How to Make Time for Hanging Out at Your Wedding

Steps for Doing What You Care About Most on Your Wedding Day

A big part of what makes a wedding film cinematic and beautiful is gorgeous portraits of you and your spouse. However, it can be tricky to make sure you get great portraits while also doing everything else you want to do at your wedding, such as hanging out at cocktail hour. By implementing the tips below, you’ll be better able to craft the perfect timeline for your wedding day.

When it comes to portraits of the couple on a wedding day, I recommend one hour. This way, there’s plenty of space to get gorgeous shots and a little extra to get really creative. But how do you practically map this out on a timeline? It’s not something that will just happen without any planning.

So, I’ve got three helpful considerations for you as you think about your timeline.

Build your timeline around sunset. Sunlight and its position in the sky is key to getting gorgeous portraits. To get the best photos possible, you’ll want to capitalize on the available sunlight.

Decide if you want a first look before or during the ceremony. Some couples don’t really care about this, others have strong opinions. From a purely logistical perspective, it is often easiest if you do a first look before the ceremony. That way, you can do all the family photos before the ceremony as well. This will leave more time for you to celebrate and hang out with friends and family during cocktail hour.

Decide if you want to attend cocktail hour. Again, some couples don’t care about this, others really, really want to grab a drink and hang out with friends. Make sure your timeline works for what you want.

Here are some timeline options. These examples assume thirty minutes for the Ceremony and one hour for Couple Portraits.

 

Option 1

  • First Look before ceremony

  • Don’t attend cocktail hour

Timeline

  • First Look

  • Family Photos

  • Ceremony

  • Cocktail Hour & Couple Portraits

  • Sunset

  • Reception

Start Ceremony

1.5 hours before sunset

 

Option 2

(Recommended)

  • First look before ceremony

  • Do attend cocktail hour

Timeline

  • First Look

  • Family Photos

  • Couple Portraits

  • Ceremony

  • Sunset

  • Cocktail Hour

  • Reception

Start Ceremony

1 hour before sunset

 

Option 3

  • First look during ceremony

  • Don’t attend cocktail hour

Timeline

  • Ceremony

  • Cocktail Hour & Family Photos

  • Couple Portraits

  • Sunset

  • Reception

Start Ceremony

2 hours before sunset

 

Of course, you can finesse your timeline from these standards, but they are good jumping off points.

By following these tips, you can make time for getting beautiful portraits on your wedding day while also enjoying seeing all of your guests.

And if all this seems a bit too complicated, I understand. As part of my standard process with my couples, I review the timeline and make sure everything will work well for their wedding film. I provide helpful feedback and suggestions based on what’s most important to them and what will result in the best wedding film possible.

Greg Sanderstips, Resources