Timeline Series: Part 5 | Bridal Party

We took a week off from our timeline series posts for Kelsey & Justin’s wedding day blog post, but we’re back! In case you missed what this series is all about, here’s a quick overview.

We know that one thing ALL brides have questions about is how much time is needed for photos and when certain things should happen throughout their wedding day! We work with all our brides to create photography timelines for their wedding days, but these posts serve as an in-depth explanation of what is going on at each part of the day and what we typically capture. They also include tips and tricks to help keep the timeline on track and capture the best photos possible! To view Parts 1-4 of the series, click the links below:

Part 1- “Details & Getting Ready”

Part 2 – “Getting in your dress & groom getting ready”

Part 3 – ” First Looks”

Part 4 – “Bride & Groom Portraits”

Bridal Party Photos

These photos happen after your first look and portraits! If you are not planning a first look, we do bridesmaids and groomsmen photos separately before the ceremony and then full bridal party photos with everyone together after the ceremony!

Time:

With a first look: If you have a smaller bridal party (3-5 bridesmaids & 3-5 groomsmen), we only need 30 minutes to capture bridal party photos. If you have a larger bridal party (6+ bridesmaids and 6+ groomsmen) we prefer to have 45 minutes to account for the additional photos of you with each of your bridesmaids and your groom with each of his groomsmen, as well as the extra time it takes to get everyone posed!

Without a first look: If you’re not planning for a first look, we like to have 15 minutes for groomsmen photos and 20-25 minutes for bridesmaids photos before the ceremony. Then after the ceremony we ask for 15 minutes to do group shots with your entire bridal party!

What We Capture:

During this part of the day we capture photos of you and all your bridesmaids, your groom and all his groomsmen, and full bridal party photos. We also always take time to photograph individual shots of you with each of your bridesmaids and your groom with each of his groomsmen. We always take photos of everyone smiling at the camera but we also like to incorporate fun shots of everyone looking at each other and laughing, walking, and other prompts. We also make it a priority to get great photos of the bride & bridesmaids’ bouquets!

Tips & Tricks:

#1 Let your bridal party know what time they need to be ready! There’s always one groomsmen who somehow missed the memo on what time to show up. We usually start the day where the bridesmaids are getting ready and make a goal to let everyone know when they should start getting dressed. Typically we have less communication with the groom and groomsmen so its important that they know what time they should be at the venue (if they’re getting ready somewhere else) and what time they need to be dressed and ready by. This is one of the top reasons we recommend hiring a planner because they help communicate all of this!!

#2 Tell your bridal party that it doesn’t have to take long if everyone is focused! We make it a priority to get photos done efficiently. While we try to make it fun, we know some people just don’t enjoy photos. So while we want everyone to have a good time during photos, if everyone is paying attention it makes everything go MUCH quicker.

#3 Bridesmaids, bring your bouquets for photos!! This is something commonly forgotten, so it’s helpful to have the bouquets gathered and dried off before photos need to start. Again, this is something planners are amazing at keeping up with 😉

Stay tuned for Thursday’s post on the Ceremony!!