How to Plan Your Wedding Day Timeline (From a New England Photographer’s Perspective)

Planning your wedding day timeline is usually one of the first points where everything starts to feel real. You’ve likely booked your venue, you’re beginning to reach out to hair and makeup, and the question becomes less about what you’re doing and more about when you’re doing it.

A well-built wedding photography timeline allows things to happen without being rushed. It gives you time to move through each part of the day at a pace that feels natural, and space for the moments that aren’t planned but end up meaning the most.

This is something I work through closely with my couples as a New England wedding photographer. Not to create something overly structured, but to build a timeline that feels steady, realistic, and supportive of how they want to experience their day.

A Quick Guide to Timing on Wedding Days

As a photographer, here is how much time I would ideally spend photographing each section of your day.

1.5 – 2 hours of getting ready coverage
30 minutes for first look and couples photos
30 minutes for wedding party photos
30 minutes for family portraits
30 minutes to an hour for the ceremony
20 – 30 minutes (or more!!) of couples photos during cocktail hour
30 minutes photographing cocktail hour, guests, and reception details
2 – 2.5 hours of your reception, including sunset photos and the dance floor

It might sound like a lot, but my hope for every one of my couples is that you are totally present and in-the-moment throughout your entire day.

If you want to see a real example of a wedding day timeline, you can scroll ahead here!

What a Wedding Day Timeline Is Actually For

When people start building their wedding day timeline, the focus usually lands on making sure everything fits. What time hair and makeup should finish, when the ceremony starts, and how long photos take.

The timeline holds the day together. It gives everything a place to land and creates a rhythm that carries you from one part of the day to the next in a way that feels calm and consistent.

I always, always build wedding day timelines with more time than you’ll need. Not in a way that feels loose or undefined, but in a way that gives the day some breathing room. In a way that allows for real moments to take place without delaying the things that follow.

Hair and makeup will take time. Someone’s missing a shoe. Your mom is buttoning your dress a little slower than expected. You want a second to look around and take it in. That space in the timeline is what keeps the day feeling steady and lets you stay present in what’s happening.

From a photography perspective, that pacing makes a huge difference. There’s space to be in the moment, adjust when needed, and document things as they are, without needing to rush through them. Especially for couples who value candid moments, these “gaps” in the timeline are perfect opportunities for these unprompted photos to happen.

How Many Hours of Wedding Photography Do You Need?

This is usually one of the first questions that comes up once you start thinking through your wedding day timeline. Most of my couples land somewhere around 8 of coverage. It really comes down to how much of the day you want documented and how much space you want to give each part. This also plays a role in how your wedding photography timeline is structured overall.

For a lot of weddings, 8 hours tends to be the natural fit. It gives enough time to cover getting ready, portraits, the ceremony, and the formalities of the reception without things feeling too compressed.

With 6 hours, you’re still able to capture the main parts of the day, but there might be less room to linger. And that’s okay! Especially if you’re spending this time all in one location, and foregoing a first look, 6 hours might be the perfect package for you.

With 8 hours or more, everything has more space. The pace is slower. There’s time for both sides to get ready, more flexibility with portraits, and more coverage of the reception without needing to keep an eye on the clock.

I usually talk through this with my couples alongside their timeline, because the two go hand in hand. The amount of coverage shapes how the day is structured, and the structure of the day helps determine how much coverage makes sense.

It’s less about choosing a number and more about deciding how you want the day to feel as a whole.

How Much Time Should You Actually Plan for Wedding Photos Before the Ceremony?

This is one of the most common questions that comes up when building a wedding day timeline, and honestly, it’s a good one to think through early. Most couples don’t need an overwhelming amount of time here, but they do need enough space to not feel rushed moving from one part of the day to the next. The exact amount depends on what you’re including before the ceremony.

The answer tends to shift depending on your timeline and whether you’re planning a first look, but it plays a big role in how the day is structured overall.

If you’re doing a first look, I usually recommend planning for around 1.5 to 2 hours total for pre-ceremony photos. That typically includes:

• First look
• Couples portraits
• Wedding party photos
• Some or all family photos

If you’re not doing a first look, that window tends to be much smaller, often closer to 30–60 minutes, since most portraits happen after the ceremony instead.

What matters most isn’t just the number of minutes on paper, but how that time feels. Having enough room to move through portraits without rushing makes a noticeable difference. You’re able to stay present, enjoy what’s happening, and ease into the ceremony rather than feeling like you’re catching your breath walking down the aisle.

