10-hour wedding timeline template for photographers

This is the 10-hour version of the wedding day timeline template. It adds the two things that eat hours: a second location and a sparkler exit. The assumptions: getting ready at the reception venue, a first look on the grounds, a 30-minute drive to a church, a 45-minute ceremony, a 30-minute drive back, and sparklers at the end of the night. Two shooters. Sunset is 8:10 PM in this version.

Copy it, change the times, and send it to the planner before the planner sends you theirs. Whoever sends first sets the day.

The template

Time	What is happening	Photo moment
12:00 PM	Photographer arrives at the venue. Details first: rings, invitation suite, dress, shoes, flowers. Then getting-ready candids on Partner 1’s side.	Yes
12:45 PM	Second shooter arrives and goes to Partner 2’s side: details, getting dressed, a toast.	Yes
1:30 PM	Partner 1 dressed. Reveal to parents. Portraits in the suite, 20 minutes.	Yes
1:50 PM	Partner 2 dressed. Portraits, 20 minutes.	Yes
2:10 PM	First look on the grounds, 15 minutes.	Yes
2:25 PM	Couple portraits, 25 minutes.	Yes
2:50 PM	Wedding party photos, 25 minutes. Full group, each side, pairs.	Yes
3:15 PM	Load the cars. Second shooter leaves now to photograph the church empty and the guests arriving. Travel, 30 minutes.	No
3:45 PM	Arrive at the church. Couple tucked away. Ceremony details, guests arriving, wedding party lined up.	Yes
4:00 PM	Ceremony, 45 minutes. A full mass is 60 to 75 minutes; ask the officiant.	Yes
4:45 PM	Family photos at the altar, 25 minutes. Use a list and a wrangler.	Yes
5:10 PM	Couple alone in the empty church, 5 minutes. Then load the cars.	Yes
5:20 PM	Travel to the venue, 30 minutes. Second shooter leaves first and photographs the reception room before the doors open.	No
5:50 PM	Couple joins cocktail hour, which started for guests at 5:15 PM. Candids, reception details.	Yes
6:20 PM	Guests seated. Grand entrance.	Yes
6:25 PM	First dance, straight off the entrance.	Yes
6:35 PM	Welcome, blessing, dinner. Eat when the couple eats.	No
7:15 PM	Toasts, 20 minutes.	Yes
7:35 PM	Sunset portraits, 20 minutes. Move this row to 35 minutes before the actual sunset.	Yes
7:55 PM	Parent dances.	Yes
8:05 PM	Cake cutting.	Yes
8:15 PM	Open dancing.	Yes
9:30 PM	Last song. Guests handed sparklers and lined up outside. This takes 15 minutes every time.	No
9:45 PM	Sparkler exit, 10 minutes.	Yes
10:00 PM	Photographer departs.

Where the 2 extra hours go

Compared with the 8-hour day: 2 travel legs with loading, 1 hour. A church ceremony instead of a 30-minute garden one, 15 minutes. The sparkler lineup and exit, 30 minutes. A second getting-ready side covered properly, 15 minutes. That is the 2 hours, and none of it is dancing. If the couple wants the extra time on the dance floor instead, they need a one-location day.

The sparkler exit

• Get the venue’s permission in writing. Some ban sparklers. Some allow them only in a fire lane or a parking lot, which changes where you set up.
• Buy the 36-inch sparklers. Short ones burn out before the second line is lit. The couple buys them; you bring 2 lighters anyway.
• Two lines, 6 feet apart, 4 people lighting. One lighter at each end of each line. Sparklers light from sparklers, so once 4 are going the rest take a few seconds.
• The couple walks twice. Down and back, slowly. The first pass is for lighting and for the crowd to settle. The second pass is the photograph.
• Take a test frame with an attendant before the couple walks, so the exposure is set and the lines are where you want them.
• A bucket of sand at the far end. The venue usually provides it. Ask.
• A staged exit works. If the party runs past 10:00 PM, the couple walks at 9:45 PM, then goes back inside. Guests do not mind. The photograph is the same.

The rules

• Every travel leg is 30 minutes plus loading. A wedding party of 10 loads in 10 minutes on a good day and 20 on a bad one. Put the loading in the schedule, not in your head.
• Leapfrog the second shooter. They leave each location 15 minutes before you and photograph the next one empty. See working with a second shooter.
• Ask the officiant how long the ceremony is. The couple will say 30 minutes. A church with a full mass is 60 to 75, and everything after it inherits the difference. See when the wedding day runs late.
• Cocktail hour on a two-location day is 90 minutes. Guests need 30 minutes to travel. You need 25 for family photos, 5 for the empty church and 30 to travel. A 60-minute cocktail hour means the couple misses all of it.
• Ask the church, not the couple, about photography rules. Where you can stand, whether flash is banned, whether you can move during the vows. Call the coordinator a week before.
• Family photos happen at the church, not at the venue. The family is all in one place, once. Keep it to 25 minutes with the family photo list template.
• Look up the actual sunset. Sunset portraits happen 30 to 40 minutes before the sun goes down. In this version the toasts end at 7:35 PM and the portraits start on the minute, so if the toasts run long, the portraits go first and the toasts wait.

Questions to ask before you finalize it

1. Does the church allow photography during the ceremony, from where, and is flash banned?
2. How long is the ceremony according to the officiant?
3. How does the wedding party travel between locations, and who drives the couple?
4. Does the venue allow sparklers, where, and who is buying them and the lighters?
5. What time is sunset, and where on the property does the light land?
6. What is the venue’s hard stop, and when does the DJ’s contract end?
7. Do you want a private last dance before the exit? It takes 5 minutes and it is worth it.