A free wedding timeline builder made by a wedding photographer
A wedding timeline builder turns your plans into an hour-by-hour wedding day schedule. This one is built from the photographer's side of the day. I'm Max Sydko, a wedding photographer based in Springfield, Missouri. After 17 years and more than 500 weddings in 7 countries, the first question I hear from almost every couple is the same: how many hours of photography do we need?
I made this planner so you can answer that before you sign with any photographer, me or someone else. You set your ceremony time and wedding date, tap the moments you want photographed, and the builder lays out your day from the first detail photo to the grand exit. It shows when your photographer should arrive, how long each moment takes, where sunset falls on your date and how many hours of coverage your plan adds up to. It's free. There's no sign-up and no email, and you can download the finished timeline as a PDF.
How many hours of wedding photography do I need?
This is the reason the builder exists. Most couples pick a photography package first and only work out the schedule a month before the wedding. That's when they find out the sparkler exit happens after the photographer has left. Here it works the other way around. You choose what matters to you and the builder counts the minutes, so the number of hours comes out of your real plan.
Under the finished timeline you can compare my recommendation for a 7-hour, 9-hour or 12-hour day with one photographer. Those are the package lengths most wedding photographers offer. Seven hours is the shortest I'd book if you want getting-ready photos, the ceremony and the first hour of dancing. Nine hours adds sunset portraits and the parent dances and leaves room for the day to run a little late. Twelve hours goes from the first hair and makeup chair to the exit. If getting-ready photos matter to you, plan on at least eight hours. If your ceremony and reception are at different venues, add one more.
So if you've been searching for a wedding photography coverage calculator, or comparing a 7-hour and a 9-hour wedding photography timeline, build your day here first and then compare packages.
Wedding timeline template, or a timeline built for your day?
A printable wedding timeline template usually assumes a 4 PM ceremony, one venue and a first look. Your wedding is probably different somewhere. The builder starts with the order planners and photographers use in a sample wedding day timeline, then changes it for your ceremony time, your venues and how you want to see each other for the first time.
You also choose the type of wedding: a classic church wedding, an American outdoor wedding, an American indoor wedding, an Indian wedding, a Jewish wedding, or Other, where you type in your own. If your families keep a tradition the list doesn't have, add it as a cultural moment with its own name and length, and it gets a place in the schedule.
Wedding timeline with a first look, without a first look, or with a first touch
How you first see each other changes the whole shape of the day, so it's one of the first choices in the builder.
- Couple first look. You see each other privately before the ceremony. Couple portraits, wedding party photos and most family formals happen early, and you get to enjoy your cocktail hour.
- First touch or first prayer. You hold hands around a corner without seeing each other. The aisle stays your first look.
- At the aisle. The traditional way. You see each other for the first time at the ceremony, and the portraits move to the time between the ceremony and dinner, so cocktail hour becomes a working hour for photos.
You can also add a quiet moment to read your vows to each other before the ceremony, and a first look with your dad. When you tap couple photos or wedding party photos, the builder asks whether you want them before or after the ceremony, and moves them to the right place.
Getting ready timeline for the bride and groom
The morning of a wedding takes longer than most couples expect, especially with a big bridal party or two separate getting-ready locations. Tap the moments you want and each gets its own time:
- dress and details flat lay (rings, invitations, shoes, perfume)
- bride getting ready and pajama photos with the bridesmaids
- putting on the dress and bride portraits
- bridesmaids seeing the bride for the first time
- groom getting ready, groomsmen portraits and groom portraits
- anything else you want, typed into Other
My usual starting numbers are 30 minutes for dress and details, 30 for the bride getting ready and 30 for the groom. You can change any of them in five-minute steps. The builder also places a 30-minute buffer before the ceremony, when the bride tucks away before walking down the aisle.
Wedding photo timeline: couple, wedding party and family photos
Portraits are where most wedding timelines run late, usually because family photos take longer than anyone planned. Choose the portraits you want:
- couple photos, at the venue or at a separate spot you type in, with its drive time
- wedding party photos
- family photos and extended family photos
Your guest count (under 100, 100 to 200, over 200, or your own number) and the number of bridesmaid and groomsman pairs change how long the group photos take. Family formals usually need 20 to 30 minutes and more with 150 or more guests or a big extended family. Couple portraits get about 30 minutes and the wedding party 25 to 30.
