How to Make Time For Photos On Your Wedding Day

It’s no secret that your wedding day goes by fast—with so many amazing moments to relish in, how do you make sure your photographer gets every shot you need? Take it from Coley Cook, it takes an expert photographer who knows how to create the perfect wedding day photo timeline.

Coley says, “A strong timeline is so important! It affects the entirety of your day! An appropriately spaced timeline for your wedding day can significantly reduce stress, unnecessary hiccups, and ensure that you get to really soak in the moments that are special. Feeling rushed, stressed, or having everyone confused is absolutely what you do not want—so take time to work with your planner and photographer to make sure you are allotting enough time for your events, travel, and special moments.”

“From a photographer’s perspective, your timeline is going to allow you to select a fluid movement of your events while planning for ideal lighting and set up for your photography and videography. Yes, you want some golden hour photos! They are the most commonly displayed photos from your day. I love helping my couples work through their timeline because I want to have the time to beautifully capture their details and day in the best possible way.”

AKA, build your wedding day photo timeline first, and then the rest will follow. You can thank Coley later.

Building a Wedding Day Photo Timeline for a Utah Wedding

Building a Utah-specific wedding day photo timeline can be even more complicated, but it doesn’t have to be.

“Some things that can be fairly unique to Utah are the many varied locations where we can have our weddings. Timelines are absolutely going to vary according to the best light and temperatures between a wedding in the mountains—like a ski resort—and down in the valley at a beautiful venue. The sun will dip behind mountain peaks and hillsides at the ski resorts and tuck away in mountain locations earlier than down in the valley. We also have four distinct seasons that make a large difference in ideal lighting times.”

With such beautiful natural scenery, mountainous Utah weddings will make your timeline change slightly. And it’s well worth it once you get your gallery back!

“Other factors common in Utah are LDS weddings, which commonly follow their own unique timelines between the sealing and reception events. An experienced photographer will be able to help you set up how much time you need for each portion and let you know what time to realistically expect things to take. If you think your sealing at 12:00 and your luncheon at 2:00 is going to be fine, I think you’re going to need to talk your timeline over with your photographer, because it will not be.”

Take it from Coley, wedding portraits will take longer than you think, and it’s always better to have a wider time slot so you’re not stressing about getting to the next event. You’re meant to enjoy the day!

Make A List of Events and Build From There

A great photographer will know best how to guide you through the day based on what events you have planned in order to make it perfect.

For Coley, building your wedding day photo timeline starts at the very beginning. “We usually begin talking about the initial timeline on our first call to get an idea of how many hours of coverage you are looking for and need, according to your plans that you have at the time. Most couples aren’t sure how many hours of wedding day coverage they need, and it makes pricing and shopping for a photographer difficult and intimidating.”

It doesn’t need to be stressful though—find a photographer who will know what works best with your dream wedding!

“If you aren’t sure, then I will give you examples of timelines so you can see which resonates with what you are envisioning for your day! I love to discuss timeline updates through the months leading up to your wedding day, and if you and your planner make updates. I have a final phone call with you the week before your wedding to solidify any last-minute adjustments or changes as well.”

Must-Haves For Your Photo Timeline

Flat Lay Photos

So how do you know which moments to include in your timeline and make time for? One of our favorites, of course, is amazing flat lay photos.

“Make time for your photographer to gather your details and capture them—meaning your dress, your invitations, your jewelry and written vows, his shoes and tie, etc. You’ll want to give your photographer a specific block of time to capture these details that doesn’t overlap with hair and makeup, getting dressed, and wedding party pictures together.”

“Your photographer will be focused and setting up these details in a clean space with good light that will likely be separate from the busy space where everyone is getting ready, so please allot time to have those captured before the time for us to capture you getting your hair done, toasts with your wedding party, getting the suit jacket on and placing your veil.”

Put simply, every detail needs a time slot, separate from portraits and candids!

First Look Photos

Another moment that many Utah weddings love doing is a first look. “If you are doing first looks with your special people or fiancé before your ceremony, do not forget to frame a specific time into your timeline for this to happen and have a great moment that is not rushed or skipped.”

