Planning a wedding is not easy and it can be stressful make sure all the things fall into place. Here are some tips we’ve learned over the 12+ years we’ve been photographing weddings.
- I highly recommend hiring a wedding planner or at the very least a wedding day coordinator: I cannot stress it enough. As I mentioned before, planning a wedding can be stressful, and emotions can run high. Having an impartial eye can help take away those tense situations that may arise while planning a wedding, not to mention a wedding planner will be up to date on the latest trends, help you with vendors and many other things we usually are not aware of.
2. Wedding DAY coordinator: If a wedding planner is not within your budget, a wedding day coordinator is GREATLY beneficial. Imagine arriving on your wedding day ready to enjoy every single second without having to worry where the flowers should be placed, or where to direct the guests, or keeping everyone on time. That is what a wedding day coordinator would do for you and believe me – IT’S PRICELESS!!! We’ve worked with many amazing wedding coordinators – click HERE to find out more.
3. Start by knowing your sunset time: If hiring a wedding planner or wedding day coordinator is not an option, start by picking your wedding ceremony time and work from there. Keep in mind that fall wedding ceremonies should not take place at the same time as spring wedding ceremonies as sunlight varies from fall to spring. Here is a helpful website to find out at what time sunset will be on your wedding day – SUNSET SUNRISE AUSTIN
4. How long will it take: Ideally, you want to leave those last 30 minutes of sunset light for portraits of the two of you after your ceremony. So keep in mind that, after your ceremony there should be time to do the following:
- Formal pictures with your immediate family (20-30 mins)
- Pictures with your entire wedding party and individuals, if you haven’t done a first look (15-20 mins)
- Pictures of the two of you (20-30 mins)
If sunset time is at 6:55 pm on your wedding day, that means that your 20-30 min ceremony should start at around 5:30 pm give or take a few minutes. Always give yourself a little extra time, in the event things are running a bit behind.
5. First look or not: If you are doing a first look before your ceremony (most common during fall weddings) because of the earlier sunset times, that can help cut down the time spent on formals. We would go ahead and photograph you and your wedding party before ceremony and any other immediate family groupings. This would leave us with a shorter list after ceremony. Pictures of the two of you would be best at sunset.
Here is a SAMPLE wedding itinerary
If you would like a sample of this wedding itinerary, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Fill out our contact form HERE – if you are a Katia Forero Photography couple, email me and I will be happy to provide this sample for you to fill out.
