Planning your Catholic Wedding Day Timeline

You’re engaged, congratulations!! This is such an exciting time!

And as excited as you are, it’s also a stressful time as this isn’t something you’ve done a bunch of times before. Let’s be honest planning a wedding can be so overwhelming, but take a deep breath, I’m here to help. The first step to reducing wedding day stress is to have a plan.

And your plan should include a timeline. This helps make sure that the whole day runs smoothly and on time!

The easiest way to think about your timeline is in three parts, the time before the ceremony, the ceremony itself and the time after the ceremony.

Now let’s jump into it in a little more detail. When planning your timeline we actually start in the middle with the ceremony.

Wait what?

Well, the the first question I’ll ask you is “what time is the ceremony?” and it’s important because it will dictate the timings for everything else on the day. The second question I’ll ask is “which rite will the ceremony follow?” For example: will it be a Novus Ordo or Traditional Latin Mass? Why is this important? Because the length of different ceremonies will vary so it will affect the timeline. Once we have these times we can then work backwards to figure out the timings that will work best for the rest of the wedding day.

Now let’s look at the beginning of your timeline, the before the ceremony part:

Before your ceremony you will need to include time for photos of both the bride and groom getting ready, your respective bridal parties, individual portraits, guest and bridal party arrivals at the church. Another thing to consider is if you will be doing a first look, either between the bride and groom, or the bride and her dad. Having these extra moments is wonderful but just keep in mind they will take time, and you certainly don’t want to be rushing them! Make it clear to your guests what time they should arrive at the church to make sure they are all seated before the ceremony starts.

Side note *Remember to include all travel times between your getting ready venue, the church, and your reception venue!

Something that couples don’t know to check is what time they will need leave the church after the ceremony, especially if there are other liturgies or parish events happening there on your wedding day.

After the ceremony you can decide if you want family and bridal party portraits at the church or other another venue and then schedule that into your timeline. Family and bridal party portraits usually take between 15 - 30 minutes depending on how many you want and how big the bridal party is.

Another side note *I will ask you for a list of the groups you want photos of before the day so it’s quick and easy to get everyone when I need them and no one gets forgotten.

Bride and groom portraits are done with the couple and the photographer and videographer (if there is one). I recommend allowing at least 30 minutes to an hour for these. It may seem like a big chunk of the day but trust me, it will be worth it! These usually take place during cocktail hour and remember we can always tweak the timeline so that you can spend as much time with your guests as possible.

The end of the timeline is the reception. Even though it’s the end of the day it is also an important part to get right as catering will be timed so food is served hot. The reception may also include the cake cutting, first dances and toasts which will all be scheduled in so that guests are present when these moments happen.

Depending on the coverage you want for your day, and what time I start, as your photographer I will usually finish around 10pm.

And lastly the finale of the timeline: your grand exit. It’s completely up to you whether you want one or not, and if you want one but aren’t ready to leave the party just yet , we can always do a posed exit!

As a professional photographer it’s part of my job to help you design a timeline that everyone can stick to, that’s structured to help the day run as effortlessly as possible and flexible enough to allow for a little wiggle room without making dinner 2 hours late!