After the ceremony: receiving line, marriage license and cocktail hour
The half hour after the ceremony fills up fast. In the builder you can add a receiving line, signing the marriage license, cocktail hour and any tradition of your own. Without a first look, this is also when family and couple portraits happen, and the timeline shows how much of cocktail hour that takes.
Wedding reception timeline, from the grand entrance to the grand exit
Tap the reception moments you're planning, and each lands in order with a realistic length:
- grand entrance and the couple's first dance
- dinner and toasts
- father-daughter dance and mother-son dance
- cake cutting
- photos with each table
- sunset photos
- open dancing and a private last dance
- grand exit
Traditions have their own section: bouquet toss, garter toss, fireworks, sparklers, and a field for anything else. This is where couples usually see whether their photography coverage reaches the end of the night or stops after the first hour of dancing.
What time is sunset on my wedding day?
When you pick your wedding date and state, the builder calculates the sunset for that day and adds Max's lighting notes. If you tap sunset photos, it places about 20 minutes of portraits right before sunset in your schedule, so you can see whether they fit between dinner and the dances.
Sunset moves a lot through the year. On July 12, 2027 the sun sets in Springfield, Missouri at about 8:34 PM. On October 12, 2027 it's about 6:40 PM. It also changes across the region: in July, Wichita's sunset comes about 25 minutes after St. Louis's. That's why I plan around your real date, not a general rule.
For ceremony timing, I usually aim for a ceremony that starts 2 to 2.5 hours before sunset if you're doing a first look, and 3 or more hours before sunset without one. That leaves daylight for family photos and portraits after the ceremony.
Approximate sunset on the 15th of each month in 2027, Central Time. The builder calculates your exact date.
| Month |
Springfield, MO |
Kansas City |
St. Louis |
Jefferson City |
Branson |
Fayetteville, AR |
Tulsa, OK |
Wichita, KS |
| January | 5:19 PM | 5:19 PM | 5:03 PM | 5:11 PM | 5:20 PM | 5:25 PM | 5:32 PM | 5:34 PM |
|---|
| February | 5:52 PM | 5:55 PM | 5:38 PM | 5:46 PM | 5:53 PM | 5:57 PM | 6:04 PM | 6:08 PM |
|---|
| March | 7:20 PM | 7:24 PM | 7:07 PM | 7:15 PM | 7:19 PM | 7:23 PM | 7:31 PM | 7:36 PM |
|---|
| April | 7:47 PM | 7:55 PM | 7:37 PM | 7:45 PM | 7:46 PM | 7:50 PM | 7:57 PM | 8:04 PM |
|---|
| May | 8:14 PM | 8:24 PM | 8:05 PM | 8:13 PM | 8:12 PM | 8:15 PM | 8:22 PM | 8:31 PM |
|---|
| June | 8:34 PM | 8:45 PM | 8:26 PM | 8:34 PM | 8:32 PM | 8:34 PM | 8:42 PM | 8:52 PM |
|---|
| July | 8:33 PM | 8:43 PM | 8:24 PM | 8:32 PM | 8:31 PM | 8:33 PM | 8:41 PM | 8:50 PM |
|---|
| August | 8:04 PM | 8:13 PM | 7:54 PM | 8:02 PM | 8:03 PM | 8:06 PM | 8:14 PM | 8:21 PM |
|---|
| September | 7:20 PM | 7:26 PM | 7:08 PM | 7:16 PM | 7:20 PM | 7:23 PM | 7:31 PM | 7:37 PM |
|---|
| October | 6:36 PM | 6:39 PM | 6:22 PM | 6:30 PM | 6:36 PM | 6:40 PM | 6:47 PM | 6:51 PM |
|---|
| November | 5:02 PM | 5:03 PM | 4:47 PM | 4:55 PM | 5:03 PM | 5:08 PM | 5:15 PM | 5:17 PM |
|---|
| December | 4:56 PM | 4:56 PM | 4:40 PM | 4:48 PM | 4:57 PM | 5:03 PM | 5:10 PM | 5:11 PM |
|---|
Trees, hills and buildings around your venue can take the light away before the official sunset, especially in the Ozarks. Your photographer can tell you how early the sun drops behind the tree line at your venue.
