how long they will need on your special day to shoot the type of photographs you fell in love with. As a bride though, you will set the framework for what they build your timeline off of and if they will be able to get those shots you have your heart set on.
Here are four things you should consider when it comes to your wedding photographs and before you send out your invitations!
1) Sunset + Your Ceremony Time
Whether you’re getting married inside or outside this will affect your photographs the most. A lot of couples like to have their outdoor ceremonies at sunset during the summer, it’s cooler for their guests and it is also more romantic! When you check the time for sunset, realize that the time shown means it will be dark, not becoming dark. If you are not doing any photographs after your ceremony, and you want to have your ceremony at sunset, I would recommend starting your ceremony no later than one hour before. A typical ceremony is usually around 30 minutes and there will still plenty of light for your photographer.
If you are getting married inside, depending on your location, your photographer may not be allowed to use flash during the ceremony. While cameras have come a long way, your photographs are going to look a lot prettier if there is some sort of light source. If the location you're using has stage lighting or overhead lighting, that might be enough. If you’re concerned, discuss the lighting setup with your photographer before you set your ceremony time.
2) Not Seeing Each Other Before
I will never tell my clients that they need to see each other before the ceremony, but this is an important timeline discussion. I know how much time I need for each portion of the day to shoot what my clients expect and how to achieve it in the least stressful way possible. If a bride and groom decide to wait to see each other until the ceremony, to get the photographs that my clients expect from me after the ceremony I typically need an hour and a half. Here is how that time breaks down.
Every photographer is different, but I like to have at least 30 minutes for full family photographs, 30 minutes for full bridal party photographs, and at least 30 minutes for bride and groom photographs. My clients tend to hire me because for the most part, I photograph in natural light; therefore, I prefer to start shooting 2 hours before sunset. I want to be done shooting 30 minutes before it’s dark. Having this amount of time, takes a lot of stress out of the photographs and gives us more time to make the most of your images. If you're rushed your body will show it - either you won't look at the camera or your body will appear tense. I try hard to make even those rushed moments fun, but it always helps to have a few extra minutes!
While we are on the topic of stress, you may also want to schedule a cocktail hour for your guests while you’re getting your photographs done, it’s a great distraction for them and you're not worried about people becoming impatient for your presence and for food.
3) Bride's Hair + Makeup
Hair and makeup takes a long time! Especially if you have one person to make you look beautiful and do all of the bridesmaids hair and makeup. The majority of the time I have had photographs run behind is because hair and makeup ran behind. Talk to your hair and makeup artist and ask how much time she or he will need. I would add some buffer time on top of that for reworks, a late bridesmaid, etc.
I personally only need to get 10-15 minutes to get photographs of a bride having her hair and makeup done. If your hair and makeup artist is telling you that it’s going to take two hours and I am supposed to start shooting at 2 p.m., I would recommend you see if you can start getting your hair and makeup done no later than 12:30-12:45. That is if they are coming to you. If you’re going to them, make sure to always schedule travel time.
4) Family Photographs
Oh family photographs. The part of the wedding where you hear “Where is Uncle Bob?” And then when you find Uncle Bob and get him in the group for the photograph. “Uncle Bob, stop talking and just smile.” As simple as these photographs can be, they can also be the most challenging, because many times you are dealing with the large group of people. This takes time!
Gathering everyone together (5 minutes looking for Uncle Bob), getting them in position, getting them all to look at you, getting the 3-year-old to stop picking his nose, getting everyone to stop telling the 3-year-old to stop picking his nose and look at you again, takes time. Some family photographs go super quickly, but you just never know. Discuss with your photographer how long they like to have for photographs and also discuss with them how many people (approximately) you’re going to want in those photographs. You may need to add more time than what is normal. No one wants the church lady getting angry at you because you need to be out of the building and no bride wants the guests to see her before the wedding. If this discussion happens beforehand it can make this area a lot smoother.
Take the time to discuss these four areas with your photographer and planner. My personal goal is to give my clients beautiful images and a stress free day. My timeline is built to do just that. You are hiring your photographer because you love their work and because you trust them. Utilize that resource and I guarantee you will not regret it.
All photos by Erin Lee of The Collection
We hope that all of this info from Erin is helpful and will set your timeline into a day that is clear, well executed. We hope everything about your day is perfect! And if you are now convinced that Erin is the photographer for you, make sure to mention that you saw her post on AshleysBrideGuide.com!
