** 2/9/12 – I wanted to re-post this again, because I think it’s a good read for those couples thinking about doing a first look and those who don’t understand why anyone would see each other before the wedding. I’ve updated it a little bit  for 2012 – enjoy 🙂

This week I wanted to discuss something wedding related. It’s that time of year that alot of couples have just gotten engaged over the holidays and are starting their search for a photographer. It can be an overwhelming process to choose a photographer because the development of digital cameras has created a whole new generation of “photographers” … but we’ll save that for another post.

When I sit down with a couple for a consultation one of the questions they always ask is about the timing of the day. I don’ t know if you know this but I am also the wedding co-ordinator for alot of weddings haha . Okay – not technically, but when there is not a wedding coordinator I take charge of putting together a timeline for the day on when and where you need to be for photos so that everyone is on the same page. This includes making sure the hair stylists, makeup artists, wedding party, families and DJ or Band know the schedule as well. If you can hire a wedding co-ordinator they are amazing and make my life easier because they take control and I can focus on photography. Even if you hire just a day-of coordinator it’s worth it in my opinion.

Always give yourself more time than you think you need on the wedding day. However long you think something will take add 15-20 minutes.  Everyone has that friend who is a bridesmaid or groomsmen who is late for everything and I hate to break it to you, but just because you tell them all you want for a gift is for them to be on time chances are they will still be late… maybe just 20 minutes instead of the normal 30 though . Or someone will forget something in the room and have to go back.  Someone will hate their hair and want it re-done making everyone behind. There will be traffic going to and from places or someone will get lost. These things happen and you shouldn’t worry, but it’s important to allow a little extra time so that you don’t have to panic and if all goes smoothly than you’ve got yourself an extra 20-30 minutes to work with.

I don’t expect my couples to understand and know how much time I need for photos – let’s face it most of them have never been married before and if they’re not in the wedding industry they don’t spend all their Saturdays at weddings. Sure they’ve been a bridesmaid or a groomsmen, but have never really thought about how the timing of the whole day went. It’s my job to inform them of that and educate them on the process and how much time I’ll need during certain parts of the day.

The first Question you have to ask yourselves is whether or not you want to see each other before the ceremony. I can’t stress enough how much I love it when my couples do a “First Look”. It allows them time to spend a few moments together alone before the ceremony without 200 guests staring at them. Then they can enjoy more of the entire wedding day together. I can’t help but think that if it were my wedding day I would want to spend as much of “our” day together as I could with my hubby to be, not hiding away from him… but maybe I’m crazy.

It also takes away some of the nerves. With a First Look you can hug and kiss and talk about how crazy the morning has been etc. You can’t do that standing at the altar in front of everyone. I don’t mean to sound like it’s bad to wait to see each other either – it’s a personal preference, but from my perspective the First Look is the way to go.

Now with that said, I also love it for photo reasons. Being able to shoot everything before the ceremony (families, couple, wedding party) means that there isn’t that weird downtime in between since all the photos are done and you can get straight into the reception. That time after is always the most stressful part of the day. It’s a tight timeframe of when we need to be out of the church/venue and when we need to arrive at the recepetion. Doing the majority of photos during this time adds pressure to move quickly instead of using this time to relax and enjoy the fact that you just got married!!

This is particularly great for wedding that have the ceremony and reception at the same venue. Even if you are doing a cocktail hour beforehand, being done or just having even 15 minutes of photos left after the ceremony allows you to mingle with your guests and enjoy the appetizers and drinks alongside your family and friends without feeling so rushed to get everything in after the ceremony. For  certain church ceremonies this comes into play big time because we are required to be out at a certain time post wedding for them to get ready for mass. Sometimes it’s as little as 30 minutes after the ceremony to try to do all the formals in the church.

Another thing to consider, which most people don’t think of, is what the light is like during the time of year you are getting married. Let’s take my wonderful associate Allie’s wedding for example. Allie got married on 11-11-11. Her ceremony was in the evening ( 7ish I think –  I can’t remember the exact time) because it was a Friday and that is what the church allowed. Luckily they agreed to do a 1st look and we were able to do all the images before the ceremony.   By the time the ceremony started it was already pitch black outside. Being mid-november it starts getting dark much earlier. Had they not done a first look every photo of the bride and groom together would have had to be indoors or outside in the dark:( things to consider when planning out your day. If you want those gorgeous outdoor shots that really show the landscape or the great setting in which you’re getting married  you need sunlight. Yes night photos can be great images ( I have some I love) but I love them because they aren’t the only images of the couple I have. I also have great daylight images so they have a variety of options for their album that really showcase the entire day.

