I wanted to give some advice on your scheduling you wedding day. As a wedding photographer in Ohio I have seen several weddings run smoothly as well as a few that got a little crazy. Please understand things go wrong. My advice just go with it. I am also not saying be a task master and make everyone adhere to it no matter what. But here are a few keys items to remember.
1. Plan something for the group in the morning. The girls usually meet to get their hair done. Guys why not meet for breakfast or coffee. If everyone is together earlier a person running late will not affect your tighter scheduled pre-wedding.
2. Have everyone get dressed at the church. This way if someone is running late it buys a little time.
3. I personally like to give time before the ceremony for photos. If I need 30 minutes I usually tell a couple 45 minutes. 2 reasons: 1. is to adjust for any unforeseen issues. 2. If I can stay on time that give 30 minutes prior to the wedding ceremony for some extra wedding photography candids and it give time for everyone to relax. Your wedding day will fly by. Sit and enjoy it, even if it is only 30 minutes.
4. Give some time right after the ceremony for the family traditional shots, then give a little time for some extra photos of just the wedding couple. Also, some extra time here before the reception is a nice time for someone at one time with your new spouse.
5. The reception schedule is usually best left up to a good wedding DJ. I will say you know the crowd that is going to be there. Will they be more likely to fast dance, slow dance or do the funky chicken. The idea is to get your guest participating and not just sitting on their own. Here is an example. My wedding my wife and I knew most of our wedding guests would slow dance. So we broke down the night into sessions. Each session started with something to get guests around the floor. Like the first dance or cake cutting. The next dance was something like the anniversary dance or bridal party dance. Anything to get more people on the floor. The next song would be a slow song to keep everyone on the floor. By the time people were starting to sit back down. Session 2 started again and so on.
6. Make some time before the night is over to be alone. About halfway through the reception, I like to grab the bride and groom for one more wedding photography session. I always like a sunset more casual if I can. I also like to just let the couple be alone once I’m done. I think this can give the couple another few minutes to just take in the days events.
