Wedding Day Flow

Here are some timeline examples of how the day is played out for us capturing your day.

TRADITIONAL TIMELINE

1:00PM - DETAILS + GETTING READY

2:30PM - GROOM/GROOMSMEN

2:50PM - BRIDE/BRIDESMAIDS

3:15PM - RELAX TIME

4:00PM - CEREMONY

4:45PM - IMMEDIATE FAMILY PHOTOS

5:15PM - FULL WEDDING PARTY

5:30PM- COUPLE PHOTOS / COCKTAIL HOUR

6:00PM - RECEPTION ENTRANCE

9:00PM - DANCING

FIRST LOOK TIMELINE

12:00PM - DETAILS + GETTING READY

1:30PM - FIRST LOOK

2:00PM - WEDDING PARTY PHOTOS

2:45PM - IMMEDIATE FAMILY PHOTOS

3:15PM - RELAX TIME

4:00PM - CEREMONY

5:00PM - COCKTAIL HOURS BEGINS

6:00PM - RECEPTION ENTRANCE

7:00PM - SUNSET PHOTOS

9:00PM - DANCING

GETTING READY

TIME REQUIRED - 90 MINUTES

You've spent months planning for this day. You finished the rehearsal last night, went home to some probably restless sleep, and now here you are - getting ready on the morning of your wedding. Your heart is full of anticipation and, surrounded by the people you care about most, you're preparing to marry the love of your life.

Capturing these sweet moments can be one of the most beautiful parts of your wedding day but the anticipation in these photos can easily become visually distracted by a messy room and bad lighting. Here are my tips on picking a getting-ready location and how to prep the room so that it looks as beautiful as the excited people getting ready in it.


FLOW

  • Couple solo shots

  • Process shots of getting ready

  • Bridal party and family photos

  • Reaction photos of bridesmaids, groomsmen, or parents

  • Candids

NATURAL LIGHT

This is the BIG one. One of the first things I do when I arrive is turn off all the artificial lights in the getting ready location. The pulsing colors of fluorescent lights or the oranges from tungsten room lights can make your skin look unnatural and overpower the beautiful colors of your flowers and dresses.

Choosing a room with great natural light will go a long way in making your getting ready photos look absolutely amazing

ROOM AESTHETIC

Natural light is the most important thing to consider as you're choosing a getting ready space, but thinking about the overall room aesthetic is helpful as well. Neutrally-coloured walls free from clutter will go a long way towards making your photos the best they can be, but generally speaking any room with amazing natural light will be better than a great space with terrible lighting.

If your wedding location doesn't have good getting ready spaces you may want to consider renting out an AirBnb, hotel suite, or even doing your final touch ups outdoors once you're dressed (as weird as that may seem, the power of natural light can't be amazing)

HAIR AND MAKEUP ARTISTS

Even though I'll turn off the artificial lights in your getting-ready space, your hair and makeup artists are going to need light. That means finding a space with lots of natural light and letting your cosmetic team know to set up next to one of the windows. This will ensure that they have plenty of light to work. If for some reason the space doesn't have sufficient natural light for them to work with and they usually bring in extra lighting that may affect the lighting on your face in the images.

KEEP IT CLEAN

Even if we have a gorgeous space and perfect lighting, a cluttered background can easily detract from an otherwise beautiful space. Cleaning up extra clothes, shoes, trash, bags, and other clutter will go a long way in making sure every image looks incredible.

DETAILS

This is optional, I never force any of my brides to gather details for a flat lay photo but it is something most brides love.

That being said, If details are something you would like photographed I would recommend someone in your family or wedding party take care of putting these items aside beforehand so you don't have to look for them on the morning of. Find a nice place to keep your clothes, stationery, and other details. Don't put these on until your photographer comes so we can document it!

  • Stationery such as invitation, program, special signs, & gifts

  • Wedding and engagement rings

  • Wedding dress and veil

  • Suits and bow ties

  • Outfit accessories like shoes, cuff links, or jewelry

  • Bouquet, corsages, boutonnieres


MULTIPLE PHOTOGRAPHERS

If you opted into a package with more than 1 photographer, the usual flow would be: Lead photographer (Brandon) stays with the bride in the morning and the second photographer goes with the groom. This ensures that all moments are captured in each getting ready location.

FIRST LOOK

TIME REQUIRED - 20 MINUTES

FIRST LOOK MOMENTS ARE HANDS DOWN SOME OF MY FAVOURITE MOMENTS OF THE ENTIRE WEDDING DAY

The anticipation of getting ready all morning builds into a palpable tension, broken by pure joy and excitement as you and your love finally get the chance to see each other, verbally communicate the excitement you have going into the ceremony, and simply share some private moments away from the prying eyes and unavoidable involvement of other family members, wedding vendors, or excited guests.

Let me be clear here - I'll never try to convince you to have a first look if you're set against it. I want your wedding day to flow as you've always dreamed it and if a First Look would mess that up for you, I won't attempt to convince you otherwise! However, in my experience, First Looks tend to be some of the most emotional, love-filled, and intimate moments of the entire day.

it calms nerves...

