How to Build a Stress Free Wedding Day in Michigan

Why Your Wedding Day Timeline Determines How Stress-Free (Or Chaotic) Your Day Feels

Your timeline is not just a scheduling document. It’s the pathway your wedding day will take (or what you want it to take). A rushed or poorly built timeline creates the stress couples fear the most. If you are a planner and details person, you probably won’t struggle with this as much. If you are not those things, this may feel daunting and you may feel “Oh, we’ll just wing it on the day”. However, that’s when things start to fall apart. As a professional wedding photographer of almost 10 years, I know that timeline problems are the #1 cause of missed shots and rushed portraits. Kristianna and Collins wedding [LINK] is the perfect example of a timeline that worked in order to get all of those instagram worthy shots! There wedding day was well-paced and had extra padding in the schedule in order to have some relaxing time in between things.

When to Start Planning Your Wedding Day Timeline

Ideal Planning Windows

The first thing you’ll probably decide is when to schedule your ceremony. That tends to be the first thing because your venue is usually the first thing you book. It’s best to build your timeline a little at a time as you book your other vendors. This helps to not be as stressful in the last month leading up to your wedding day. You don’t want to be 2 weeks from your wedding day planning your whole day from start to finish. Trust me.

As for booking your vendors, wedding season in Michigan is typically from June through October. There are a number of things to think about when it comes to when you book your wedding vendors and the venue itself. The number one thing to keep in mind is most vendors are very busy during these months and they’re trying their best to communicate with dozens of couples plus actually performing services on wedding days. Another thing to keep in mind is the cost of vendors. Some vendors offer discounts for off-season weddings so if you do not mind getting married in late fall, through winter in Michigan, this can be a great opportunity to save some money.

Who Should Be Involved in Building the Timeline

First of all, if you have wedding day planner or coordinator (not one who works for the venue, that’s a venue coordinator), than definitely work with them and consult them on how you want your wedding day to look. However, the photographer and videographer should be 100% involved in this. The photographer and videographer are the ones who are literally with you about 95% of the day most of the time. The photographer and videographer know exactly how much time they realistically need to have for different portrait moments throughout the day. Also, making sure that they are involved from the beginning helps to prevent timeline conflicts later.

Key Building Blocks of a Stress-Free Wedding Day Timeline

Getting Ready Coverage

A big thing that is completely underestimated is the amount of time it takes hair and make-up to complete. Especially if you are including your whole bridesmaid group plus mothers and others. As a photographer, I have worked along side some great HMUAs who know exactly how long it’ll take and are very accurate with their estimations. However, I have also worked along with others who said it would take only an hour and 3 hours later, we’re still waiting to take the bride for photos. It’s so important to make sure you interview all vendors before hiring them.

The room or location can make or break

Another thing to consider is the room(s) you are getting ready in. Not just for the lighting and aesthetic. A tight cramped, dark room can truly effect the timeline. If you are trying to have a large wedding party get ready in one small hotel room, it will definitely slow some things down. I highly recommend doing some deep research on the best locations to get ready in. If you want to get ready in a hotel, I recommend you ask the hotel if you can view the rooms you might be able to get ready in. I’ve had couples get ready in the conference room of a hotel. I’ve also had couples get ready in an AirB&B they rented (which provided that homey feel, but also had bright, large rooms they could get ready in, plus we could get beautiful portraits in and around as well.

Number of People

Also, consider the number of people in your wedding party. Smaller groups definitely take a whole lot less time to get ready. We all know that one person who is always late or that one that takes forever to get ready. Consider these people when planning your timeline. If you have any of these people in your wedding party, consider adding some extra padding to your timeline or, I’m not totally against telling them to be ready a little earlier than they need to be. Preparing things like this can definitely eliminate stress from your wedding day.

A good note to make is to have your photographer show up as the bride is finishing up her hair and make-up (Usually the bride is left for last). This way, they can cover part of that, plus have time to get any detail shots of the rings, flowers, dress, shoes, perfume, invitation, etc.

First Look

Another thing to consider is whether you are doing a first look or not after you both get ready. I highly recommend doing a private first look. Having a first look as soon as you and your partner are ready, can definitely save time later. As soon as you are ready, we can do a first look then do portraits of the two of you right after. We can then do full wedding party photos after that as soon as everyone is ready. It’s a lot easier to pad your timeline before your ceremony than it is between the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. Having a first look also allows you to attend your cocktail hour and interact with your guests. I noticed a huge difference in couples stress levels between those that do a first look and those that don’t. We try and cramming family, wedding party, and a handful of couples portraits in an hour between ceremony and reception. It’s A LOT!

A bonus point to having a first look is that about 95% of the time when I have a couple doing a first look, they get true and more emotional moments of the two of them seeing each other for the first time compared to the bride walking down the aisle. Most grooms don’t want to show their emotions in front of a crowd of people, so they hold in their emotions.

