I offer all of my wedding couples two base collections for their wedding day! They have the option of doing a standard 8 hour wedding photography collection, or they can upgrade to 10 hours. I get asked all the time what a timeline looks like for 8 vs 10 hours on a wedding day. I’m breaking down three example wedding day timelines with 10 hours photography coverage below!

• One Venue with a first look
• Two Venues with a first look
• Two Venues with no first look

Here are a few examples where I would recommend 10 hours of wedding photography coverage:

• You want more photos, whether it’s getting ready, or dancing at the end
• You do not want a staged exit
• Your wedding is in more than one location
• Your wedding will have a longer ceremony lasting 45-60 minutes
• Winter Weddings where sunset is very early in the day

Remember, this timeline example below is not a one size fits all. Here are some things that can change your timeline that you will want to account for when we make your photography timeline!

• Do you have one venue, or two?
• Are you getting ready off-site?
• Are you doing a first look with your partner?
• How large is your bridal party?
• When is the sunset? Winter can look a lot different from summer.
• How long is your ceremony?
• Do you have a grand exit planned?

These are just some of the questions I ask my couples in their pre-wedding questionnaire to create a custom photography timeline!

Example Wedding Photography Timeline – one venue with a first look

For this example, we are going to assume your wedding ceremony and reception are at the same venue. If the sunset is at 7pm and the couple is doing a first look, we are going to look at a 5:30pm ceremony time to give you lots of natural lighting for your outdoor ceremony and sunset portraits.

To see an 8 hour version of this, visit the blog here! Having 10 hours instead of 8 will give you more reception dancing photos and an exit at the end of the day, along with some more getting ready photos at the beginning portion of the day.

12:30 pm – Bridal Detail Photos

1:15 pm – Girls Getting Ready Candids

2:00 pm – Guys Getting Ready Photos

2:30 pm – Bride getting Into Dress

3:00 pm – Bride and Groom first look

3:15 pm – Bride and Groom portraits and individuals

3:45 pm – Bride with Bridesmaids

4:00 pm – Full Bridal Party

4:15 pm – Groom with Groomsmen

4:30 pm – Immediate Family Photos

5:00 pm – Bride and groom in hiding

5:30 pm – Ceremony

6:00 pm – Sunset Bride and Groom Photos // Cocktail Hour Begins

6:20 pm – Photograph cocktail hour and Reception Decor

7:00 pm – Reception Entrances

10:30 pm – Photography Coverage Ends

Example Wedding Photography Timeline: Two venues with a first look

This is an example of a 10 hour timeline if the bride and groom are getting ready somewhere offsite, like a hotel before the ceremony. This can also be customized if the ceremony location is different from the reception!

12:30 pm – Bridal Detail Photos & Girls Getting Ready Candids

1:15 pm – Guys Getting Ready Photos

1:45 pm – Bride getting Into Dress

2:15 pm – Drive to Ceremony and Reception Location for First Look

3:00 pm – Bride and Groom first look

3:15 pm – Bride and Groom portraits and individuals

3:45 pm – Bride with Bridesmaids

4:00 pm – Full Bridal Party

4:15 pm – Groom with Groomsmen

4:30 pm – Immediate Family Photos

5:00 pm – Bride and groom in hiding

5:30 pm – Ceremony

6:00 pm – Sunset Bride and Groom Photos // Cocktail Hour Begins

6:20 pm – Photograph cocktail hour and Reception Decor

7:00 pm – Reception Entrances

10:30 pm – Photography Coverage Ends

Example Wedding Photography Timeline: Two venues with no first look

This is an example of a 10 hour timeline if the bride and groom are getting ready somewhere offsite, like a hotel before the ceremony. This can also be customized if the ceremony location is different from the reception! This has 10 hours of coverage from 1pm-11pm, and if your reception is ending earlier at 10pm or 10:30pm, we can use that extra time at the beginning portion of the day.

1:00 pm – Bridal detail photos and girls getting ready candids

1:45 pm – Guys getting ready candids

2:15 pm – Bride getting into her dress

2:45 pm – Drive to Ceremony and Reception Location

This allows 30 minutes of drive time, plus time for people to unload and get settled for portraits next

3:30 pm – Bride with her bridesmaids and bridal portraits

3:45 pm – Bride with her immediate family

I typically always do the bride first in this case because then she can hide from any guests showing up extra early

4:00 pm – Groom with groomsmen and individual portraits

4:15 pm – Groom with his immediate family

4:30 pm – Bride and groom in hiding

5:00 pm – Ceremony

5:30 pm – Full Bridal Party // Cocktail hour begins (90 mins)

5:45 pm – Immediate family photos with the bride and groom

6:00 pm – Husband and wife sunset photos

6:30 pm – Cocktail hour and reception detail photos

7:00 pm – Reception Entrances

11:00 pm – Photography Coverage Ends

Example Wedding Photography Timeline: Catholic Ceremony

This is all dependent on where you will be getting ready, and how far apart the ceremony and reception locations are. Some Catholic weddings also have a larger gap in between the ceremony ending and the reception starting. It’s always ideal to get as many photos done as we can before the ceremony, so I recommend doing any family photo combinations or wedding party photos before the ceremony we can! Then we will finish up family photos, wedding party photos, and bride and groom portraits after the ceremony.

11:00 am – Bride’s details and girls getting ready candids

11:30 am – Bride getting dressed

12:00 pm – Drive to Ceremony site

12:30 pm – Guys getting ready photos at ceremony location

12:45 pm – Bride with bridesmaids / Bride with parents & siblings

1:00 pm – Groom with groomsmen / Groom with parents & siblings

1:15 pm – B&G in hiding, guests arriving

2:00 pm – Ceremony (one hour)

3:00 pm – Family Photos

3:30 pm – Drive to Reception

4:00 pm – Cocktail Hour Begins / Full Wedding Party Photos

4:30 pm – Bride and Groom Just Married Portraits / sunset photos in fall & winter

4:50 pm – Reception Detail Photos

5:00 pm – Guests enter reception space

5:15 pm – Reception Entrances

9:00 pm – Photography Coverage Ends

I hope these examples are helpful for you to see what an average 10 hour wedding day looks like! To see examples of what an 8 hour wedding day looks like, check out my blog post here!