The exception to this is early weddings. Being a Catholic myself I know, and have shot, several Catholic weddings that have started as early as 1:30. When the ceremony is that early there just isn’t enough time in general to shoot everything before. Which is fine since the guests in this situation will head over to the reception and have appetizers and drinks, knowing that you aren’t going to serve dinner at 3:30. It’s best to make it clear to them on the invite or have the priest announce what time dinner will be so that they know there will be some time in between.

Here are a few of my favorite “First Look” Photos:

So with all that said I’ll post a sample timeline for each situation to give you an idea of what the day would look like. Of course certain factors play in, number of bridesmaids, travel in between ceremony and reception, if you are getting married in November and it will be dark by 5pm etc.

TIMELINE – WITH FIRST LOOK

Hair starting at 9am/ My arrival – 10:30ish (depends on where you are going in the lineup)

During this time I will shoot you guys getting ready, rings, the dress, shoes etc.

 I will pop over to check on Johnathan during this time as well and get some shot of him putting on the tux.

2:45 – All the girls should be ready and Karen will put on her dress 🙂

3:15-4:00 “First Look” photos and formals with Karen and Johnathan -these are the most important shots 🙂

4:00 – The entire wedding party should be ready. We will should full wedding party was well as just the girls and just the guys during this time.

5:00- 5:30 Family photos. Make sure all family members have been informed about what time they need to be there for photos.

5:45-6:30 RELAX! makeup touches etc.

6:30 Ceremony

Any additional family photos will be done immediately after the ceremony in case anyone was running late. I will also pull you guy back out for 15-20 minutes to finish up some more creative shots of the two of you together before you join everyone for cocktail hour.

7-8 Cocktail hour

8:15ish Dinner is served

PARTYTIME!!!

TIMELINE WITHOUT FIRST LOOK

8:30 – meet you at Salon for hair apts (time depends on what the stylists think/how many girls vs how many people doing hair)

10:30-11 I will head to the church to do detail shots of the dress and set up for formals.

11-11:45 Matt and the guys dressed and ready for photos (we will start in the church and then head outside)

11:45 Michelle get in dress 🙂

12:00- 12:30 Michelle and the girls dressed and ready for photos (we will start at the church and then head outside)

12:30-1 RELAX! makeup touches etc as guests arrive

1:30 – Ceremony – full Catholic Mass

2:30ish – 3:15ish Family Photos( please make sure everyone you want included knows to stay around immediately after the ceremony)

3:15 – 3:45 Wedding Party photos and Formal shots of the couple at the church (we have to be out of the church by 4pm)

3:45-4:15ish Just photos of the two of you. We will head outside and do some more fun and creative non-traditional shots. These are the most important to me as they will be your first photos as husband and wife 🙂 I try to allow at least 20-30 minutes to relax and get some great shots.

4:30 – Head to reception where it’s straight into first dance and cake cutting followed by dinner.

PARTYTIME!!!

So as you can see there are different scenerios depending on the ceremony time and number of family photos and wedding party size. No 2 weddings are the same, but this should give a little bit better of an idea of how the day would flow.

And for an added couple of Common Sense suggestions that seem common but it’s turns out aren’t as commonly known as you would think:

– Make sure your hair stylist and makeup artist know when photos start and plan for them to be done around an hour before photos. This allows time for any fixes, or extra hairspray and will give you time to get in the dress and put shoes on etc.

– If your mom/sister/bridesmaids are going to be helping you into your dress make sure they are dressed before you do this. It looks weird when everyone else is in formal wear and mom is still in her PJ’s.

– If you have a huge family (my mom is one of 11) and want several different combinations you need to allow more time for this than someone with no siblings and 1 aunt/uncle. The photos are the easy part, it’s getting everyone there and organized that eats up the time that I need for shots of you two together.

– If there is travel involved from the ceremony to reception plan more time than you think it will take in case there is traffic or  someone forgets something at the church and you have to go back. Or you decide to make a stop at a liquor store for champagne (it happens).

– Most importantly enjoy the day. Things will go wrong, people will be late, but in the end all that matters is that you’re marrying the love of your life. Enjoy that and don’t let the small things bother you 🙂

Thanks for reading ! And if you have any questions or are a bride who wants to set up a consultation – email me at becky@beckybrownphotography.com