It’s common joke that you really don’t know what will happen on your wedding day because it’s your first time to get married. But it’s really true that there are so many details the couple fails to see that tend to be the cause of delay.

I tried to pick up some shots from my wedding last Sunday to show you how it goes. It was a Chinese wedding and it is normally longer than usual Filipino weddings.

We arrived at 10am and my bride has just started her make-up. We were early but we normally arrive after the make up is done. All we need to shoot is the retouch.

We started shooting groom’s prep around 12:20PM. In between 10am and 12PM, we were shooting the details like rings, invitation, etc. I was already done with bride’s pre-gown portraits.

At the same time we are also shooting the groom, the bride is in the process of dressing up. I can’t figure out the difference why some brides take about 5 minutes to dress-up while some take up about 1 hour. You have to know this because this is one popular cause for delay.

The target departure was 1:15 but we left around 1:17pm. So we’re still on time. The ceremony  is at 2pm and we came from Sofitel which is about 15-20minutes drive on a Sunday. I don’t suggest Police escorts because it’s hard for us to catch up with the bridal car. It’s very rare that those escorts care for other cars, mostly they just guide the bridal car.

This was the final prep just before the bride enters the church. It was timed at 1:59pm. The mass is about 1 hour plus group portraits for 20minutes.

At 3:25pm, we were all outside. Expect another 15-30 minutes of greetings outside the church. Sometimes, it takes 15 minutes for the couple to reach the door coming from the altar and that’s all because of the greetings.

The pictorial depends a lot on what time you wish to start the reception. All we need is 15 minutes. 30 minutes is ideal and but more than 1 hour is too long already.

Finding a location consumes a little bit of time. But for me, it’s all part of the pictorial.

Waiting for sunset or catching the sunset is one of the challenges in pictorials. You really need to adjust to it if you really want a sunset shot. Usually, it’s all worth it. :)

For Chinese receptions with at least 600 guests, the earliest time I can remember is around 7:45pm. It can be as late at 8:30-8:45pm even coming from a 2pm or 3pm ceremony. It just the way it is. For Filipino weddings, it’s about 1-1.5 hours after the exit from church.

Depending on your reception program, it could last from 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours. More than 2.5 hours will get your guests very bored and likely to leave even before the reception ends. In the province, you have to finish the program before they finish eating or they will leave already. I don’t know why, but it’s always the case.

We are still there to document the greetings and some souvenir pics with guests.

Having a band keeps the guests from leaving. This is the part where most people are relaxed and really enjoying the party. Normally, it’s an hour after the reception but some parties last for 3-4 hours.

Bottom line is you have to simulate your day. Most coordinators can help you on this. But don’t worry too much because it is those unplanned things that really keep your wedding day more memorable. :)

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Some photographers around the world also discussed their timelines:

Britney

Scott Williams

Verna Pitts

Karen Evans

Michael Andrews