Wedding Timeline: When Should Your Ceremony Start?

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – planning your wedding can be stressful. There is a lot that goes into planning between finding your dream venue, trying to find the perfect vendors, etc. etc…andddddd then once that all falls into place it’s time to start thinking about your wedding day logistics and the timeline. The good news is I’m with you every step of the way and we’ll work together to create your customized photography timeline.

When working on your wedding day timeline it’s important to start with deciding on when your ceremony will begin because that’s the most important part – it’s when you get to do the damn thing! The time you decide to start your wedding ceremony is based on a few key things:

Your venue

The sunset

First look or no first look

The Venue

The first step is to check with your venue to see if there are any time restrictions. If you plan on getting ready at the venue there may be restrictions on what time you can arrive. The venue may also have a curfew or noise restrictions which means the reception may need to end at a certain time. Your timeline may be tighter if you need to end your reception at a particular time, but we can plan around that!  If your ceremony will be taking place at a location different from the venue you’ll also want to be mindful of travel time. 

The Sunset

One of the biggest factors in determining your ceremony start time is the sunset. Start by finding out what the sunset time is on your date and location with a good ol’ google search or sunset calculator. If we’re doing photos after your ceremony (especially if you are not doing a first look) we’ll want to make sure we have natural light for those perfect, romantic, wedding portraits! 

First Look or No First Look

There are pros and cons to doing a first look, but that’s a wholeee other blog. A first look changes your entire timeline because we can get the majority of your photos done before the ceremony; you won’t need as much time after the ceremony for photos and the ceremony can be later in the day. If you are not doing a first look we will need to do the ceremony earlier. Like I said before, we’ll want to make sure we have plenty of time with natural light for your happily ever after portraits. If we can get real for a sec, having a ceremony 30 minutes before the sunset without a first look is stressful AF and not ideal so let’s plan accordingly. 

Don’t let this stress you out! I am here to serve YOU and at the end of the day your ceremony start time is a personal decision because it’s your day and a choice you make on your wants and needs- you deserve to get hitched any damn way you please! We’ll work together to create the perfect timeline for your fairytale wedding. 

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