Capturing the Perfect Moments: Allocating Time for Wedding Photography

In this article, we will guide you through the process of determining the ideal time for wedding photography and the essential shots to document. This information will help you while you are building your timeline, by understanding how long photographers need for different aspects of your wedding.

While each wedding is unique, allocating time for photography is crucial to ensure that all the significant moments are adequately captured. However, balancing the desire for beautiful photographs and the desire to fully immerse yourself in the emotions of the day is essential. Striking this balance will help you create a perfect blend of timeless memories and cherished experiences.

Getting Ready Images: Ceremony and Pre-Ceremony Moments

The pre-ceremony moments also known as the getting ready images, are often filled with excitement and anticipation. Allocating around 1-2 hours for pre-ceremony photography allows the photographer to capture the essence of your day unfolding. We find the best amount of time is roughly 1.5 hours for just brides and 2 hours for both bride and groom. It can obviously be done in less time depending on your specific wedding. This time can be used for capturing images of the bride and groom getting ready, including shots of the dress, accessories, makeup, and hair styling. Less is not always more, and less time for getting ready images means that there may be aspects that can’t be documented. Usually due to budget, this is the area of wedding photography that is first to be reduced. One hour is usually the minimum, but speak with your photographer about what your specific wedding coverage should entail.

To better understand why you need so much time, think of the customary images of your wedding dress and rings. If we have to find the different details, we could spend 10 minutes just waiting for rings, invitations, and other details. If it takes 5 to 10 minutes to take out the dress and find the best location for photographing it, you could already be 20 minutes into your getting ready images. This is of course an extreme example, but know that usually what happens is there are a few variables in every wedding that will not go according to plan, so the only way to allow for these unplanned events is to allot adequate time for the things you can’t account for ahead of time.

Before the ceremony, your wedding photographer, or even wedding videographer will need anywhere between 15 minutes to 45 minutes to setup professional lighting and perform adequate testing to allow for proper exposure. The getting ready coverage cannot last up until the last minute before your ceremony, and this further ads to the need for additional coverage time.

Once the ceremony begins, an additional 30 minutes to an hour should be allocated for documenting the actual ceremony. It is essential to consult with your photographer to ensure they can cover all the essential elements, such as any religiously significant moments, exchanging of vows, rings, and those magical first kisses as a married couple. Keep in mind that if you are near any guests, they will come up to congratulate you and this may result in a very easy 10 to 20 minute delay before you can begin taking photographs during your cocktail hour.

The Post-Ceremony Celebrations

After exchanging vows, the celebrations begin, and this is often the time when couples want to capture the joy and radiance of their love. Allocating 1-2 hours for post-ceremony photography allows ample time for group shots, candid moments, and those stylish couple portraits. It's crucial to inform your photographer about any specific shots or locations you envision, as they will help guide you to achieve the desired results. A family photoshoot can last as long as 1.5 hours, so why would you only allow 45 minutes for your wedding portraits. These images are some of the most important images, so it’s important to allocate appropriate time. Our recommendation is 2 hours. This would allow for 30 minutes of images with the wedding party and 1.5 hours for couple portraits. This is standard, and would result in adequate coverage. If you also add in family group shots, and you add walking time to the location(s) and delays being congratulated, and sparkle in the time it takes to and fro, waiting for the wedding party to come back from the restroom, and you can see how the time you allotted and what you actually spent taking photographs is substantially less.

Reception Highlights

The reception is undoubtedly the highlight of the wedding day, packed with moments that deserve to be cherished. Allocating time for photography during the reception depends on the individual couple's preferences and the specific events planned. This may include shots of the grand entrance, first dance, toasts, cutting the cake, bouquet toss, and many other traditional or cultural moments.

Generally, reserving at least 2 hours for reception photography ensures that your photographer can document the essential highlights. However, do consider setting aside additional time if there are any unique elements or surprises planned that you want to capture.

Our recommendation is to eliminate excessive time between these moments, because usually everything runs late, unless it’s scheduled very tightly. The general rule is everything takes 3 times longer than you anticipate, however when it comes to this part of your wedding day, it usually takes how long you anticipate. For example couples dances are going to take 15 minutes, because songs are only about 2 or 3 minutes each. And things like cake cutting only takes about 10 minutes, and the cake can be cut before it’s served. The best way to handle this part of the night is to schedule everything and get it out of the way so that you can just enjoy the night with your guests. The main reason this part of the night runs on schedule is because the DJ is announcing and directing the night, and this keeps things on track.

Customary Photographs to Document

While every couple has their unique vision, there are certain customary photographs that are often desired. These include:

1. Bride and Groom portraits: These stunning images capture the pure love and happiness between you and your partner.

2. Bridal party: Include your bridesmaids, groomsmen, and flower children to commemorate the closest people in your lives.

3. Family portraits: A must-have, these images preserve the memories with immediate and extended family members.

4. Candid shots: These capture the candid, heartfelt moments throughout the day, evoking genuine emotions.

5. Detail shots: From the wedding rings to the table settings and floral arrangements, these shots capture the intricate details that contribute to the overall ambiance.

6. Venue and decor: Highlight the beauty of your chosen venue and the effort put into the decorations that set the stage for your special day.

Keep in mind that it’s important to communicate with your photographer what you are looking for, but understand that there may not always be time for every image you wanted photographed, as there are time restraints that inevitably exist. Having more than one photographer can help ensure that you have adequate coverage. A professional photographer will prioritize the images that will affect the outcome in the most impactful way, this includes couple portraits. Some detail shots may be missed if time doesn’t allow for it. But if a detail is paramount, confirm with your photographer that the image was captured the day of your wedding day.

Communication is Key

To ensure your wedding photography matches your expectations, open and clear communication with your photographer is vital. Schedule a meeting or consultation before the wedding day to discuss your vision, specific shots you desire, and the time you have available. Collaborating with your photographer will ensure that they fully understand your preferences and can suggest creative ideas to capture the essence of your wedding day.

It's important that you discuss contingency plans in the event that there is not adequate time to capture everything you envisioned. This includes what should be done if coverage time ends, but there is another 1 hour or 2 hours of coverage needed. Should the photographer bill you for the additional hours, or should they discretely begin packing up when the coverage time ends. No professional wedding photographer is going to end things the very second the clock ticks ten, but oftentimes there is considerable travel time after the event (upwards of 2.5 hours), packing up time, and backing up the images and video, so their night usually ends about 3 to 5 hours after their coverage time is officially over. This means that they do have to be consistent with the procedures they have in place. In other words they can’t have an agreement with one customer to charge for the extra coverage, and then simply waive the extra coverage for another, so to keep things fair, they will have to end coverage when it was agreed upon.

Cherishing Every Moment

While allocating time for photography is crucial to preserve the memories, it's also essential to be present and fully enjoy each milestone on your wedding day. Strike a balance between capturing those picture-perfect moments and allowing yourself to savor the joy and love you share with your partner, family, and friends. After all, it's these cherished memories that will endure for a lifetime.

Remember, every wedding is unique, and personalizing your photography timeline will help ensure that your day is documented exactly as you envisioned, reflecting the love and happiness that surrounds you both.