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Ashley Jade

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Ashley Jade

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Ashley Jade Photography | Wedding Tips


As a wedding photographer, I enjoy helping my brides develop the perfect wedding day timeline that not only helps the day feel less rushed and stressful, but also allows me to capture the best photos of the entire day! However, not every photographer is like me and some clients take their timeline into their own hands. So, here are my best tips to help you plan your perfect timeline!

1.) Start with the things you already know – You may already know your ceremony is going to start at 3pm. That’s great, now you can work backwards or go forward and fill in from there. For example: If my ceremony time is at 3, I know that by 2:30 the bride should be hidden away and getting prepared. Then before that, we will be doing bridesmaids pictures which take about 30 minutes, so those should start by 2pm. And so on and so forth.

2.) Decide if you want a first look with your groom – I am a full on supporter of the first look, (but that is for another post.) Having a first look can change up your timeline tremendously! If you decide to have a first look, you can get bride + groom portraits, and full wedding party portraits all before the ceremony even starts. Sometimes you can even take care of your immediate family pictures during this time as well. If you opt not to do a first look, you have to cram all of those images in later. And in my experience, once the ceremony is done, wedding parties are way more excited to get to the party at the reception than hang around for photos.

3.) Do you want those dreamy golden hour photos? – Most weddings I’ve gone to have a ceremony in the middle of the day, then right after, jump into family photos, then bridal party, and bride + groom photos. But did you know the BEST light for portraits is actually during golden hour? Golden hour is about 1 hour before/after the sun sets/rises. (PSA, that’s not typically right after your wedding ceremony, unless you planned your ceremony to be earlier or later.)

So if you’ve seen those dreamy golden light wedding photos, you have to work them into your timeline! We can still do family photos and bridal party photos after your ceremony. But then what if, you head to your reception, eat dinner, and then we head outside your venue and do some final bride + groom photos and that beautiful golden light! I promise you wont regret it! Then, when your done, you can walk right back into your venue into the grand march!

4.) Remember to include travel time – Don’t forget you may have to travel from location to location on your wedding day. Sometimes you can get lucky and you end up on a property where you can get ready, have your ceremony, and your reception all at the same location. And sometimes you get ready at your moms, travel to the church for your ceremony, bar hop with your bridal party, and then drive to your reception venue for dinner. All of these things are great, just be sure to incorporate drive times into your timeline. Also, dont forget you could run into traffic and need extra time to get somewhere.

5.) Use your vendors for help – Weddings are probably not something you do all the time, so you probably don’t know how much time you actually need for hair and makeup, or getting into your dress, or how long family pictures take. But your photographer does! And as a photographer, I LOVE creating custom timelines for my couples. Creating a custom timeline means I can make sure we have enough time to capture your entire day, this way you don’t end up feeling rushed. Hello to less stress! I know how long different parts of the day take, and I can curate the day to give you the BEST pictures! (please check out number 3 again. Sunset is the GOLDEN HOUR for portraits!)

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