Building a Wedding Timeline That Works for Photo and Video

Almost every wedding problem we see on the day traces back to the timeline. Not the weather, not the venue, not the family. The schedule was too tight in the wrong places, and the pictures that mattered got squeezed.

Start from sunset

Look up the sunset time for your date and build backwards. The half hour before sunset is the best light of the day, and it is the window for couple portraits. In South Georgia that means a June wedding has light until well past eight, while a December wedding is losing it before six. A ceremony at five in December leaves no daylight for portraits at all.

If the ceremony time is fixed by the church, the fix is a first look earlier in the afternoon so the couple portraits happen in good light before the ceremony. If you would rather not see each other beforehand, plan a short escape from the reception at sunset instead.

What each part actually takes

• Getting ready details and candids: 45 to 60 minutes, more if hair and makeup run late, which they usually do.
• First look and couple portraits: 30 to 45 minutes.
• Wedding party portraits: 20 to 30 minutes.
• Family formals: 20 to 30 minutes with a list, longer without one.
• Ceremony: whatever it is, plus 15 minutes of receiving-line drift afterward.
• Travel between locations: the drive time plus 15 minutes for loading and finding everyone.
• Reception: entrances, toasts, first dances, cake, bouquet and the open floor. Tell us the order and we will be in position.

The family formal list

Write it down. Every grouping, with names, in the order you want them shot. Hand it to one person on each side of the family who knows everybody and can find them. Family formals without a list take twice as long and still miss somebody, and the missing grouping is always the grandmother.

Where video needs something different

Video needs time for audio. Mics go on the groom and the officiant before the ceremony, and a feed from the DJ or the church board gets set up for toasts. That takes ten minutes at each location and it has to happen before things start, not during. Build it in. A wedding film without clean vows is a highlight reel with music over it, which is not what people ordered.

Video also wants a little unscripted time. The walk from the car to the venue, the ring box being opened, the flower girl losing interest. Do not schedule every minute.

Build in a buffer

Add fifteen minutes after hair and makeup and fifteen before the ceremony. Something will use them. If nothing does, you get a quiet moment before you walk down the aisle, which people who have had one say was the best part of the day.

For a deeper look at what different coverage levels include, read what the coverage levels actually mean.

Two locations or one

A ceremony at the church and a reception across town is the most common South Georgia arrangement, and it costs the timeline an hour once you count loading the wedding party, driving, and finding everyone again at the other end. If the family formals happen at the church and the couple portraits at the reception venue, say so, because the light and the backgrounds are different at each and we plan for both. A single venue simplifies everything and gives more time in front of the camera rather than in a car.

The last hour

Decide whether coverage ends with a planned exit, sparklers, a send-off car, or whether it ends when the dancing is in full swing. Both work. A staged exit at the end of coverage, with the guests who are still there, gets the picture without paying for two more hours of open floor. If the exit is at midnight and coverage ends at ten, the exit is not in the film, and it is better to know that in advance than to be surprised.

Frequently asked questions

When should I send you the timeline? Two weeks out, then again the week of with any changes. We will flag anything that will not work.

Do you help build it? Yes. Most couples send us a rough order of events and we come back with a version that has the light and the travel accounted for.

How much coverage do I need? Long enough to start with the details and end after the main dances. Trying to cover the whole day in six hours produces a rushed set.

What if the ceremony runs late? They usually do. That is what the buffer is for, and we adjust portraits on the fly rather than cut them.

32 Productions covers weddings across Douglas, Coffee County and South Georgia. Call (912) 592-3376 to talk through your date.

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