Wedding Day Time Expectations
Top 5 Places on Your Wedding Day Where Time Always Runs Long
(And what to do about it)
If there's one thing we've learned after photographing many weddings together, it's this: almost every couple underestimates how long certain parts of their day will take. Not because they're bad planners — but because wedding days have a way of expanding. Emotions run high, people move slowly, and beautiful moments tend to stretch.
The good news? A little extra buffer in the right places makes the difference between a relaxed, joy-filled day and one where you're constantly rushing to catch up.
Here are the five spots where we almost always see time slip away — and our honest advice on how much to build in.
1. Getting Ready
This is the biggest one, hands down. Hair and makeup almost always run behind, and it's rarely anyone's fault — it's just the nature of a room full of people who are excited, emotional, and stopping to take photos every ten minutes (we love it, but it takes time).
Add to that: someone's dress has a tricky bustle, the flower girl has gone missing, and the MOH can't find the something borrowed. It adds up fast.
Our suggestion: Add at least 30–45 minutes of buffer to whatever your stylist quotes you. If they say four hours for a party of five, plan for four and a half. You will not regret having extra time to breathe before you walk out that door.
2. Family Formals
We say this with so much love: herding family members for group photos is genuinely one of the most time-consuming parts of any wedding day. Uncle Dave stepped out for some air. Grandma needs a chair. The kids are done. Someone's in the bathroom.
A list of 10 groupings sounds manageable — until you're actually doing it.
Our suggestion: Plan for about 5–7 minutes per grouping, not 2–3. If you have 12 family formal shots on your list, that's close to an hour. Work with your photographer to prioritize the ones that matter most, and keep the list tight. Fewer, meaningful shots beat a long exhausting checklist every time.
3. The First Look or Pre-Ceremony Portraits
If you're doing a first look, you'll want real time for it — not a rushed two-minute moment between a parking lot and a staircase. Same goes for any couple portraits before the ceremony. This is some of the best light and the most relaxed you'll feel all day, and it's worth protecting.
Our suggestion: Give yourselves at least 30–45 minutes for couple portraits, separate from any first look moment. More if you want to move between locations. Don't squeeze it into 15 minutes at the end of getting ready — you deserve better than that.
4. Cocktail Hour (Especially the Transition)
The ceremony ends, everyone cheers, and then… nobody quite knows where to go. Guests mill around, the wedding party disappears for photos, and the flow from ceremony to cocktail hour can eat up a surprising amount of time. Add in a venue that requires moving between spaces, and it's easy to lose 20–30 minutes in transition alone.
One thing that surprises a lot of couples: the post-ceremony congratulations line. The moment you're pronounced married, everyone wants a hug, a photo, a moment with you — and that is wonderful. But if you have a portrait session to get to, those five-minute conversations multiply quickly. You have two options: build 20–30 minutes into your timeline specifically for that, or have a plan to make a graceful exit right after the recessional before the crowd closes in. Neither is wrong — just decide ahead of time so it doesn't catch you off guard.
Our suggestion: Make sure your venue coordinator or day-of coordinator is actively directing guests. And give yourself a cushion between ceremony end time and when cocktail hour "officially" starts — guests will be fine, and you'll have breathing room to actually enjoy your portrait session.
5. Dinner Service
Plated dinners in particular tend to run long. Courses take time. Toasts happen in between. Someone goes long on their speech (we love you, but also — edit yourself). By the time dinner wraps up, you may be 30–45 minutes behind schedule heading into first dances and the open dance floor.
Our suggestion: Build a buffer between your last course and your first dance. Talk to your caterer about realistic timing, not optimistic timing. And if speeches are happening during dinner, set a gentle time limit with your MC — two to three minutes per person keeps things moving and keeps the emotion high.
The Bigger Picture
A rushed wedding day doesn't just feel stressful — it shows up in your photos. When you're running behind, there's no time to pause, to breathe, to look at each other. Those quiet moments between the big ones? That's where some of our favourite images come from.
Something we've noticed over the years: the couples who enjoy their day the most aren't the ones who packed in every idea they pinned. They're the ones who did less — and felt every bit of it. Fewer obligations on the timeline means more time lingering over dinner, more time on the dance floor, more time just being with the people who showed up for you. Your wedding day goes fast no matter what. The best thing you can do is give yourself room to actually live it.
If you're working on your timeline and want a second set of eyes on it, we're always happy to help — it's one of our favourite parts of the planning process.
