Eight hours is the collection most couples book, and it is enough for almost every wedding if the hours are placed well. Placed badly, the same eight hours can miss the exit, the cake, or the only good light of the day. Here is the timeline we build from, the version for a first look, and how to slide it for your ceremony time.
The rule that decides everything else
Work backward from sunset. An outdoor ceremony should start two hours and forty-five minutes before the sun goes down. That gives thirty minutes for vows, thirty for family formals, and lands the portrait walk inside golden hour. Every city page on this site has that number worked out for each month; Cape Cod, Austin, and Boulder are three very different answers to the same question.
If your ceremony is indoors, or the venue fixes the time, the sunset rule still applies to portraits. You just need to find a twenty-minute window to step out.
Sample timeline: 5:00 PM ceremony, no first look
This assumes coverage runs 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
| Time | What is happening | Who is being photographed |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | Photographer arrives, details | Dress, rings, invitations, shoes, the room |
| 1:30 | Getting ready, final hair and makeup | Partner one and their party |
| 2:15 | Getting into the dress or suit | Partner one, parents |
| 2:45 | Partner two getting ready | Partner two and their party (second photographer if booked) |
| 3:15 | Individual portraits and party portraits, separately | Each side, kept apart |
| 4:15 | Tuck away, guests arrive, ceremony details | Empty ceremony site, florals, programs |
| 5:00 | Ceremony | Everyone |
| 5:30 | Family formals at the ceremony site | Immediate families, then extended |
| 6:00 | Wedding party portraits | Full party, then couples |
| 6:20 | Couple portraits in the good light | Just the two of you |
| 6:50 | Reception entrance, first dance | Couple, guests reacting |
| 7:05 | Dinner and toasts | Speakers, the couple listening, parents |
| 8:00 | Parent dances, cake, open dance floor | Dance floor, candid guests |
| 8:45 | Staged exit or a last dance | Couple, the whole room |
| 9:00 | Coverage ends | – |
This works. The compromise is that the couple's portraits and the wedding party's portraits both have to fit in the fifty minutes after family formals, and you will be away from cocktail hour for all of it.
Sample timeline: 5:00 PM ceremony with a first look
Coverage runs 12:30 PM to 8:30 PM.
| Time | What is happening |
|---|---|
| 12:30 | Photographer arrives, details, end of getting ready |
| 1:30 | Into the dress or suit |
| 2:00 | First look, then couple portraits while everyone is fresh |
| 2:45 | Wedding party portraits, all together |
| 3:20 | Family formals, if families can be there early |
| 3:50 | Tuck away, ceremony details, guests arrive |
| 5:00 | Ceremony |
| 5:30 | Remaining family formals, ten minutes |
| 5:40 | You are at cocktail hour |
| 6:15 | Fifteen-minute golden-hour walk, just the two of you |
| 6:45 | Entrance, first dance, dinner, toasts |
| 8:00 | Parent dances, cake, dance floor |
| 8:30 | Coverage ends, or add the exit with an extra hour |
The first look does not remove the aisle moment; it moves the nerves earlier and gives you an hour of your own reception back. The trade-offs are in our first look post.
Moving the timeline for a different ceremony time
4:00 PM ceremony. Shift everything an hour earlier and the day ends at 8:00. Reception coverage is the part that gets squeezed, so consider the ten-hour collection if you want the send-off.
6:00 PM ceremony. Common in Texas and the Southwest in summer, where sunset is after 8:30. Coverage from 2:00 to 10:00. Portraits happen at 7:30 in beautiful light and you will have the dance floor until ten.
Church ceremony at 2:00 with a reception at 6:00. The gap is the problem. Either do portraits in the gap and accept midday light, or hold the wedding party for a golden-hour walk from the reception venue. We usually recommend the latter with a quick session right after the ceremony for the family shots.
Where every wedding runs late
Hair and makeup, by twenty to forty minutes. Build that in. The second place is family formals, when someone's uncle has gone to the bar. Give your planner or a loud cousin the list from our shot list post and have them gather the next group while we photograph the current one.
What eight hours does not cover
An eight-hour block usually cannot include both the very start of getting ready and a sparkler exit at 10:30. If both matter, that is what the ten-hour collection is for. Our hours guide walks through the choice; our collections page has the prices.
The times above assume a sunset near 8:00 PM, which is a June or July evening in most of the country. For your actual date, use the month-by-month table on the city page closest to your venue.
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