Throughout my experience photographing weddings, I have created an ideal wedding timeline to aid in my wedding clients’ planning. This wedding day timeline allows ample time to document the main events of the day, while making the best use of time and lighting. I have included two ideal timelines: one for a wedding which includes a first look before the ceremony, and the second a more traditional timeline. Lisa Catherine brides receive help arranging their timelines as well as a detailed photography timeline for their wedding day to ensure the day runs seamlessly.
'First Look' before Ceremony
60 minutes - Bridal pre-ceremony details. Photojournalistic captures of the bride getting ready towards the end of her hair and makeup. Details of the dress, jewelry, and other special attire.
30 minutes - Captures of the bride getting into her gown and a few styled bridal portraits.
15 minutes - First look with bride and groom
30 minutes - Bridal party portraits
30 - 60 minutes - Ceremony
30 minutes - Family portraits
60 minutes (during cocktail hour) - 15 - 30 minutes to capture reception space free of guests. Portraits of the bride and groom and any remaining images of the bridal party.
Sunset - 15 minutes of bride and groom portraits using the best light of the day.
Reception - Discussed timeframe depending on wedding package selected. Photojournalistic captures of reception events.
Traditional
60 minutes - Bridal pre-ceremony details. Photojournalistic captures of the bride getting ready towards the end of her hair and makeup. Details of the dress, jewelry, and other special attire.
30 minutes - Captures of the bride getting into her gown and a few styled bridal portraits.
30 - 60 minutes - Ceremony
30 minutes - Family Portraits
90 minutes - 30 minutes of bridal party portraits, 45 minutes of bride and groom portraits, 15 minutes to capture reception space free of guests.
Sunset - 15 minutes of bride and groom portraits using the best light of the day.
Reception - Discussed timeframe depending on wedding package selected. Photojournalistic captures of reception events.
all images: Lisa Catherine Photography
"In the end, we'll all become stories." - Margaret Atwood
I dedicate time everyday to honing my craft and absorbing inspiration from a variety of outlets. My personal Pinterest account acts as a landing page where I store some of my everyday inspirations. I have several boards dedicated to help aid in the wedding planning process where I actively group a number of different topics I have special interests and tastes in. A few of these groupings include particularly beautiful florals, cakes, tablescapes, and stationary to act as inspiration for your wedding day. I have also created a few wedding boards which evoke a particular setting, aesthetic and feeling. For example, in the prairies our weddings often lend to a country theme, I have created a board to help inspire a beautifully subtle approach to that style to aid my clients in their planning and to stretch their ideas to new levels.
I encourage brides to gather their own inspiration on pinterest and to frequently edit these ideas down to discover their own tastes for their wedding style.
I find there are three important tips to using Pinterest effectively to plan your wedding:
1. Study the pins in your boards and evaluate what about them appeals to you. You will likely see a common thread in what you are pinning. Perhaps you will discover that you love a certain gown silhouette, or you will find that you are drawn to the way buttercream looks, as opposed to fondant. Treat these ideas as your beginning guidelines moving forward with your planning. 2. Keep what you are drawn to in mind as you select your wedding vendors. Use what you have discovered about your preferences to narrow down your search, but do your homework. If you love loose, organic florals, the floral designers who specialize in very structured arrangements might not be the best fit.
3. Be guided by the overall FEEL of your pins. When a bride or groom shares their inspirations with me, more than anything else, I am taking in the feelings the images emit. Perhaps you are drawn to imagery that is romantic, or playful, or I sense a combination of several feelings. It is not only the aesthetic but most importantly the feelings that I pick up on that I take away and use as inspiration. Instead of asking your wedding vendors to imitate someone else's work, allow us the freedom to be creative for you and capture a story uniquely your own. What I am suggesting is, let us tell your story.
Personal board images taken from Pinterest