Planning Sufficient Time for Portraits on Your Wedding Day
Until many couples get into the nitty-gritty of planning the timeline of their day, there aren’t too many who think about how their ceremony, allotted portrait time, and cocktail hour actually correlate! They often don’t realize that fitting family portraits, wedding party portraits, AND portraits of the two of them into a 30-minute window aren’t realistic. There are many details to consider when planning different parts of your wedding day, and I hope this post helps give you some additional insight into planning with your wedding photography in mind!
Arturo and I always want our couples to enjoy as much of their cocktail hour as possible (or better yet, the entire thing!). We know that a venue and catering are often some of the largest areas of a couple’s wedding budget, and we also know that they’d rather be enjoying the cocktail hour with their guests rather than standing in front of our cameras. Arturo and I also use your cocktail hour to photograph your reception details, which we know our clients put plenty of thought and effort into planning. If you think ahead and set aside enough time for portraits, you’ll be able to have your cake and eat it too!
There are a few things to consider when planning for your portraits: Will you be doing a first look? What time does your ceremony start and end? Will you need to travel from your ceremony location to your venue, or is everything in one spot? What time does your cocktail hour start? What time will the sun be setting on your wedding day (this is especially important to consider if you’re getting married anytime between November and March!)? As you continue reading, you’ll find a few different scenarios of how your wedding day could flow.
Ceremony & Reception in at Venue
If your ceremony and reception will all be taking place at your venue, we suggest doing a first look since cocktail hour will start as soon as your ceremony ends (you can read more about how opting to do a first look benefits your wedding photography timeline (and avoids unwanted stress) here!). If you’re truly dead set against doing a first look, Arturo and I highly suggest extending your cocktail hour from 60 minutes to 90 minutes so we have enough time to photograph all of your portraits. Keep in mind that it won’t just be you two who will miss the cocktail hour, but your family and wedding party will miss a chunk of it as well.
With a First Look: First Look - Wedding Party Portraits - Family Portraits - Ceremony - Everyone to Cocktail Hour!
Without a First Look: Ceremony - Family Portraits - Wedding Party Portraits - Newlywed Portraits - Reception
Ceremony Off-Site from Venue
If your ceremony will be taking place at a different location from your venue, you’ll want at least 2.5-3 hours of time between your ceremony end time and your cocktail hour start time. This will give us all enough time not only for portraits, but travel as well! In the past, we’ve found that most of our couples who are having their ceremony off-site (for example, in a church), often opt to forgo the first look. However, that’s okay because they almost always have 2.5-3 hours in between the end of their ceremony and the start of their cocktail hour.
Ceremony - Family Portraits - Travel to Venue - Wedding Party Portraits - Newlywed Portraits - Everyone Joins Cocktail Hour
You may be asking yourself, “That time seems excessive for portraits. Why do we need so much?” Let me explain! If you have a long family list or large bridal party (or both!), we need at least an hour just for those portraits alone. Yes, you read that last sentence correctly: that’s 60 minutes at minimum for family portraits and wedding party portraits. This doesn’t include portraits of the two of you! When planning time for all portraits on your wedding day, you’ll want about 2 hours. This allows buffer time if things run behind, family members wander off, or if you have a rouge groomsman who can’t be found. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you’ll be in front of our cameras with smiles plastered on your faces for 2 hours straight, I promise we’ll give you a break! This two-hour window simply helps the photography schedule breathe out a little more without the (unnecessary) added stress of feeling rushed.
I know this is a lot to consider and may even feel overwhelming, but don’t worry! Ask your photographer for help in planning your photo timeline (this is something Arturo and I do for our clients anyway!). I promise that they’ll WANT you to ask for their professional opinion rather than doing things on the fly. I’ve been photographing weddings for over 12 years, and I’ve developed a wedding day workflow that has proven to work and be equally as efficient with our time so we can provide our couples with a wonderful day-of experience and beautiful photographs!
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Shaina Lee Photography is a husband and wife photography team serving Connecticut, New York, and beyond. We specialize in timeless, elegant, and romantic weddings while celebrating all couples in love.
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