“I want to be stressed out on my wedding day!” Said NO ONE. Ever. If there is one thing I hear all the time from brides it’s about how they want their day to be stress-free so they can just sit back and enjoy every moment! Of course there are many different factors that contribute to a carefree wedding day, but one of the biggest stressors I’ve seen from experience is issues with the timeline.

Feeling the pressure of running late on your wedding day is an instant stress generator for sure! Not to mention if your timeline gets pushed back it usually means your photo time is cut short which is definitely no bueno. Here are a few helpful tips to help you manage your timeline and keep wedding stress at bay!

#1: Put an earlier time on your invitation

You know your family and friends best– if you have guests that you know are notoriously late, put a start time on the invitation of 30-45 mins earlier! On that note, if you need certain family members to arrive early for any reason such as portraits before ceremony, etc. then tell them an earlier time too. Need them there at 11am? Tell them to arrive at 10am– they will probably be late… which will still make them early. :) Sneaky? Yep. Totally effective?? Absolutely!

#2: Hire a reputable hair and makeup team that will be timely

I can tell you from personal experience, the TOP REASON my brides run behind on their wedding day is because of hair and makeup! This is to say that hiring a professional not only benefits you to ensure you look your very best, but also to ensure that they finish on time. I can’t emphasize this enough!

#3: Work with your photographer/planner on a timeline (and pad it!)

I’m going to assume you don’t have a ton of experience creating wedding timelines– so leverage your hired professionals to help with that! We can help you determine the best and most effective way to manage your day and help you pad the timeline for any unexpected situations so that even if something does come up it won’t compromise your entire timeline. [BONUS: If you hire a wedding planner they will also be there to ensure that everyone follows the timeline and they’ll be able to put out any fires that arise without you noticing a thing!]

#4: Pay attention to the sunset time

When you are setting your ceremony time, try to do it with sunset in mind. Whenever possible, the best time for portraits is always going to be 1-2 hours before sunset. This means if the sun sets at 7pm, ideally you would want to be doing outdoor portraits from 5:30-6:30pm! If that’s not an option, you at least want to ensure you are not planning portraits after sunset. Once it’s dark out our options become super limited. 

Author: Elle Baez, Orlando wedding & proposal photographer and Reese’s peanut butter cup addict