Couples Formals

I recommend making sure your couples portraits only has you and your partner there with the photographer and videographer. Extra people can cause a more chaotic time. Some times I will grab the maid of honor or another bridesmaid, if they don’t mind, to help with making sure the bride looks her best in her dress. It helps to have an extra set of hands. I also know, me personally, my favorite part of photographing weddings is the couples portraits. This is where I can truly get creative. I always ask my couples to make sure that there is enough time for these portraits. Also, think about location. In Michigan, the weather is so unpredictable all year long so having options for your portraits can be very important. I can definitely help you find some locations along with alternatives in case it decides to rain. This is just another thing to build into your timeline early so we aren’t trying to figure it out the week of your wedding, or worse, the day of.

Family Formals and Wedding Party Portraits

If you’ve done a first look, formal portraits of the wedding party and couple can definitely all be done before the ceremony. Family formals can definitely be done after the ceremony. I, personally, can get through a list of family portraits pretty quickly. That said, make sure your photographer has a detailed list of family groupings. This can help tremendously when it comes to getting through family formals. Also, make sure family members who are apart of this know they need to stay close right after the ceremony. In my almost 10 years of photographing weddings, I can say that 100% family members are the worst at listening when it comes to portraits. I have had little problems with wrangling wedding parties (even large ones), but family members want to go hang out with their distant family members or friends. This is also why I try and make this time go quickly. I typically start with the elderly and move down to immediate family from there. I highly recommend only sticking to formal portraits of immediate family (parents and siblings with spouses and children) plus grandparents. Aunts, uncles, and cousins we can get during the reception.

Deciding to Do a First Look or Not

If you decide not to do a first look, I recommend setting aside no less than 2 hours after your ceremony for formal portraits. This is why I recommend doing a first look. You really don’t want your guests waiting for 2 hours+ for dinner. Over the years, I have noticed a shift in being more aware of the needs of guests. It used to be that every wedding you went to, guests had to wait 2+ hours to eat dinner, but not there has been a shift to make sure that doesn’t happen. There’s nothing worse than being a guest at a wedding and waiting many hours to eat.

Reception Timeline

A typical wedding day reception, in my experience, is to do your entrances (some choose not to do this or not a full wedding party entrance if they are attending the cocktail hour), then going straight into first dances, speeches, dinner, cake cutting. Definitely make sure you talk this through with your DJ. They should have knowledge of the best way to get through these events. Be mindful of your photographer and videographer’s time during the reception. Spreading special, formal events too far apart can backfire and you don’t want to realize your photographer’s coverage ends an hour before you cut the cake. It also helps to figure out which moments matter most to you. If you don’t really care about the tradition of cutting your cake, then don’t do it for example. I have also had a couple who did a private cake cutting away from all of their guests. They didn’t make a big moment out of it and it was just the two of them, myself as the photographer, the videographer, and a coordinator to help with the cake.

Sunset Portraits

Consider setting time aside for sunset portraits. In Michigan, this time can definitely vary depending on when you have your ceremony and reception. I’ve photographed plenty of weddings in Michigan where the formal portrait session took place during this time and we had beautiful golden light during their normal formal portraits so we didn’t pull them in the middle of the reception to get sunset portraits of them as a couple. Definitely ask your photographer about this and see, ahead of time, when sunset will be. Make sure you coordinate this with your DJ as well. This way they are aware when you will be stepping out for more portraits so no events happen during that time.

 

Common Wedding Day Timeline Mistakes That Cause Stress

Underestimating Your Time

Number one is underestimating how long it takes for hair and make-up. Truly just add extra time. Number two is definitely underestimating the time between locations. If you are traveling to multiple locations for your getting ready, ceremony, first look and portraits, and reception, this can really quickly turn into a nightmare making sure you get to where you need to be on-time. Whether you are using a transportation company or your own vehicles, you want to make sure you add extra time to travel to each location. Even if you add 10-15 minutes extra on top of what Google maps says it’ll take, that can really help. If we don’t need that extra time for travel, that’s just more time to get more portraits and/or to just sit and relax. You’ll be on your feet most of the day, it’s so important to make sure you get those moments of rest.

Buffer Time

Not building buffer time between events goes hand-in-hand with travel, but also it’s good to add just a few extra minutes for each event because 100%, you’ll probably be falling behind at some point. About 90% of the weddings I have photographed, we were running behind, even just a few minutes.

As I stated before, do not overpack your family formals. Stick to those close, immediate family members. It’s truly hard to wrangle family members, trust me, and you don’t want to be stressing about that during your wedding day. I always tell my couples that if they want any other photos of anyone else, we can get those during the reception. I have no problem with that.

