I need to preface by saying that any couple that books me as their wedding photographer, gets a customized timeline/timeline support. As a professional photographer, my job is to help you source out the best times for light, location, and ensure your day LOOKS how you want it to.

Secondly, it is 100% normal for a wedding timeline to get off-course. These are often the best moments and where magic is created. As your Calgary and Alberta Wedding Photographer, I will never panic or be pushy if your timeline naturally begins to go off-course.

Now, back to ‘How to Build Your Wedding Timeline’:

The Ceremony Start Time

One of the best starting points is to determine what time of day you want to be married. Everything else can be scheduled around this so easily! Determining the ceremony start time can be revolved around the sun, around your guests, around what time you want to begin your reception, or what time you want to summit the mountain to say ‘I do’. This is by far my number one piece of advice: determine the time of your ceremony first.

The Ceremony - starting at 20-25mins

A typical ceremony is roughly 20-25 minutes, if you introduce religious aspects and cultural aspects, we begin to add more time. Whatever you want to incorporate into your ceremony is absolutely your choice! Ensure that you speak with whoever is leading the ceremony to give you estimates on how long your customized ceremony may take, and if you feel it’s too long, how you might be able to shorten (or even lengthen) the ceremony.

Your Hair/Makeup Team - 2-5hours

Okay so now we begin to start working backwards. Depending on if you are getting your hair/makeup professionally done, will start to determine what time the photographer shows up, your dress/suit put on, and what time you ultimately should begin waking up. Sometimes a hair/makeup team needs 5-7 hours (WHOA!) to get through all members of your bridal party, and sometimes if it’s just yourself, they might only need 1-2 hours. Determining this piece of information is extremely helpful in putting together the '“before ceremony” timeline.

Family Portraits - 10-40mins

TYPICALLY (not always), the family portraits follow the ceremony. Some couples and families opt to have this done prior to the ceremony, which again is absolutely perfect! Just make sure you are informing your photographer and any member of the family you wish to be in the photos are nearby. Family photos can be anywhere from 10 minutes to 40 minutes depending on a few factors:

How large each side of the family you wish to be photographed, and how many unique combinations you wish to have
How on-top of having their portrait taken your family members are. Sometimes family members are off doing their own thing, or don’t pay attention when their name is called - this can add some time to your timeline. If you need me to be a drill sergeant and ensure your family members are paying attention I can be (because let’s be honest, everyone wants a little snack or refreshment).

Bridal Portraits - 1-2hours

This is the time where we sneak off just the two of you, and your bridal party if you have them, to take all the fun pictures after you say ‘I do!’. Time can be added or taken off depending on how many images of the bridal party you want, where you might want to go for the pictures, and if you start to get a bit hungry prior to dinner. I typically allocate 35-40 mins of the wedding couple to start (more time is always better for a more relaxed day), and then 20-30 mins for your bridal party.

Other considerations for your timeline include what time your venue needs you to shut down, what time you might invite guests not included in the ceremony (we call this after-party guests), and if there are important details you want included like a first look with a family or your partner, or if you want to include a cake cutting/first dance into the reception!

If you want any help regarding putting your timeline together, please reach out!