We took our experience with wedding and event planning and created a sample wedding videography timeline to help our couples with a basic understanding of the flow of a wedding day. We always encourage our couples to talk with their vendors, especially their wedding planners and coordinators, when deciding on a timeline that fits the needs of their unique wedding day.
Our wedding videography timeline below is based on a 12-hour wedding day with a first look, a 5:00 pm ceremony, and is located at one venue. Our wedding collections always include two videographers—us, Zac & Jessie!—for complete coverage throughout your wedding day. Keep in mind that this sample wedding videography timeline can be affected by many factors including separate ceremony and reception sites, cultural or religious traditions, and the time/season of the year of your wedding.
Pre-Ceremony
8:30 am – 9:30 am Getting Ready Begins
We like to use a time range for when getting ready begins. Depending on your wedding party’s size you may need more or less time with the hair and makeup artists. Don’t forget to account for any family members that may want their hair and/or makeup done! As videographers, we also encourage your hair and makeup professionals to station themselves by a large window with natural light. If your venue doesn’t have this, that’s okay! A mirror in a well-lit room also works great!
11:00 am Buchholz Film & Co. Arrives
At a minimum, your videography team should arrive 30 minutes before hair and makeup end. We like to arrive early to capture details of the venue and location, as well as any detail shots the couple has requested like rings, vow books, invitation suite, finishing touches of hair and makeup, etc.
12:00 pm Lunch
It is so important to grab something to eat on your wedding day! A quick lunch will power you through to the reception.
1:15 pm Everyone Gets Dressed
If you are a bride, be sure that any friends or family helping you into your dress are already fully ready to go. If you are a groom, anyone helping with ties, cufflinks, and boutonnieres should also be fully dressed. It’s also a great idea for someone in the wedding party to tidy up the space where this is filmed. No one wants to look back during these special moments and see leftover lunches or water bottles in their videos!
1:45 pm Letter Reading
Taking a few minutes to read the letter you’ve written to your partner is one of our favorite moments on the wedding day! As videographers, we always recommend reading the letter you’ve written for your wedding film audio. After that, we will exchange the letters and film your reaction while you read your partner’s letter written to you.
2:15 pm First Look
Let this be a special moment between you and your partner. Your wedding party and family can stay in the getting-ready spaces so that you can have time alone with your soon-to-be spouse! We like to leave buffer space during this time in case our couples have multiple first looks with their wedding party or family members. If you are opting for a traditional aisle look, this time can be used for a first touch or a gift exchange instead.
3:15 pm Wedding Party & Family Formals
This is a great time to knock out the majority of your family and wedding party pictures to open up space in your timeline after your ceremony.
4:15 pm Reception Reveal
After everything has been set up, many of our couples like to see all of the hard work put into the vision for their wedding day!
The Wedding Ceremony
4:30 pm Break & Relax
Hide away as guests arrive and go inside to relax. Take some time to get out of the heat or cold for a few minutes.
5:00 pm Ceremony Begins
This is the time block that varies the most during wedding days. The amount of time needed here depends on the type of ceremony you’re having or if you are including any creative additions such as a unity ceremony. If you’re having an outdoor wedding, be sure to cross-check your wedding date and time with Daylight Saving start and end dates!
5:30 pm Golden Hour Newlywed Session
Time varies for your couple sunset session depending on the season of the year you’re getting married, but nothing beats the gorgeous golden light in your film!
The Wedding Reception
6:00 pm Newlyweds Join Cocktail Hour
It’s always so special when our couples can spend genuine time with their wedding guests before kicking off the rest of the night!
6:20 pm Reception Grand Entrance & First Dance
Enter your reception space with flare! From here through the end of the night, it’s time to party! Many of our couples go directly into their first dances after they enter.
6:40 pm Dinner
While your guests are eating, this is an opportunity to sneak away for your own private dinner. Some alone time as newlyweds to relax and share your favorite parts from the day is much needed!
7:20 pm Champagne Tower Pour & Toasts
Pop the bubbly and pour a glass for everyone before heading into your toasts! If you opted to share toasts on your wedding day, this is enough time for about 2-3 guests of honor to speak and share memories or advice for the couple.
7:50 pm Cake Cutting
If you have a traditional wedding cake, be sure to cut the bottom layer! Save your top layer for your first anniversary. Also, talk with your partner before smashing the cake in anyone’s face! Some couples think this is fun, but you both should agree on this before it’s done on the wedding day.
8:00 pm Dance Floor Opens
Party time!! A great way to get your wedding guests partying (besides hiring a perfect DJ) is to pass out foam glow sticks, glow-in-the-dark necklaces/bracelets, light-up sunglasses, or party hats! As videographers, this is such a fun time of the night for us! We love an opportunity to get creative with our filming and showcase your wild reception!
10:55 pm Private Last Dance
Soaking up the last few minutes of your reception with a private last dance is another one of our favorite moments on the wedding day! This is such an intimate and moving time as a couple—reliving every last moment of your perfect wedding day.
11:00 pm Reception Grand Exit
We have seen so many wonderful exits, you can’t go wrong with what you decide! Just be sure you have a blast—run, dance, dip, and kiss! If your wedding guests don’t hang out this late, your vendor team might recommend an earlier faux exit.
As we mentioned earlier, be sure to talk with your wedding vendors about what works best for your wedding day. Your wedding planner or photographer may have additional advice or you may have traditions you would like to incorporate. This is a sample wedding videography timeline for you to use as inspiration in the creation of your own unique wedding day!
Are You Looking for a Wedding Videographer?
Planning the perfect wedding videography timeline can be challenging. When done well, it’s so rewarding to have the wedding of your dreams come true! As wedding videographers, our couples’ experience matters! We love meeting with our couples before their wedding day to discuss timeline options and what works best for them and their wedding day. As your wedding videographer, you will always be able to reach out to us if you have any questions about your timeline or ways to make your day run smoothly!
Ready for a perfect wedding day?