Ultimately, make sure you are, or your coordinator is, sharing the full timeline with ALL vendors in advance. I like to walk through the timeline with my couples a few weeks before their wedding day. Literally talking through every single step of the day to make sure we’re on the same page. I recommend doing this with all of your vendors.

Not sure if your timeline has enough buffer? Reach out and I’ll help you review it! CONTACT ME

Michigan-Specific Timeline Considerations

Seasonal Daylight

The sunset varies drastically in Michigan especially the further north you go. Planning your ceremony around this can really help with lighting and timing for the rest of the day. Weddings that are fall through spring will typically need to be earlier into the afternoon rather than the evening. If you are getting married in the summer, you have a little more flexibility. This goes for weddings inside and outside. Obviously, it’ll effect outside wedding ceremonies than indoors, but some of those church weddings are definitely effected by the light of the day.

Changing Weather Conditions

Keeping in mind the weather and how it can change drastically is important as well. I have done several weddings that were interrupted by severe weather, but we made the best of it. However, if you can have contingencies built into your wedding day timeline, this can help with organization and communicating what will happen if severe weather hits. One wedding I photographed had a storm come in strong in the middle of the wedding ceremony that was being held outside. We got through the ceremony, but it started raining again right after we finished family formals. We decided to wait for wedding party and couples portraits. It ended up being dark when we started those, but I come prepared with my own lighting and it all ended up turning out just fine in the end. We can easily pivot when we’re prepared.

Consider travel times whether you are getting married in the heart of the city of Detroit or in the country side of rural Michigan. The Google drive-time for a more rural venue may be more accurate than the drive-time in a city like Detroit or Grand Rapids because of traffic, but you may not have as many locations to choose from for portraits because everything is further apart.

Working with Local Vendors

Michigan-based vendors familiar with local venues or locations make timeline coordination easier. I do not necessarily recommend limiting yourself to ONLY vendors that have worked at your venue because myself, personally, I can adapt to all different locations (95% of the venues I work at, it’s my first time working there). However, having vendors from that area or ones that have worked in that area, can really help when it comes to navigating those locations and finding the best spots to photograph, or dealing with traffic.

How a Wedding Photographer Helps Build a Stress-Free Timeline

Why do photographers often have the most timeline experience of any vendor? Besides coordinators, photographers are there at your wedding the longest. We experience it all. Typically we are there from your make-up and getting ready all the way until that last dance. Some are there even longer from early morning until late at night. Also, building your day around the capturing of all those moments can really help to make sure the whole day is captured exactly how you want it. Without a coordinator (again, not a venue coordinator), consider working with your photographer to build your timeline and an experienced one will know how much time each moment actually needs. If you do hire a coordinator, make sure they loop in every vendor so each one gets the time they need for their part of the day. Want to see an example of a traditional wedding day timeline? CONTACT ME.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How far in advance should I plan my wedding day timeline?

  It really depends on when you book all your vendors and how far in advance you start planning your wedding. I definitely recommend building your timeline no later than a month before your wedding day. This can eliminate that panic and stress weeks before your wedding day.

• How much time should I budget for family formal photos? 

  This depends on whether you are doing a first look or not. If you are not doing a first look before the ceremony, I recommend making sure you have no less than 2 hours for portraits after the ceremony. That leaves an hour for family and wedding party and an hour for your couples portraits. If we don’t end up needing that much time in the end, that’s okay, but I would prefer to have that buffer.

• Should we do a first look?

  Yes! Yes! Yes! Like I’ve detailed before, there are many reasons you should do a first look.

• What time should our ceremony start for the best photos in Michigan?

  It all depends on what time of year you are looking to get married. Typical ceremonies range from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The latter tending to be in the summer time when sunset is closer to 9:00 pm.

• How much buffer time should we build into our wedding day timeline?

  I definitely think you should figure out how long it’ll take to do any given event during the day and then add a few extra minutes. Also adding extra time to travel, if needed, helps a lot.

• Can my photographer help me build my timeline?

  Yes! At least, that is something I like to offer my couples. At the very least, I highly recommend keeping them in the loop and asking questions about timing and events.

• What’s the best month/season for outdoor Michigan weddings and golden hour photos?

  Early summer (June) and early fall (September).

A Stress-Free Wedding Starts With A Realistic Timeline

Overall having a wedding day timeline that includes buffer time, involving your photographer, and planning early can make everything much better on the day of your wedding. Can I say that if you do all that that there won’t be moments on the day that something goes wrong or something is thrown off the timeline? No, of course not. However, all of these things can help to ensure you might be less stressed about it if something does come up. You can view my wedding portfolio here to see the beautiful images from some of my favorite weddings. If you look at someone elses gallery of images, you can never tell of all the things that may have gone wrong on that day, but you can tell how beautiful their images turned out.

Ready to start planning your Michigan wedding day timeline? Let’s Talk!