Creating your Margaret River wedding timeline.

Hopefully this gives you a rough idea when your wedding photographer will arrive to photograph the getting ready photos, how long to allow for congratulations and family group photos etc. 

I help my clients to create their timelines for them.

As soon as a client books me I start creating their wedding photo timeline for them. Taking into consideration what they want their wedding day experience to be like, which I learn from asking questions and getting to know them. 

It’s not about my clients fitting into what I always do, I really want their day to be unique to them. 

Start off with the sunset time on your wedding day.

Start off with the sunset time on your wedding day. 

Sunset is the best point to start off. Once you have this, you know the natural end time to outdoor photos. It also usually coincides with your pre dinner drinks. This is a great time to freshen up before you walk into your reception. It also allows me to photograph your reception space decor and styling before guests are seated. 

Here is a great site for sunset times, simply put your wedding date in and it will give you your time. 

Now work backwards from your sunset time.

It’s easy to work back from this time, giving you the starting points to key moments on your day. Every part of your day has a common time frame ie; outdoor wedding ceremonies are typically twenty to thirty minutes, whilst Catholic wedding ceremonies can be forty five to sixty minutes. 

As we have a chat I will get an idea of the durations of key moments art your wedding and put everything together for you. 

An example of a Margaret River wedding photo timeline. 

Lets say that sunset is at 6pm and you are getting married at a winery in Margaret River.  This winery has amazing locations for photos on their property which gives you the benefit of not having to hire a wedding car and not being away from your guests for longer than required for photos.  

9:30 Photographers coverage ends with some hilarious photos of family dancing in the mosh pit. 

9pm Cake Cutting, first dance

8:30-8:45pm Speeches finale

8-8:30pm Mains served

7:30-8pm Speeches

7pm Entrees served

6:30pm-7pm Speeches 

6:30 Bridal party entrance

6:15 Guests seated at reception 

6pm Sunset (If sunset is good, grab a couple of bride & groom overlooking winery views).

5:30pm Natural photos of guests during pre dinner drinks & reception decor/styling details. 

4:30-5:30pm Bride & Groom + Bridal party photos. 

3:30-4:30pm Conclusion of ceremony, natural congrats photos & family groups. 

3-3:30pm Ceremony

2:45-3pm Arrive for ceremony build up, photos of guests arriving and the boys suited and booted. 

1:15-2:30pm Getting ready photos at brides house. 

12:30-1pm Getting ready photos at grooms house. 

How coverage times effect your wedding day experience. 

The above example is a nine hour coverage, that sounds crazy long but it’s actually not. Yes the times are slightly padded out but that makes your wedding day experience more relaxing and enjoyable.   

There is always the odd unexpected delay that happens but you won’t stress at all because you have ample time for everything to work beautifully. 

Things like trips to the toilet can take longer than normal and walking in new shoes can slow you down a bit. 

Not everyone chooses to have reception coverage, if you remove that you are at around a seven hour coverage. 

Reception coverage has a lot of natural fun moments packed into two to three hours of coverage. I do get fantastic natural photos of wedding guests laughing and enjoying themselves during speeches and dancing which I love. 

Timings can be shortened or removed. 

You can request longer or shorter photo times at certain parts of your timeline. Your timeline is typically created during a conversation with you on the phone or in person, so it can be tailored to your preferences. 

Anything is possible, all you have to do is ask and I can create a timeline based around how you would love your day to unfold.