As all my clients know, I send a detailed PDF file that you return to me with every detail of the day including when and where we are taking family portraits/formals. In general, as with everyone, some people are better than others at making timelines. I have seen from the most detailed to “fly by the seat of our pants”. What I can say is that couples that leave enough time between events are those that are the most relaxed throughout the day. Remember you should enjoy the day without stressing over where you need to be next!
For me the family and bridal party formals are a time to have some fun, get the standard images that all your families want, but to do it all in an efficient and timely manner. The hour and a half that my wedding formals took almost 12 years ago are long gone thank goodness! So my recommendation is to always allow for at least thirty minutes of picture time.
Remember that the thirty minutes doesn’t include travel time from church to the reception so don’t forget to include that in your planning. Besides the family portraits/formals remember that the schedule, and keeping on schedule, adds up as the days goes continues. So here are a couple things to remember throughout your day.
- Traveling in your wedding dress: It adds time…why? Because every extra minute counts, once you are in your dress you are, of course, going to be extra careful, which adds minutes here and there.
- Remember everything BEFORE you leave the hotel room: Once you get downstairs and remember your powder or lip gloss it is going to add five or ten minutes for the return elevator trip back upstairs…assign a responsible bridal party member to keep track of all the little things, and keep them all in a little bag.
- Greeting every guest: In that in between time after the ceremony and before family portrait/formal time when you stop and say hi to every guest for 20 seconds, that adds up to a lot of time. So plan a time to greet your guests, either in a receiving line, or during the reception…and plan on that taking longer than expected (especially if you are talkers – or your parents are!)
- Family wandering around: Make sure all the family that will be in the pictures don’t leave at the ceremony. As soon as we have to start hunting down Uncle Mike or Aunt June that adds precious time to your schedule. Assign a family member or bridal party member to make sure these family members don’t leave before they should.
So just remember…it all takes longer than you think…if you aren’t the organized type, find someone that can help you make it all come together so you don’t have to stress the day of your wedding!
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