The wedding day timeline
Most stress on a wedding day comes from a timeline that is too tight. A good one gives each part of the day room, and puts the portraits in the best light.
This is how I plan timelines with couples at the pre-wedding meeting. It works for photography on its own, and for photo and video together.
By Jiaxi Wang, an editorial wedding photographer and videographer in Melbourne. I photograph fashion-forward, design-led and intimate weddings on digital, 35mm, 120 and Super 8 film. Updated November 2026.
Getting ready
I like to arrive while hair and makeup are finishing, not at the start. That leaves time for details first, the dress, shoes, rings, invitations, then the last hour of getting ready, which is where the real moments are.
Plan for the dress to be on thirty minutes before you need to leave. Buttons take longer than anyone expects. If both of you are getting ready in different places, a second photographer or the videographer can cover the other.
The ceremony
Ceremonies are usually twenty to forty minutes. Registry ceremonies at the Old Treasury Building are shorter, ten to twenty. Ask your celebrant to step aside for the kiss so nobody is standing between you and the camera.
An unplugged ceremony, where guests put phones away, makes a real difference to the photographs and the wedding film.
Family photos
Make a list before the day, with names, and give it to someone in the family who knows everyone. Ten groups takes about twenty minutes. Do them straight after the ceremony while everyone is still there.
Sunset portraits
Put the couple portraits in the hour before sunset if you can. In summer that is late, so many couples do a short session after the ceremony and slip out again for twenty minutes during the reception. In winter sunset is early, so portraits move to mid-afternoon.
With photo and video together, both happen in the same twenty minutes. Nobody needs a second turn.
Speeches and the dance floor
Speeches before or during the main course photograph best, while the room is still lit and people are still sitting together. First dance, then the dance floor opens. Most couples finish coverage an hour after that.
Six hours covers getting ready to the first dance for most weddings. Eight hours covers the full day. See packages for what each includes.
A sample full day
12:30 Arrive for details and getting ready
14:30 Leave for the ceremony
15:00 Ceremony
15:30 Family photos
16:00 Couple portraits
17:30 Reception and speeches
19:30 Sunset portraits, twenty minutes
20:00 First dance
20:30 Coverage ends
Timeline questions
How many hours of photography do we need?
Two hours for a registry wedding. Six hours for most weddings, getting ready to first dance. Eight hours if you want the full day and the dance floor.
Do you help plan the timeline?
Yes. Every collection includes a pre-wedding meeting and a timeline.
Can we add time on the day?
Yes, if I am free. Photography is $350 per hour and photo and video $600 per hour.
Tell me about your day
Dates for 2027 are open.
Wedding photography and video collections begin at $5,000 for six hours.
The eight-hour Signature collection is $5,900. Photography-only collections begin at $2,200.