Let's Talk About Scheduling — Shelly Shimon Photography

Here's the thing--I'm all for the laid back bride (cue Allison Williams in Girls), and I get where having a schedule to adhere to can restrict your flow. I do.

However, I'm here to tell ya that having a solid wedding day schedule can be one of the most freeing elements of your day. Once we sit down and come up with your timeline, you never have to worry about what time it is or where we are supposed to be or who is running late again. You can just sit back, relax, and let me do the driving.

One of the services I take super seriously as your wedding photographer is timeline planning. About 6-8 weeks out from your date, you guys will sit down with me and envision your day over beverages of your choice (and if we go out for margaritas, you better believe there will be chips and guac). It's actually pretty fun. The more prepared you are for this meeting, the easier the planning will go, and the more prepared we are with planning, the easier your wedding day will go. And we're all going for what feels easy breezy these days, right? Right.

SO-here are a few things to take into account when timeline planning.

If you do not have a first look, we will really only have the time between the ceremony and dinner to do all of your pictures--that's about 45 minutes. I can get awesome stuff in that timeframe, but we will be staying put at the venue seeing as though we won't have time to travel to multiple locations.
Referring to the first bullet, if you plan on nixing the first look (which is totally fine), we need to take into account what time your ceremony will be so that we can ensure there is enough daylight worked into your schedule for photos AFTER the ceremony.
Come prepared with your family photo combos. It helps me TREMENDOUSLY to have a comprehensive list of groups and the names of the people in each group, because even though I may feel like a member of your family come the day of, I am, in fact, the new guy who only really knows the two of you.

I ALWAYS pad your day, meaning, it may seem like there is more time allotted to certain parts of the day than there needs to be, but really it's just in case time. Stuff happens, even on the most meticulously planned wedding days, but as long as we have a little extra time for stuff to fall behind here and there, there will be absolutely no need to stress.

Put some thought into shots you reallllllllly want to capture and write those down for me, but also trust that you hired me for my eye and my style, and know that I will absolutely do right by you. But if there are any shots that are absolute must haves, write those down rather than telling me the day of. This way, when mom, dad, uncle-you-haven't-seen-since-Thanksgiving '96, you name it, give me suggestions of shots "the bride is gonna want", I can reassure them that I nailed all the shots on the list we discussed months ago, and I can focus on the moments you hired me to document.
Lastly, consider hiring a day of coordinator if you haven't already. Day of coordinators are my right hand guys and gals. They are critical elements of a well executed wedding day. Is it enough to have your aunt helping set up the reception the morning of the wedding? Maybe. But most of the things that come up are things that are handled outside of the wedding day. Coordinators are in talks with your vendors for days and sometimes weeks leading up to your wedding, they are in constant communication with everyone the day of, and they are putting out fires left and right that you will never know about. And at the end of the day, let auntie just enjoy herself at your wedding. Don't put the sweet lady to work.

Wedding planning can feel a bit overwhelming, it's true. But even the most free spirited among us will agree that a well planned wedding schedule is one of the most valuable tools in your bridal arsenal.