Sample Wedding Timeline from a Destination + Oklahoma Wedding Photographer

The more thorough planning we do beforehand, the more you can go on ‘autopilot’ the day of your wedding and simply stay present! I’ve created a couple of sample timelines below to help you visualize the flow of a wedding day as it pertains to photography. We’ll chat about any unique needs/wishes you may have and want to add, and then we’ll go over your timeline together several weeks before your wedding to make sure we’re on the same page and ready to go! 

Based on 10 Hours of photography coverage, here’s a sample wedding day timeline:

12pm- Madelyn arrives and begins photographing the venue, details, and plenty of getting ready photos from both the wedding couple as well as family helping set up

1:30- Partner 1 getting dressed + solo portraits

2pm- Partner 2 getting dressed + solo portraits

2:30- First look and couple portraits

3pm- Wedding Party photos

3:30- Couple hidden away

4pm-4:45 Ceremony

4:45- Family portraits (I will make sure this is organized)

5:15: Sign the dotted line – marriage certificate

5:30- Announced into reception, dinner served

6:15- Speeches

6:30- Cake Cutting

7- First dances

7:30- Couple sneaks away for sunset portraits 

7:50 – Open dance floor

9:45- Line up for grand exit! 

10pm- Madelyn leaves | Party keeps going!

Based on 8 Hours of photography coverage, here’s a sample wedding day timeline:

1pm- Madelyn arrives- detail photos and getting ready photos

1:30pm- Partner 1 get dressed- photos

1:45pm- Partner 2 gets dressed- photos

2pm- First look

2:30- Bridal party photos

3pm- Family photos

3:30- Couple hidden away before ceremony

4pm- Ceremony

4:30- Ceremony ends, sign marriage certificate, a few couple photos.

5:30- Couple announced into reception, dinner announced

6:30- Cake cutting

6:40- Speeches

7:00- First dances

7:15pm- Open dance floor

7:30- Couple sneaks away for 15 min of sunset portraits!

8pm- Dance party

8:45- Line up for grand exit or staged exit! 

9pm- Madelyn leaves | Party keeps going!

Okay, that was a lot of information all at once!! So let me break it down for you.

HAIR & MAKEUP

This is something you’ll want to coordinate with the hair & makeup artists that you’ve hired, but typically a bride’s hair and makeup take about two hours combined (on average). 

FIRST LOOK

As a wedding photographer, I love a first look for tons of reasons! But if you’re not doing a first look, you can transfer this time for photos to after the ceremony! Keep in mind, that you’ll want about 1.5 hours for the bridal party & couple’s photos, and 30 minutes for family formals.

SPEECHES

Speeches typically don’t take longer than 15 minutes, but make sure the people giving a speech know that they have a time limit! Although speeches are super great and sentimental, there’s nothing worse than a best man jabbering on & on & on for 20 minutes about drunk memories!

YOUR DAY IS ALL ABOUT YOU

Don’t forget to make time for what’s important to you!! I wanted to provide this sample wedding day timeline as guidance for constructing your own – but be sure to prioritize the moments that are meaningful to you + your fiancé. If you want to set aside 10 minutes to be alone with each other, then DO IT. At the end of the day, your wedding is your wedding!