When should I schedule family portraits in the wedding day timeline?
It’s a good question, and we get asked this a lot! Brides aren’t sure if it should happen before or after the ceremony. How long should be allotted in the timeline for family formal portraits?
We help each of our brides customize a timeline that’s perfect for her wedding day. Sometimes they prefer family portraits to happen before the ceremony, and others want it afterward.
Bonus Tip:
You actually won’t save much time taking separate bride and groom family portraits before the ceremony if you’re NOT doing a First Look. In fact, you’ll be saving time in your timeline by doing them all together. It’s much more efficient to wait until you can both be present for family formals.
There’s really not a wrong answer. Each option has its own pros and cons.
You just need to decide whether you’d like to ask your family to arrive 2 hours before the ceremony, or if you prefer to budget that time after the ceremony and push back the reception entrance.
It’s also an option to schedule immediate family before the ceremony and extended family afterward {if you do a First Look}. A lot of our brides choose to do this, and it can be a great middle-ground! Keep in mind that it adds a little extra time to your wedding day timeline, but it flows very nicely.
In our Tidbit blog series, we have several posts on wedding day family formals. It’s a tricky part of the wedding day to plan for! It’s one of those things that looks simple on paper, yet be surprisingly complex on the wedding day if not well planned out.
Questions like:
How do I get all my family in the right place at the right time?
Do I need to give my photographer a list?
Tips for planning extended family shots
*hugs*
Amber
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