Photos before or after ceremony?

It could be an hour wait...

I don't do very many posed photos, but even those who do, there's no reason to take longer than an hour. Split them up if you must.

We're not doing a first look. My ceremony is at 5. My photographer is coming at 1pm to do "getting ready" pictures. 2-3 she's taking pictures of the groomsmen and FH and his family. 3-4 she's doing pictures of me, BMs and my family. After the ceremony we're taking about 30 minutes doing photos with both me and FH in them. We're doing as many without both of us before the ceremony so it's not such a long wait for guests after.

Our photographer says it will take less than an hour after our ceremony to take our photos and family photos. That's what cocktail hour is for I don't think any guests will feel like they are waiting for you since it's standard practice.

I think I've talked FH into before since it'll be dark outside after our ceremony and we'll definitely want some outside. I think he also wants to do some in a downtown park and we can only fit those in without making our guests wait 2 hours if we do them before.

Talk with your photographer. I told mine what I thought the timeline might look like AND that my FH did not want to see me before the ceremony. She gave us tons of good advice on what times things should be and how long each photography session will take. They do this all the time! Use their expertise and your wedding planner if you have one!

Thank you all. @GamblinWoman that is what I was thinking, just hadn't got to the logistics of it yet

You can do photos of the bride and bridal party, then groom and groomsmen before hand. Separate of course. Your photographer will be your best bet for suggestions.

Our venue actually has a cocktail hour built in between the ceremony and reception to accommodate photos AND still allow us to eat

You should not take more than an hour, during cocktail hour, to do joint photos. If you want to ensure enough time do all your solo photos before (I.e. Bridal portraits, bridal party, bride and parents, groom and parents, bride and immediate family, groom and immediate family). Also if you want to be creative (and your venue permits) there are some cute set ups where you can do group photos without actually seeing each other (I.e. with women on a balcony and guys on the ground or standing on opposite sides of a barn door).

But cocktail hour will be enough time, if you have a planner (or the venue) ask the to grab you some food from cocktail hour to eat between shots or before entering the reception.

Good luck!!!

My FH does not want to see me before the ceremony. My photographer told me today that pictures afterward will probably take up to an hour. But make sure you have something to keep your guests happy while taking pictures.

We had a wait between the ceremony and cocktail hour, so we did our photos in between. Our photographer took a lot of photos in the morning with the bridal party, so it really only left the couple's portraits. Talk to your photographer and see what makes sense, but if you don't want to see each other before the ceremony, then don't feel pressured to. Use an hour (cocktail hour) to take your photos.