There's a lot of excitement, anticipation, and even nervousness going into your wedding and sharing a few moments with your fiancé is an amazing way to calm those nerves, take off the pressure a bit, and focus on what you're actually here to do - marry the love of your life!!

timeline freedom...

I'm a firm believer that 'getting everything accomplished" is NOT a good reason to do a First Look, but the reality is that seeing each other before the ceremony does allow massive freedom in the wedding timeline. In fact, when you opt for a First Look, we'll complete all of the formal photos before the ceremony so that as soon as you're pronounced husband and wife we can sneak off for some private, informal photos with you and your new spouse at sunset rather than wading into the complicated chaos that is the family and bridal party photos. This allows you time to take a breath, grasp the magic of the reality that you're now freaking married (!!), and spend a few minutes away from the wedding guests before the reception starts.

it fosters emotion...

While I completely understand the desire to have that "door-opens-and-eyes-meet" moment at the beginning of the ceremony; I've found that often the magic of that moment is overshadowed by the pressure of hundreds of watching eyes and the "expectation" that you maintain your composure in front of everyone. Even if you're the emotional type, you then only have a few precious seconds to take everything in as you walk down the aisle and then you're full-tilt into the ceremony, vows, and the declaration of marriage. With a First Look, there are no expectations and no limit on time - it's all about creating the space for you to fully grasp the coming reality of your marriage and I've found those moments tend to be more authentic and real. Additionally, First Looks are always completely private - no prying eyes allowed other than me and my camera - so you'll truly have space to just enjoy your fiancé and share some quiet moments

PORTRAITS

TIME REQUIRED - 15-30 MINUTES

Your portrait session can be at any time that you choose! I usually like to do it after the first look because normally I do some portraits right after first look anyway. However, it can be at any time you choose. I’ve done portraits on the wedding day that were 10 minutes all the way to an hour. It’s YOUR wedding day, you decide!

During portraits, I won’t ever just tell you to stand somewhere and smile at the camera. Instead, I use simple prompts to get you moving and interacting with each other. Things like walking together, leaning in, whispering something, or just taking a second to be close. It keeps everything feeling natural and helps you forget there’s a camera there at all. You don’t need to know how to pose or worry about what to do with your hands. I’ll give you just enough direction to create real moments, then let them unfold naturally.

If you want a tiny button at the end, you could add a single line like:

You can’t “do this wrong.” If it feels natural to you, it’ll look like you.

BRIDAL PARTY PHOTOS

TIME REQUIRED - 30-45 MINUTES

While the focus of your wedding day is obviously heavily-weighted towards documenting the unfolding story of you, capturing fun moments with the friends and family you've chosen to stand beside you as you take your vows is also of huge importance to me and I love finding creative ways to capture each wedding party on camera.

FLOW

  • Group shots with the full bridal party

  • Separate bridal party shots (each side)

  • Individual shots for you and each member of the bridal party

CANDID + FORMAL

My style is primarily focused on capturing candids, so the way I approach the Bridal Party images is naturally and intentionally geared towards creating and capturing candid moments among you and your friends.

Typically, I'll set up the entire wedding party for a couple quick full-group shots before breaking out into two smaller groups to capture moments with just the Bride/Bridesmaids and Groom/Groomsmen. These photos will be a mix between formal group shots, individual shots of you + each of your attendants, and candid group shots that happen organically throughout the whole process.

LOCATION IS KEY

Because there are so many people involved in these images, finding an open, simple, clean location with good natural light is hugely important.

If your venue doesn't have good natural light or open space, I'll often recommend carpooling to a nearby park or natural area to ensure that the images we capture don't look too chaotic or complex

Ultimately my goal is to simply capture the personality and individuality of your wedding party so let's have fun with these photos! This is your chance to just hang out and have fun before the ceremony!

FAMILY PHOTOS

TIME REQUIRED - 30 MINUTES

While I spend the majority of your wedding day capturing love, joy, and emotion as it naturally and candidly unfolds throughout the day, I'm also deeply committed to making sure we capture formals of your family. It's no secret that family photos can be the most chaotic and stressful part of the wedding day so I do everything in my power to ensure that this portion of your day goes by quickly, smoothly, and painlessly. Here's what that looks like.

BEFORE THE CEREMONY

If you choose to do a First Look, we'll be able to knock out the entire family formal portion of your day before the ceremony so that you can focus on getting married and the excitement that comes with that!

Doing family photos an hour and a half before the ceremony so that you have about an hour after we finish to get a drink, use the restroom, and touch up hair/makeup before guests arrive.

Parents Wedding Photo List

  1. Couple + Partner One's Parents

  2. Partner One + Partner One's Parents

  3. Partner One + Each Parent Separately

  4. Partner One + Parent + Stepparent, if applicable

  5. Couple + Partner Two's Parents

  6. Partner Two + Partner Two's Parents

  7. Partner Two + Each Parent Separately

  8. Partner Two + Parent + Stepparent, if applicable

  9. Couple + Both Sets of Parents

  10. Couple + Both Sets of Parents + Stepparent

AFTER THE CEREMONY

In my opinion the best time to do these photos is immediately after the ceremony because everyone is in one location. When you travel or move locations, people tend to go off on their own path which makes the process a lot slower.