The One Thing I Always Recommend (And Why It Matters)

If there’s one thing I always build into a wedding day timeline, it’s a little more time than you think you need. Not in a way that stretches the day out unnecessarily, but in a way that gives everything space to happen without pressure.

I want you to feel pampered when you’re getting hair and makeup done. I want you to take in the moment when you put your dress on. Family gathers, people are stepping in and out and saying hello. and then, there are smaller moments woven throughout the day that are worth having time for.

If there was ONE reason for adding extra time into your timeline, it’s not so things don’t run late or so the guests are standing around – no. Everything will fall into place regardless, truly. Rather, it’s for the candid, real, moments. To have time on your wedding day to enjoy real, unprompted moments with the people you love most is so worth it. And then to have those documented forever for you is priceless.

When there’s room for that, the day feels steady and changes how you experience it. You’re not moving through the day with the sense that you need to keep up. There’s time to pause, to look around, to be with the people you love.

From a wedding photography perspective, that extra space allows everything to be documented in a more natural way. There’s time to adjust when needed, and time to pay attention to what’s happening instead of working quickly to stay on schedule.

I’ve found that when the timeline has that built-in breathing room, everything flows better. And it tends to hold up better as the day goes on! 

How Much Buffer Time Should You Build Into Your Wedding Day Timeline?

If there’s one thing that consistently changes how a wedding day feels, it’s buffer time. Not in a way that stretches the day out, but in small pockets throughout the timeline that give everything a little room to breathe. I usually recommend building in an extra 20 minutes around key transitions, especially getting ready, travel, and before the ceremony. I also add time to the ceremony, in case guest arrival causes a later start, and during the reception to account for longer speeches, dinner service, etc.

Those small pockets of time make a bigger difference than people expect. They’re what allow the day to stay steady when something takes a little longer, when people need a moment, or when you just want to pause and take it all in.

Without that built in, timelines can start to feel like you’re moving from one thing straight into the next. With it, everything has a bit more ease to it.

From a wedding photography perspective, this is also what allows moments to unfold naturally. There’s time to adjust, to notice what’s happening, and to document things without needing to rush through them.

It’s one of the simplest shifts you can make to your wedding day timeline, and one of the ones that has the biggest impact.

A Real Example Wedding Day Timeline (8-Hour Summer Wedding in New England)

It can be helpful to see how this looks in practice. This is a general example of how I might structure an 8-hour wedding day timeline in New England during the summer.

No two timelines end up looking exactly the same, but this is a rhythm I come back to often. It tends to feel balanced, gives each part of the day enough space, and leaves a little room for you to take the time you need.

Example Timeline:

• 1:30 – Photography coverage begins (venue, details, flat lay)
• 2:15 – Hair and makeup complete
• 3:00 – Getting into dress
• 3:15 – Final touches + bridal portraits
• 3:30 – First look + couples portraits
• 4:00 – Wedding party portraits
• 4:30 – Family portraits
• 5:00 – Guest arrival/couple goes in for touchups
• 5:30 – Ceremony
• 6:00 – Cocktail hour + remaining photos
• 7:00 – Reception begins (entrances, dinner, toasts)
• 8:15 – Sunset portraits
• 8:45 – Open dance floor
• 9:30 – Photography coverage ends

A timeline like this keeps the day moving at a steady pace without feeling tight. There’s space for portraits earlier on, which means you can step into cocktail hour a little more freely, and a short window later for sunset photos when the light settles in.

It also leaves room for the day to shift a bit. Things run a few minutes over, someone needs a second, something takes longer than expected. The timeline holds it without anything feeling thrown off. I’ve included additional time in almost every single section of that timeline, but it doesn’t feel empty. It feels full and free and natural all together.

What Actually Affects Your Wedding Day Timeline (From a Photographer’s Perspective)

There are a few pieces that shape how a wedding day timeline comes together. None of them feels like a big deal on their own, but when you look at the day as a whole, you start to see how everything connects.

This is usually what I’m thinking through as I build a timeline with my couples.

Getting Ready Locations

Whether you’re getting ready in the same place or in two different locations plays a role in how the morning feels.

When everything is in one place, there’s less movement, fewer transitions, and a little more space to ease into everything.

If you’re in separate locations, it brings a bit more movement into the day in a way that can feel really full and dynamic. It just gets mapped out with a little more intention, so everything lines up smoothly. (This is where a second shooter can make things feel especially seamless!) 

