Wedding timings tips…

We love filming weddings, and attend on average 40-50 every year (unless there’s a pandemic going on!). The average cost of a wedding in 2019 was £31,974.00 so it should be the best day of your life. This is why I’ve chosen to write this blog about wedding timings tips for the running order of the wedding day. Whether you have a planner/ co-ordinator or not, it’s always very important to consider your suppliers and any extra time they might need to fulfil their job properly.

Let’s start from the morning…

Make sure you allow extra time for hair and make up, especially if you have a large bridal party. Most brides imagine having some photos with their bridesmaids and parents just before the ceremony, and more often or not there just isn’t enough time and this is overlooked. I always think it’s better to be ready much earlier than you anticipate because there are always last minute things that take longer than imagined. It then allows you to have some chill out time before the big event and have some photos and video if you wanted that.

Allow for extra time to get to the wedding venue (if there is travel time) incase of traffic. There’s no harm in pulling up around the corner to wait for your final guests to arrive if necessary. It’ll also be a nice opportunity to settle some nerves and chat to the special person who will be walking you down the aisle.

Ceremony time…

Ceremonies can sometimes go on a little longer, the register signing in-particular, everybody wants to be in that first photo with you!
After the ceremony, depending on what the photographer has planned to do with you, sometimes it might be recommended that you go straight off for your photos, especially if it’s a winter wedding and it gets dark earlier. Speak to your photographer about how long you’ll need for this to happen. Also, make sure your videographer knows that this is what you’re planning so they make sure they are ready and have packed their equipment away that they were using for the ceremony.
Choose a very small amount of formal photos, each one can take up to 8 minutes to round everybody up and if you had 10 on your list this would take up most of your drinks reception time. On the day, you’ll be wanting to enjoy yourself with your friends and family rather than posing for an hour or so. Your wedding videographer and photographer will then have plenty of time to capture lots of candid natural shots of everybody laughing and having fun – these are the moments you’ll enjoy seeing the most afterwards as its difficult to take everything in at once!!

Speeches, I hear you say!

Speeches… I always hear, “the speeches will definitely be very short”… which more often than not, isn’t what happens! Suddenly the 3 x 5min speeches can easily turn into 3 x 15-20min speeches which can have an impact on the catering if the speeches are before dinner or inbetween courses, or the evening if it’s after dinner. Evening guests will be arriving when the speeches are still going on so they might be waiting around. Also, if you’re planning to have any ‘golden hour’ photos in the evening, sometimes this opportunity can be missed.

Let’s party!

How long will your DJ/ band need to set up? This is also linked to the point above. I’ve seen many occasions when the speeches have overran, the evening party is in the same room so the venue staff need to quickly turn the room around ready but the band need 1-2hours to set up, guests can be waiting for the party to begin until 9.30-10pm. Phil from 20-20 Sounds says “Make sure you discuss timings with your evening entertainment as soon as you know the running order, then they can advise how long it’d take them to set-up”.

Whatever happens, remember to just enjoy your day and keep smiling!

I hope all of these points are useful when considering your weddings timings. Having the extra time will really help us as videographers make sure we have enough time to plan our shots, set our positioning and get ready to get those amazing shots for your wedding film. Just remember that most weddings do overrun somehow so don’t feel disheartened in the day if this happens, often a venue can sometimes make up some time too if necessary.

For more wedding timings tips on choosing your evening entertainment check out our blog.