GET PEOPLE TOGETHER

To make sure that we can fly through these photos as quickly as possible, I usually ask the MOH or someone close to the family to corral all the family in one place so I can explain the process to everyone. I'll then get you and your fiancé in place...and the marathon begins!

During Reception Photo List

  1. Family friends

  2. High school friends

  3. College friends

  4. Work friends

  5. Generation photos

GROUPINGS

I work with my couples ahead of time to create a list of the groupings we'll capture on the wedding day. This allows me to streamline the process on the wedding day and alleviates the added stress of having other family members adding new groupings on the fly.

Please note - I default to the preference of the Bride & Groom on the wedding day. Once we've finished the list of groupings I have, I'm more than willing to take requests as long as the Bride & Groom are on board. If, however, at any point the Bride & Groom wish to terminate the requests and take a break, I'll wrap things up and deny any further requests.

FAMILY SHOT LIST

Siblings Wedding Photo List

  1. Couple + Partner One's Siblings

  2. Partner One + Partner One's Sisters)

  3. Partner One's + Partner One's Brothers)

  4. Couple + Partner One's Parents + Partner One's Siblings

  5. Couple + Partner Two's Siblings

  6. Partner Two +Partner Two's Sisters)

  7. Partner Two + Partner Two's Brothers)

  8. Couple + Partner Two's Parents + Partner Two's Siblings

  9. Couple + All Parents + Siblings

Grandparents Photo List

  1. Couple + Partner One's Grandparents

  2. Partner One + Partner One's Grandma(s)

  3. Partner One + Partner One's Grandpa(s)

  4. Couple + Partner Two's Grandparents

  5. Partner Two + Partner Two's Grandma(s)

  6. Partner Two + Partner Two's Grandpa(s)

  7. Couple + All Grandparents

  8. Couple + Partner One's Parents + Partner One's Siblings + Partner One's Grandparents

  9. Couple + Partner Two's Parents + Partner Two's Siblings + Partner Two's Grandparents

  10. Couple + All Parents, Siblings, and Grandparents

Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins Wedding Photo List

  1. Couple + Partner One's Parents + Partner One's Siblings + Partner One's Grandparents + Partner
    One's Aunts) + Partner One's Uncles) + Partner One's Cousins

  2. Couple + Partner Two's Parents + Partner Two's Siblings + Partner Two's Grandparents + Partner
    Two's Aunts) + Partner Two's Uncles) + Partner Two's

CEREMONY

TIME REQUIRED - 30+ MINUTES

CEREMONY DETAILS

Following your first look and bridal party photos we want you to have some time to relax before one of the biggest parts of your day. This is a perfect chance for us to capture the details of all your hard work and planning for your ceremony. Things like:

  • Wide shots of the ceremony space

  • Signage, decor and details

  • Florals, candles, arches

  • Guest arrival and their reactions

CEREMONY

The ceremony shots are to document the special moments of walking down the asile, candid reactions of yourselves and your guests. Some of shots will include:

  • Bridal Party Entrances

  • Family Entrances

  • Bride and Groom Reactions

  • Ring Exchanges

  • Signing Papers

  • First Kiss

  • Exit

COCKTAIL HOUR

TIME REQUIRED - 1 HOUR

For cocktail hour, the focus is fully on natural, documentary-style coverage. This part of the day tends to be relaxed and social, with guests mingling, reconnecting, and settling into the celebration. I’ll move through the space capturing real interactions mostly. I also love taking natural portraits of your guests during this time, capturing people looking their best.

Sometimes couples opt in to have portraits ot family photos done at this portion of the day. That’s totally fine! Please make sure that your wedding day is true to you. If you want to join your favorite people during cocktail hour, I would definitely recommend it!

RECEPTION

TIME REQUIRED - 30+ MINUTES

For receptions, my approach is mostly documentary in nature. Once formal moments like entrances and dances are underway, the evening tends to unfold naturally. Rather than directing or interrupting what’s happening, I focus on observing the room and capturing moments as they happen. This allows the reception to flow without feeling staged or paused, while still documenting the energy, reactions, and connections throughout the night. I’ll step in only when needed for key moments, but otherwise let the celebration lead the way.

RECEPTION DETAILS

Before guests are fully seated and the night kicks off, this is the perfect window to capture the atmosphere you’ve created. The lighting, the room, the little touches that bring everything together. Things like:

  • Wide shots of the reception space

  • Table settings, menus and place cards

  • Florals, candles and decor

  • Signage and personal details

  • Room ambience before guests enter

RECEPTION FLOW

  • Grand Entrances

  • First Dance

  • Parent Dances

  • Speeches and Reactions

  • Cake Cutting

  • Open Dance Floor Moments

  • Candid guest interactions