First Look or No First Look

This mostly shapes where portraits fall in the timeline. With a first look, a good portion of portraits can happen earlier in the day. It opens things up a bit and gives you more freedom to move into cocktail hour and spend that time with your people.

Without one, more of that time naturally falls after the ceremony. It creates a really nice transition into portraits while everything is still fresh. 

Travel Between Locations

Driving time is one of those things that’s easy to underestimate, mostly because it feels simple on paper. Once you factor in traffic, gathering everyone, getting settled, and a few natural pauses along the way, it tends to take a little more time. I usually build in a bit of extra room here so everything still feels easy and unhurried.

Photo Locations on the Property

Some venues have multiple spots that work beautifully for photos, which gives you variety and a chance to use the space in different ways. Others are more contained, where everything happens within a smaller area. That can feel really relaxed and allows things to move a little more organically.

Both approaches work really well. It just shapes how the time is spent.

Family Photos

Family photos are one of the more structured parts of the day, and having a clear plan here makes everything feel smooth and straightforward.

I usually recommend maxing this list at around 10 combinations. It keeps things moving at a good pace and gives you more time to step back into the rest of your day. I will make sure we have a list of family portraits ahead of time so that on your wedding day, we can rapid fire through these with ease, and no VIPs are getting lost at cocktail hour.

Wedding Party Size

The size of your wedding party naturally plays into timing. A smaller group tends to move through things a little more quickly. Larger groups bring a bit more energy and just take a little more time to gather and photograph together.

Second Photographer

Having a second photographer adds a lot of flexibility to the day. It allows both sides to be photographed getting ready at the same time and makes it easier to move through portraits without stacking everything into one part of the timeline.

It also gives you more perspective overall. More moments, more angles, without needing to extend your coverage.

Sunset Photos

If you’re open to stepping away for a few minutes in the evening, sunset photos are always some of my favorites, and I usually recommend it.

The light softens, everything quiets down a bit, and it’s often one of the only moments where you get to be together without anything else happening around you. It helps to slow you down during the final events of your wedding day.

Reception Events + Guest Count

The structure of your reception helps guide how the evening moves. Introductions, toasts, dinner, dances, it all creates a natural rhythm to the night. Guest count plays into this, too. With more people, everything just takes a little more time, but in a way that feels full and celebratory. We just want to account for that 🙂

How I Build Timelines For My Couples

This is something I start working through with my couples well before the wedding day.

I send a questionnaire that walks through every single detail of your day, where you’re getting ready, what matters most to you, how you want things to feel, and anything you already know you want to include. From there, I build a timeline that reflects it all.

Not just what needs to happen, but how you want to move through it. Once it’s drafted, we go through it together and make any adjustments so it feels right. Sometimes that means adding a little more space in certain areas, sometimes it’s shifting things slightly so the day feels more balanced.

We build it together, but you don’t need to have it all figured out going in (that part is on me!). What I’m paying attention to is how everything connects, how the timing supports each part of the day, and how it fits together in a way so that you can feel present from beginning to end.

The goal is for you to be able to step into your day and not think about the timeline at all. It’s there doing its job, and you’re free to be present in what’s happening around you with not a worry in the world.

What a Good Timeline Should Feel Like

A good wedding day timeline feels steady. There’s a rhythm to it that carries you from one part of the day to the next without needing to think too much about what’s coming next. You’re not checking the time or wondering where you’re supposed to be. You’re just in it, moving through the day in a way that feels natural.

There’s space where you need it. Enough time for things to take a minute, enough room to be present, and enough structure that everything still comes together the way it should. It feels clear, but not rigid. Thoughtful, but not overbuilt.

And when it’s right, you don’t really notice it at all.

Bringing It All Together

Planning your wedding day timeline is one of those parts of the process that starts to make everything feel real. It’s where all the pieces begin to come together, not just in terms of timing, but in how the day is really going to feel as you move through it.

You don’t need to have it perfectly mapped out from the start. Most of my couples don’t. We build it together, shape it as things come into place, and make sure it reflects what matters most to you. The goal is something that feels steady, easy to move through, and supportive of the kind of day you want to have.

If you’re in the early stages of planning and starting to think through your wedding day timeline, I’m always happy to help you map it out in a way that feels clear and realistic.

You can reach out here and tell me what you’re thinking. I’d love to hear more about your plans!!