I want you to look around a few times during the day and think, "this is really happening."
I want you to be surrounded by all of your favourite people. I want you to have the time and flexibiliy in your timeline to make connections with these people.
I don't want you to feel rushed. I want you to be carefree when it comes to the bottom of your dress. It will get dirty. It just will. The earlier in the day that you become okay with this, the better it will be.
I want you to know that you can reach out to me anytime, whether it be for recommendations on a great hairstylist, or questions about how long the first dance song should be. I'm here to make this as easy as possible.
I want you to look back 15 years from now and think, "I wouldn't change a thing."
The timeline is what dictates the feel of the day.
Let me paint a picture for you. If we budget an hour for the bride to get into her dress and get herself ready for the first look, that's enough time for her mother and wedding party to give her a hand putting on her jewellery. It's enough time for a champagne toast, and maybe the reading of a heartfelt card from her future husband.
But as soon as we take that time down to even 45 minutes, suddenly I'm having to direct the preparations to make sure we get every shot we need.
It isn't as "real." The memories I want you to have from your wedding day will be made in those extra 15 minutes that we inject into the timeline.
The last thing I want is for one of my couples to say "it went by so fast!" at the end of the night. So with that said, let's craft the perfect timeline. Here's an example of a typical wedding day for a Summer wedding with 10 hours of coverage:
12:00 - getting ready photos with the Bride
1:30 - getting ready photos with the Groom
2:30 - first look photos
4:00 - ceremony
4:45 - family and wedding party photos
5:45 - last few Bride & Groom photos
6:30 - entrance into reception
6:45 - first dances
7:00 - dinner and speeches
8:00 - sunset photos if it's a sunny day
9:15 - first dances
10:00 - coverage ends! dance the night away!
Timelines are SUCH a huge part of the day and I want you to have as much information as possible before your big day! I've created a podcast episode that goes into a TON of detail about how to create the best wedding timeline with an incredible collection of photos in mind.
Check it out here!
There are lots of reasons why we would alter the timeline to suit your particular wedding perfectly, for example: if you were planning a Winter wedding and we needed all photos to be finished up by 4:00pm, or if you want to capture a sparkler exit at the end of the night.
I chat with each and every Bride about 2 months before her wedding to go over the exact details of the wedding day. At the time of this meeting, it would be helpful to know the "for sures" of the day; things like: the ceremony time, and when dinner will be served (& hopefully at this point you've checked out the timeline podcast episode!).
This timeline meeting is the perfect thing to ease your mind and make little changes here and there to make your wedding day completely perfect.
On the morning of your wedding, I usually plan to arrive and start shooting the details first. My suggestion would be to have the following items placed aside in an obvious place, so that I can get started right away!
DETAILS TO HAVE READY
Your wedding shoes.
Your veil.
The dresses (out of plastic wrap and on wooden hangers)
All 3 wedding rings (definitely a good idea to shine up your engagement ring!)
The perfume you'll be wearing
Jewellery and other accessories
2 copies of your wedding invitations, including addressed and stamped envelopes
Extras from anything DIY (ribbon, fabric)
You will also want to plan for your flowers to be delivered around this time, so that they can be worked into your detail photos! Also, feel free to include anything that is significant to the two of you as a couple. In the past, I've had clients bring the corks from special anniversary dinners over the years, postcards from their travels, or a movie ticket from their first date.
FAQ SITE // LAURA KELLY // ottawa WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER