Whether you’re just starting to plan your wedding or putting the final details together, this wedding timeline guide is here to help. The goal is to ease worries and smooth out a few bumps along the way.
I’m not a wedding planner — I’m a photographer. But after photographing over 500 weddings around the world during the past 13 years, I’ve learned a few valuable tips that I’d love to share before your big day. Please feel free to reach out if you have questions. I’m always happy to help.
This guide covers both the couple’s timeline and my perspective as your photographer, from early planning through to final photo delivery. Understanding both sides helps you see how the day flows and how everything fits together.
Starting from scratch can feel overwhelming. Like any big project, it helps to write everything down and work through one section at a time.
Wedding Timeline Guide from the Couple’s Perspective
Setting your vision
Before you dive headfirst into supplier hunts and endless venue visits, pause to think about your theme. Pinning down your vibe and colour palette early makes all that wedding research a lot less overwhelming. Once you set your theme, everything else becomes easier. You’ll find it simpler to communicate ideas with planners, florists, and stylists.
Start collecting your ideas on a Pinterest board, and treat yourself to a beautiful planning journal or box to keep magazine cut-outs, notes, and inspiration in one place. Anything that helps you organise your thoughts now will save so much time and stress later.
Setting your Wedding date
Try not to start off with an exact date in mind as your favourite venue may not be available. Instead consider a general month or season in mind & leave your options open.
Even if you’ve booked your wedding date well in advance, a few key decisions remain before your final countdown year. Use the chart as a rough guide — your wedding planner and venue will advise you on the exact timings.
Make booking a photographer an early priority — I often get booked 2–3 years in advance, especially during summer and bank holiday weekends. Booking your preferred photographer right after confirming your date and venue is always a smart move, and asking your venue for recommended florists or stylists will save time and stress on the day.
Venue Considerations
Here are some things to think about as you start narrowing down your venue options:
- Church ceremony or all-in-one venue?
- On-site accommodation for elderly guests?
- Caterers: in-house or external?
- Corkage fees?
- Indoor backup if it rains?
- Guest comfort and accessibility?
- Atmosphere: festival vibe or formal elegance?
Planning with these little details in mind now will make the rest of the journey so much smoother and more relaxed.
Selecting Vendors
As a photographer, I’ve worked alongside many trusted suppliers over the years. When your suppliers are familiar with each other, everything flows naturally — letting you relax and fully enjoy your day.
Final Touches & Guest Planning
As your wedding approaches, you’ll finalise hair and makeup trials, dress fittings, and vendor meetings. These moments are part of the excitement. Take them step by step and enjoy the countdown.
Wedding Timeline Guide from a Wedding Photographer’s Perspective
This wedding timeline guide will show how I support you through each stage of your wedding planning, so you can feel relaxed and confident that I’ll capture every moment beautifully on your wedding day.
One year before
The Pre-wedding Shoot
This is your “practice makes perfect” moment. A pre-wedding shoot is your chance to feel relaxed in front of the camera before the big day.
It helps you:
- Build confidence
- Get comfortable being photographed
- Allow me to understand how you interact naturally
- Experiment with poses and candid moments
Choose a location that feels meaningful to you. Many couples select the place they got engaged or a favourite outdoor spot.
You’ll also receive a beautiful set of images to keep or use within your wedding styling. This session focuses on connection and comfort rather than perfection.
Around Four weeks before the wedding
Refining Your Wedding Day Schedule
Around four weeks out, we’ll have our final chat about timings and key details. By now, most meetings with planners and the venue are complete, so little is likely to change.
During this meeting, I review the timings of your day and refine them from my perspective as your photographer. This will help create an accurate and realistic schedule that allows for both beautiful photographs and a relaxed, stress-free experience.
Most of the images I capture that day will focus on genuine moments rather than structured poses. While posed photographs absolutely have their place, it’s often the natural, unscripted moments that hold the most meaning and truly tell the story of your day.
Understanding your timeline allows me to stay fully prepared and anticipate these moments as they naturally unfold, so I can capture them quietly and authentically without interrupting the flow of your wedding.
Above is an example of the time line on a typical wedding day with a 2pm ceremony. A barn venue where the prep, ceremony & reception are all in one place.
Planning Group Shots
I always recommend keeping your group shot list simple and focused. It’s a great idea to list all the parent groups, especially if there are step-parents or second families to consider. That way, nobody gets forgotten.
I usually suggest thinking of your list in two or three parts:
- During or straight after ‘prep’ photography – These are quick, essential groups while everyone is getting ready.
- Smaller formals – These are the traditional photos, often taken just after the ceremony.
- Evening groups – Friends, work colleagues, or larger social groups.
The key is to keep your lists short, clear, and easy to follow. This keeps the day calm, helps your photographer move smoothly, and ensures you get the photos that matter most.
After the Wedding- What happens to your photos?
Protecting & Backing Up Your Wedding Photos
Once your wedding day finishes, my work continues behind the scenes to ensure your photographs are completely safe and protected.
Your wedding photos are irreplaceable memories, so I protect them from the moment I take them. Every image is recorded onto my dual memory cards in my camera, so if one card ever fails, a complete copy remains safe.
After the wedding, I back up the files to my cloud storage and two separate external hard drives. When I return home, I back up everything again on my main storage hard drive. This multi-layered approach keeps your images safe from loss, damage, or technical failure.
Wedding photography is one of the few parts of your day that increases in value over time. These images will be shared and treasured for generations.
Sneak Peek your Wedding Photos
Your wedding day often passes in a beautiful blur, which is why I prioritise delivering a selection of sneak peek wedding photos quickly. Usually within 2–3 days after your wedding, I deliver a small selection of fully edited sneak peek photos via WhatsApp or email.
Sneak peeks provide professional images right away, showing the first glimpse of your full wedding gallery’s style and storytelling.
My usual approach is then to begin editing a carefully curated story of your day, often around a third of your final collection. This is normally ready within 2–3 weeks, delivered through your own private online gallery.
Your Online Wedding Photo Gallery
Following your sneak peeks, I carefully edit a curated visual story of your wedding day. This usually includes around one third of your final image collection.
Your online gallery allows you to:
- Share your wedding photos with family and friends worldwide
- Give access to guests who couldn’t attend your wedding
- Allow loved ones to favourite their preferred images
- Purchase professional wedding prints directly from the gallery
Final delivery of your full wedding collection
Around 4–6 weeks after I deliver your gallery, I’ll be in touch with details on how to download your fully edited final wedding collection.
Your full gallery will typically include 600–800 carefully edited images, thoughtfully organised into folders that reflect each part of your day. This makes it simple to navigate through your story and easily find the moments you want to revisit.
Within each folder, you’ll receive two versions of your photographs:
- High-resolution, print-ready images — perfect for albums, framed prints, and keepsakes
- Smaller, web-friendly images — ideal for sharing online with friends and family
Wedding Albums
When it comes to your wedding album, I begin by designing the story for you. Having spent so much time immersed in your wedding day, I understand the moments, emotions, and relationships that matter most. I’ll carefully design your album so it flows naturally from beginning to end.
I will then send you a draft design via email, along with simple guidance on how to request any changes. You can swap images, adjust layouts, or add additional spreads — the process is completely flexible and collaborative.
Albums can also be added at any time, even a year or more after your wedding. Many couples love ordering one later as an anniversary gift or a lasting keepsake to relive their day together.
Final Thoughts
Every wedding is unique, and I tailor my photography approach to suit each couple. Using this wedding timeline guide, you can see how I approach your day from my perspective as your photographer, helping you plan confidently and capture every moment beautifully. If you’d like to discuss your plans, ask a few questions, or see if we’re the right fit, I’d love to hear from you.
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