Wedding timeline with a photographer and a videographer
If you've booked video as well, turn on the Videographer option in Key moments. Photo and video teams need the same windows for portraits and the same light for sunset shots, so it helps to plan both on one schedule and send the same PDF to both teams.
Wedding timeline with one photographer or with a second shooter
One photographer can't be in two places at once. If the bride and groom get ready at different locations, the builder adds the drive between them. With one photographer, I drive there and back, so the groom comes first and the trip is in your timeline. With a second photographer, they cover the groom at the same time while I'm with the bride, and the morning gets shorter. That's often the difference between a 9-hour and a 12-hour day, and it's why couples search for a two-photographer wedding timeline.
Rehearsal dinner photos and two-day weddings
If you want your rehearsal dinner photographed, add it with its start time and how many hours it lasts. For weddings that run over more than one day, set the number of days of celebration. Indian weddings with a mehndi or sangeet the day before, for example, or a welcome party and the wedding the next day. This is useful when you're looking for a wedding photographer for two days and want to see how the hours split between them.
Wedding logistics: one venue or several
All travel lives in the Logistics section. Each option asks for its own drive time:
- from where you get ready to the ceremony
- between the bride's and the groom's getting-ready locations
- from the ceremony to the reception, while guests head over and the couple finishes portraits
- to the bride's and to the groom's getting-ready locations
Check drive times during business hours, not late at night. Weekday morning traffic in Springfield, Kansas City or Branson can run noticeably longer than Google Maps' off-peak estimate. A church ceremony with a reception across town is the most common reason a wedding day timeline needs an extra hour of photography.
Behind the scenes notes for your vendors
In Behind the scenes you can add the florist setup, the caterer's arrival, the DJ setup and when hair and makeup are done. They show up as small notes next to the moment they overlap with, so your coordinator sees the whole picture. There's also a vendor meals note about ten minutes after dinner starts, so the photographer eats while you eat and doesn't miss the toasts.
Share your mood board with your photographer
Paste a link to your Pinterest board or wherever your inspiration lives. The link goes into your PDF, so your photographer and the rest of your vendors can open it from the same page as the schedule.
Edit your timeline and download it as a free PDF
Every moment can be changed by five minutes with the minus and plus buttons, moved with the arrows or removed. The ceremony always stays where you put it, and you can reset the order at any time. When it looks right, tap Download PDF to get a free printable wedding timeline, or Copy timeline for a plain-text version that drops into an email or a group chat. Send it to your coordinator, DJ, florist, videographer, venue and wedding party. The PDF also links back to this planner, so your vendors can check the latest version if something changes.
Wedding timelines for Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma
The builder works for a wedding in any state, and you pick yours when you set the date. I built it around the weddings I photograph most: Springfield, Kansas City, St. Louis, Jefferson City, Columbia, Branson, Table Rock Lake, Joplin and the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, plus Kansas, Northwest Arkansas (Bentonville and Fayetteville) and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Quick answers to common wedding timeline searches
What time should the photographer arrive for a 4 PM ceremony?
With a first look, I usually arrive around 11:00 AM. That leaves time for dress and details, getting ready on both sides, portraits and a buffer before the ceremony.
What time should the photographer arrive for a 5 PM ceremony without a first look?
Noon is typical. The builder shows the arrival time at the top of your timeline once you set your ceremony time.
What is a first touch at a wedding?
You hold hands around a corner or a door without seeing each other, sometimes to pray or read a letter. You keep the aisle as your first look and still get a private moment before the ceremony.
When should we take sunset photos at a Missouri wedding?
About 20 minutes before your sunset. In June and July that's around 8:15 PM in Springfield and Jefferson City, a little later in Kansas City, and around 8:05 PM in St. Louis. The builder works it out for your date.
Build your timeline above and download the PDF. If you're still looking for a wedding photographer in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas or Oklahoma, tell me about your day.
