10-Hour Wedding Photography Timeline

One essential element for a successful wedding day is your timeline. In a previous article, we helped you design a tailored timeline based on your preferences, explaining how much time is required for each event of the day, providing a foundation to build your perfect day.

However, we understand that planning a wedding involves a lot of work, and time might be limited for you to think about every detail. So, here’s a rough idea that could be helpful. We’ll provide a sample timeline that you can customize by adding your favorite elements or skipping certain parts.

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10-Hour Sample Wedding day Timeline wedding with First Look

Here’s an example of a 10-hour wedding day timeline, including a first look and a 5 pm ceremony. This timeline assumes a spring/summer/fall wedding with 8 people in the bridal party. The couple will get ready and have their photos taken at the venue, without a receiving line. The cocktail hour will last only 1 hour, and the evening won’t extend too late.

11:00 am – 12:00 pm | Bride starts hair and makeup. Detail pictures of the dress, jewels (rings, earrings, necklace, bracelets), shoes, and stationary.
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm | Groom gets ready (with groomsmen or family).
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm | End of makeup for the bride. Bride gets dressed. Candid shots with family and friends.
2:00 pm – 2:15 pm | Bride and Groom First look.
2:15 pm – 3:00 pm | Bridal party pictures (groom and groomsmen, bride and bridesmaids, individual shots, entire bridal party, including flower girls, ring bearer, ushers).
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm | Family pictures (each family, families together, grandparents, uncles, and cousins).
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm | Bride and Groom take pictures at the venue.
4:30 pm – 5:00 pm | Hide before the ceremony.
5:00 pm – 5:30 pm | Ceremony.
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm | Cocktail hour (bride and groom enjoy it, photographer shoots candid shots of guests, and additional guest shots).
6:30 pm | Guests start seating. Grand entrance of the bridal party.
6:45 pm | Dinner starts. Welcome speech from the newly married couple.
7:30 pm – 7:35 pm | Cake is cut and served.
7:30 pm – 7:50 pm | Toasts from Best Man, Maid of Honor, Siblings, or Parents.
7:50 pm – 8:00 pm | Preparation for the dancefloor (flipping the room if needed, bustling the dress).
8:00 pm – 8:15 pm | First Dances (Bride and Groom, Father-Daughter, Mother-Son).
8:15 pm – 8:50 pm | Dancing.
8:50 pm – 9:00 pm | Grand Exit with sparklers.

Things to consider regarding this timeline:

It’s an ideal scenario, with buffer times before the ceremony, assuming everything goes smoothly on the wedding day. Adding more time might be wise.

All events take place at the same location (no transportation needed).
The bride didn’t do any dress reveal or champagne toast with her bridesmaids during the preparation.
There was no first look with parents or other people except the groom.
The cocktail hour is short (only 1 hour).
The evening doesn’t last long (but can be extended if desired, depending on activities such as dancing, animation, games, cigar bar, etc.).
The estimated ceremony duration is 20-30 minutes, not a 1.5-hour Catholic ceremony.
This 10-hour timeline covers the essential moments of the day for most weddings. If you wish to add more events, you might need more hours (consider the 12-hour and 14-hour timelines).

Example of a 10-Hour Wedding Timeline without First Look:

11:00 am – 12:00 pm | Bride starts hair and makeup. Detail pictures of the dress, jewels (rings, earrings, necklace, bracelets), shoes, and stationary.
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm | Groom gets ready (with groomsmen or family members).
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm | End of makeup for the bride. Bride gets dressed. Candid shots with family and friends.
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm | Bride and groom hide before the ceremony.
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm | Ceremony.
3:00 pm | Bar opens, bride and groom do their photos while guests mingle.
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm | Family Pictures.
3:30 pm – 4:15 pm | Bridal Party pictures.
4:15 pm – 5:15 pm | Bride and groom pictures (enjoying beautiful afternoon light).
5:15 pm – 5:45 pm | Bride and groom enjoy the cocktail hour.
5:45 pm – 6:30 pm | Guests are invited to seat, Bridal Party prepares for the grand entrance.
6:00 pm | Dinner starts, welcome and thank you speech from the bride and groom.
7:00 pm – 7:05 pm | Cake is cut and served.
7:00 pm – 7:20 pm | Toasts from Best Man, Maid of Honor, Siblings, or Parents.
7:20 pm – 7:30 pm | Preparation for the dancefloor (flipping the room if needed, bustling the dress).
7:30 pm – 7:45 pm | First Dances (Bride and Groom, Father-Daughter, Mother-Son).
7:45 pm – 8:50 pm | Dancing.
8:50 pm – 9:00 pm | Grand Exit with sparklers.

Things to consider for this timeline:

Without a first look, the couple can’t do their couple and family pictures before the ceremony, which means they have to do them during the cocktail hour instead of enjoying their guests.
If the cocktail hour is short, some couples won’t have enough time to mingle with guests.
On the other hand, a longer cocktail hour allows for more mingling time if desired.
Not doing a first look may allow for a later afternoon ceremony, but keep in mind that time is limited, and you may have to catch up at some point. It’s a trade-off.

Is a 10-hour photo coverage enough to cover the entire day?

We believe that 10 hours is enough to cover the most important parts of most weddings in Minnesota. Most of photographers start their package at 6/7 or 8 hours. We start at 10 hours to make it simple and cover clients’ entire day.
However, each wedding is unique, and we offer the flexibility to add more coverage time if needed.

Who should upgrade to 11h, 12h, or more hours of coverage?

Very enthusiastic couples planning many small events might need more than 10 hours.
Couples who need to drive a lot during the day.
Couples who want the photographer to stay late for extended activities like dancing, games, animation, cigar time, bouquet toss, last dance, fireworks, lantern release, grand exit, etc.
Brides who need to get ready really early and want this part covered.
Cultures and religions with early events, such as some Indian weddings.