Travel

Something else that needs a specific time frame you may not have considered is time to travel—moving from one place to the next takes a moment!

“Don’t forget to build in time for travel to different locations, even if it is just walking to the different locations. I recommend adding in a little additional time for travel rather than going off how much time it typically takes with no traffic.”

Don’t let traffic be the one thing to stress you out on your wedding day.

Make Time to Eat

“Be sure there is time built in for you to eat and for your photographer to be able to eat. Note that typically it is easiest for your photo and video team to eat while the wedding couple eats.” You’ve heard this one before—don’t forget that you actually do need good food on your wedding day, after all, you’ll be doing a lot of standing and smiling, and that takes energy.

And it turns out, so does your photographer!

Sunset Photos

“Don’t forget to plan in some time where you can sneak out for sunset photos together! This is the warmest, softest light that delivers those romantic, dreamy portraits that make you wildly excited!”

How Much Time Should I Allocate For My Photos?

Every wedding is going to be different, but if you don’t know where to start, Coley usually follows the same amount of time for each kind of shot:

30-40 minutes for capturing details
30-60 minutes for getting ready images
15-20 minutes for a first look and/or private vows
20-30 minutes for family portraits
30-60 minutes for your ceremony
15-20 minutes for wedding party photos
20-45 minutes for golden hour portraits
Two and a half to three hours for your reception.

And of course, make time for the details! “If you want your photographer to get reception detail shots, it is great to build in 20 minutes before your reception begins, where they can enter the room and gather photos of your decor, tables, reception set up, and more before linens are messy and people are everywhere celebrating with you!”

Here is where it’s important to have a great photographer. “Having personal Zoom or phone calls to go over your ideas and details together can really help us build a timeline together with enough time to feel not rushed and still get the events and interactions you want captured artfully. The more you can tell me about what will make your wedding day special for you—spending time with your guests, getting to have a first look with your dad, sunset photos with your new spouse, your motorcycle exit, a surprise dance with your wedding party, etc—the more we can make sure that we properly allocate time to allow us to capture these moments happening to the best of our abilities.”

“It’s really about open minds and open communication. I use my almost 10 years of timing experience and wedding expertise to help guide you through planning your day!”

People Take Time

Here’s a fun extra tip about building your wedding day photo timeline (trust us, there’s a lot more where this came from)!

“The most common mistakes are not allocating enough time for photos of groups and for yourselves. I tell my couples to factor that for most big group photos (over 15 people) to calculate in five minutes. For immediate family and smaller photos to factor in two minutes. We move through the photos as quickly and efficiently as we can while still keeping smiles on faces. Having a detailed group shot list of what you want is incredibly helpful for everyone. It’s also important that you communicate to your people when and where they are expected to be in photos. Tell them before the wedding day.”

Believe it or not, it takes time to move people around! “Give everyone more time than you think. They will be visiting and congratulating, and more. Don’t expect your guests to ever make a beeline for the next destination, especially if they are driving to different locations. Someone is going to stop for a giant drink order, I guarantee it.”

Like we said, Coley has so many more amazing tips and tricks for building the perfect wedding day photo timeline, so take this as your sign to give her a call!

More is More

But at the end of the day, the most important thing to keep in mind is to include more time than you think.

“Don’t try to cram everything into as few hours as possible. If you want to truly enjoy and remember your day, don’t do a wedding blitz! Take your time to spread the day out enough that you get to have time to take it slow and have quiet times in between the fast and chaotic times!”

“Your day will go by so quickly already; it is absolutely worth it to give your events and daytime to breathe! It’s wonderful to avoid the stress of feeling in a constant rush, so you don’t get more behind or run out of time for something important. Let your planner or your photographer help you! We do weddings for a living, and we love to help you with timing and planning.”

We couldn’t agree more! Your vendors are literal professionals, and their ultimate goal is to make your wedding day as perfect as you’ve always wanted.

Feel free to save this article for reference and show your planner and photographer when you’re building your wedding day photo timeline! Oh, and feel free to read more about Coley Cook Photography right here!