There are two types of timelines that every couple should know about in regards to Wedding Photography. The first one is going to be the Wedding Day of Events Timeline. This particular timeline details your wedding schedule, and I will go more into detail about that in another guide. The Wedding Investment Timeline breaks down the following:

The Best Time to Book A Wedding Photographer
Scheduling A Wedding Consultation
Scheduling Portrait Sessions
The Editing Process

The Best Time to Book A Wedding Photographer

She said “of course” to your marriage proposal and “yes to the dress”! Now the real planning begins as you settle on a date, secure a venue, and the research has begun for the perfect photographer that will bring your vision to life. Wedding season gets extremely busy for photographers during the Spring, Fall and Winter months, so the best time to book is 18 months out from your wedding day.

Scheduling A Wedding Consultation

You’ve found the Photographer you like and they happen to be available on your wedding date! The next step in the process is to schedule an Album Viewing and a Wedding Consultation. Personally, I prefer these in person over coffee, but if we’re unable, Skype, FaceTime and Zoom are great substitutes, especially if there’s a great distance between us.

This is also a good time to compile a list of questions about Wedding Photography, Print Products, Service Packages, Contracts, and Payments. It also gives us the opportunity to get a feel for each other to see if we’re a good fit.

Scheduling Portrait Sessions

If you’ve gotten this far, it means you’ve booked your photographer. The next step in the process of Wedding Photography is booking your portrait sessions. These can be Engagement, Bridal and/or Bridal Boudoir Portraits. When it comes to Portrait Sessions that will be used for printing later, it’s best to schedule your session months in advance before your wedding. This will allow your photographer time to edit the final images and have them uploaded and ready for digital delivery, and also have your print products ordered and shipped to you in a timely fashion.

Most couples use their engagement photos for Save the Dates or on their wedding website to let their guests know that they will be receiving an official invite to their wedding. With that in mind, your Engagement Session should be scheduled at least 12 months before your wedding.

Your Bridal and/or Bridal Boudoir sessions should be scheduled at least 3 months before the wedding, or around the last fitting of your dress, and hair and makeup trial run. It should be noted that if you schedule either or both of these sessions, your photographer will most likely send you different venues and hotels to shoot at to minimize being seen in your dress, and also to be in a controlled environment so that your dress doesn’t get dirty. A Photography Permit Fee is typically required for Bridals, or a hotel room is reserved for Boudoir. The average price for hotel rooms and permit fees ranges from $150 - $300.

My Editing Process

Your images are not complete until we create a final digital and physical product. To get there this process requires me to cull through thousands of digital files, utilize photoshop if necessary, crop/straighten images so that they’re symmetrical, color corrected each image to bring out natural colors, and retouch and hand edit with love and care. After that, your files are exported, uploaded to your online gallery for viewing, and arranged in order to tell your love story. For Portrait Sessions, this can take 2-3 weeks, and weddings can take 9-12 weeks.