Often times your DJ will help you create the timeline. When we arrive to the reception we will quickly get some detail shots and introduce ourselves to the DJ and learn more about the night’s timeline. The biggest thing to keep in mind photography wise is to plan so that we will still be there for all of the big traditional events. If you have a formal exit planned but we are not scheduled to be there until the end of the night we can pull your bridal party outside and have them do a mock exit before we leave so you have the story of your day captured from beginning to end!

The first thing that goes into planning your reception is deciding what you would like to do. Here is a list of items that we have seen:

-toasts

-blessing

-cake cutting

-1st dance

-father daughter dance

-mother son dance

-(sometimes grandmas or grandpas dances)

-anniversary dance

-sunset pictures (we will talk about this more later) =)

-the shoe game

-the dollar dance

-garter toss/bouquet toss

If you are tight on time we have found that entering in and going straight to your first dance followed by mother/son and father daughter tends to get a lot done before you even eat dinner. You can then cut the cake, do the toasts and blessings and enjoy dinner. Once dinner is over you can then greet your guests or start up the dance floor. Whether you enter in and go right into these things or just do the toasts and blessing before dinner once they are over the dancing festivities can begin. Typically if you plan on us being able to cover about 30 minutes of the dance floor fun we will have a good variety of those who are out getting their groove on!

If you have any more questions let us know but we don’t want to step on your dj’s toes. They are typically really awesome at helping you plan out the party portion of your day and most are more than happy to share it with us too!

Ask your photographer about sunset pictures. We are going to write a whole post on this but in the mean time “golden hour” is about one hour before sunset and this is when the sky just beautifully glows. The lighting is beautiful and it makes you look amazing!!! Depending on the timing of your day the golden hour may be during your normal portrait time or it may end up later in the evening. We love it when we can give the couples a little break from all of the excitement for a quick 10 minute portrait session at the end of the evening. Most of the time we just let the DJ know so they can help us perfectly fit it into your night and then we plan accordingly so that no one even notices that you slipped out for a few minutes.

If you have any questions at all as you plan your timeline we are more than happy to meet with you and help you put it together. Once we know your ceremony time, reception entrance time, and a yes or no on the first look we can put one together for you in about 10 minutes. I promise even a rough idea is so much easier for you to build on then trying to do it yourself. Most brides have attended a few weddings and this is often the first time planning one so leave it up to us! We can help! =)