How to Build a Wedding Day Timeline That Actually Works
After photographing more than 350 weddings across Ireland, I have seen how the smallest overlooked details can completely change the flow of a day. There is one in particular that almost no one thinks about until it is too late and it can easily swallow 45 minutes of your wedding. I will come back to that later but for now just know it is one of the easiest time traps to avoid.
The truth is a wedding timeline is not about precision or packing in every tradition. It is about creating a flow that lets you relax and actually enjoy yourself. Couples who glide through their day are not more organised than others they simply build a plan that works with reality instead of against it.
Here is how to create a timeline that works for you, your guests and the memories you will want to keep.
Start With Your Non-Negotiables
The first step is to nail down the fixed points. These are the moments that cannot be moved:
Ceremony start time (especially if it is a church service)
Venue restrictions (access times, curfews, catering service windows)
Supplier requirements (band finish time, meal service slots)
Sunset time (crucial if you want golden hour photos)
Everything else can and should flex around these anchors.
Morning Preparations
Wedding mornings almost always run long and travel time is often underestimated. A realistic schedule for a 2 PM ceremony might look like this:
8:00 AM: Hair & Makeup starts
12:00 PM: Light lunch (don’t skip this)
12:30 PM: Final touches and getting dressed
1:15 PM: First look or quiet moment before leaving
1:45 PM: Travel buffer and last checks
Pro tip: it usually makes sense for your photographer to arrive during makeup rather than hair. That is when the storytelling moments happen, not while you are sitting in foils and clips. There are some incredibly talented and experienced hair and make up artists in Ireland. They will be able to guide you depending on how many people they have to work with in the morning and your ceremony timings etc and you should definitely listen to them.
Formal Photos: Keep Them Minimal
As a documentary photographer, I try to keep formal photos to an absolute minimum. A wedding shouldn’t feel like a production. It is about being with your family and friends not standing in rows for hours.
I suggest limiting group photos to as few combinations as possible. Immediate family, maybe close relatives, wedding party, and a couple of variations with parents and siblings. Beyond that the cost in time is simply too high. Every extra setup takes five to ten minutes, and before you know it you have lost your drinks reception. Don’t forget also that the photographer is often with you until dancing so you do have another window after dinner but before the band/DJ start where you can always do a few more group photos. These might be a bit less “formal” because everyone has had a drink or two but it’s a good way of buying back some very valuable drinks reception time.
What I have found over the years is that the photos couples truly treasure are often the ones they did not even know I was taking. A hug between siblings, laughter during speeches, the way grandparents look at you when you are not watching. These are the moments that capture the day.
Keeping formals short also frees me up to spend more time with your guests. It might sound a bit weird, but a wedding is not only about the couple. It is just as much about the people who showed up to celebrate with you. Your gallery should reflect that balance.
Ceremony and Photos: Getting the Timing Right
Ceremonies almost always run over. Guests arrive late, celebrants speak longer than expected, emotions have their own pace. Build in time for that.
After the ceremony, follow a simple order for photos:
Immediate family
Extended family
Wedding party (sometimes, this can be pushed into later in the day. There’s often a window at your dinner call, before you both make your entrance where we can do this)
Couple portraits
That flow gets the essentials done quickly while everyone is still gathered. Then you and your guests can move on and actually enjoy your wedding.
The Hidden Time Trap: The Receiving Line
Remember the detail I mentioned at the start? Here it is. The receiving line. The bit after your ceremony when your guests stream out and congratulate you with a hug and a kiss.
On paper it seems polite and efficient but in reality, it can be one of the biggest drains on your day. For 100 guests it takes about 20-25 minutes. For 150, expect closer to 45. That is 45 minutes of standing still, repeating the same “thank you” while your drinks reception gets eaten away.
I know it’s a deep routed Irish tradition at weddings and if you want to do one, got for it but just don’t forget to account for it in your timings. If you don’t want one, a Pro tip is to ask your celebrant to make a quick announcement at the end of the ceremony so guests know to head straight to the venue. Most couples who skip it are glad they did and your guests will thank you for it too. The guests who are first out are fine, but think of the poor guests who had to stand in a queue for 45 minutes because they were at the end of the queue :)
Add Buffer Time Everywhere
Add fifteen minutes to almost everything. It is a small cushion that can save the day when something inevitably runs behind.
I once photographed a wedding where the flower girl refused to walk down the aisle. Because there was buffer time built in, her parents could gently coax her, the guests enjoyed the moment, and the ceremony still started close to schedule. That couldn’t have happened without a little buffer time.
Common Timeline Mistakes
Planning photos during dinner
Back-to-back events with no travel time
Forgetting practicalities or allowing for time to help elderly guests or people with mobility issues.
Overloading the evening with too many traditions eg: sparklers, confetti runs, group shots. Don’t get me wrong, I love all these bits of a wedding day but they do need to be planned for in the timeline.
Ignoring the impact of a receiving line
Why This Matters for Photography
The most powerful photographs are the ones that capture the day as it really happened. They come from moments you are not staging and not expecting. They happen when you are present with your people rather than rushing from one chore to the next.
By keeping formal photos short and building a timeline with space to breathe you give yourself the gift of presence. That presence is what allows me to capture the laughter with friends, the quiet glances from parents and the energy of the party itself. A wedding is about more than the couple, it is about the community around them and that deserves to be documented too.
Your Timeline Checkpoint
Before finalising anything, ask yourselves:
Does this timeline feel comfortable?
Have we built in buffer time?
Have we decided how many formal photos we really need?
Are we leaving space for our guests as well as ourselves?
Are we planning for or against a receiving line?
Remember, your wedding is not a production. It is a celebration. The goal of a timeline is not perfection, it is to create space for joy, connection and the kind of unscripted moments that become your favourite memories.
The photos you will treasure most will likely be the ones you never saw me take.
Planning your own wedding day timeline?
If you are still looking for a photographer this is exactly how I approach a wedding day: with space for real moments, minimal formals and a focus on capturing not just the two of you but the people you chose to share the day with.