Time for Wedding Photos

Our ceremony was at 3 p.m. Our photographer arrived at 12:30 to take pictures of all the details, then we took pictures from 1-2:45 p.m. 1-1:30 was just the bride and groom, and 1:30-2:45 was the wedding party and VIPs. I would allow at least 2 hours and a little more for cushion. You don't want to be rushed.

This was completely true of daughter's wedding. We arrived at the venue at 12:45 (for a 3:30 ceremony). Photographer immediately took pics of her dress hanging over the grand staircase, then she and the BM's went to the bride's room. The BM's were completely dressed and ready when we arrived, and we just needed to get the bride into her dress. The second shooter took pics of that while the primary photographer was with the guys for a few minutes. At 1:15 daughter did first look with dad, then at 1:30 first look with groom. By 1:30 they started the wedding party photos. By 2:45 the wedding party was in "seclusion" (with snacks and champagne) as the guests began arriving. The photographer took some addition pics of the B&G, and the ceremony began at 3:30. While the primary was with the wedding party, the second shooter was able to do all the details and venue shots. They initially thought that they wouldn't take many more pics during cocktail hour, but the B&G did pics (first with extended family, then additional wedding party, finally more B&G) for pretty much the entire cocktail hour. Ultimately, they ended up with 1100+ fully edited digital images from an 11 hour, 2 photographer coverage.