Timing Your Wedding Day Timing....It's a BIG deal and what I receive questions on the most. If you have any questions regarding timing of your wedding day, please feel free to contact me at wizofozphoto@aol.com or feel free to call me at (563)355-1418. I would be more than happy to prepare a wedding timeline for you.
When timing your wedding day, the first big question is.... Are the you planning on seeing each other prior to the ceremony? If the answer is NO, it is important to remember that any photographs that you will both be in together (family and wedding party photos) will need to be taken after your ceremony. If you are planning on seeing each other prior to the wedding, we can set up a special moment where you will see each other for the first time privately. We can also take care of getting your family photographs out of the way if you do choose to see each other prior to the ceremony and/or wedding party photographs. Remember, the final decision is always yours when you want photographs taken!
SUNSET TIMES.....EXTREMELY IMPORTANT for weddings that happen in late summer, fall or winter. You do not want to be in a situation where you are trying to get outdoor photographs after sunset. I like to have any outdoor sessions completed an hour prior to sunset. For example sunset is 6:43 on 10/3/15. Preferably you would want any outdoor photos finished up by around 5:45.
Below is a sample timeline of how long it takes us to do photographs for a typical 8 hour wedding/reception. This sample is specific to clients of Wiz of Oz Photography as every Photographer works differently.
1.5 Hours - Getting Ready Photographs - During this time we will get most of your detail shots out of the way. We will photograph the bride getting into her dress and take candids of the wedding party getting ready. If you're doing a special moment, we will take care of it during this timeframe.
1 Hour - Family Photographs - We generally do not take this long to do these, however we do setup and take down lighting during this time and like to give ourselves some cushion if these do end up taking longer.
.5 Hour - This is the last half hour prior to the ceremony. Wedding party is tucked away while guests enter wedding venue. Photographers prepare equipment for ceremony.
.5 to 1 Hour - Ceremony. Catholic ceremonies with a full mass usually will take an hour or slightly longer.
.5 to 1 Hour - Releasing of guests by the bride and groom or receiving line. Depending upon the number of guests you are inviting, this can take some time. Many people are no longer doing this and opting to have the Groom and/or Bride give an overall "thank you for coming" at the reception, however the decision is yours. Be sure to account for the time this will take when timing your day. A receiving line with 200 guests will take approximately 1/2 hour to release.
1 Hour - Wedding Party Photographs - Weather permitting we will normally do these at an outdoor location.
Drive Time - Please calculate any drive time from the wedding to the reception venue when timing your day.
.5 to 1 Hour - Reception Details - We want to arrive at the reception at least .5 to 1 hour prior to the wedding party. This allows us time to get our equipment inside the reception venue, setup our equipment/lights and get detail shots of the reception venue completed before the wedding party arrives.
2.5 to 3 Hours - Reception - Normally we can get all of your main events photographed at the reception (cake cutting, toasts, first dances, bouquet/garter toss) along with some photographs of guests dancing during this amount of time. I normally suggest to clients to put any extra time into photographs prior to the ceremony verses at the reception as dance photos can become very redundant after 3 hours.
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