Believe it or not, the timeline of your wedding is one of the most overlooked (and most important) details of your wedding day.  A well thought out timeline will reduce stress for you, your parents, your cousin Ginny, your vendors, and your future grandchildren.

When planning your timeline, remember that sunlight is very important if you want outdoor, natural, soft portraits. The schedule below is for a summer wedding (sunset around 8). If your wedding is in the spring, fall, or winter, make sure you don’t plan all your portraits for a time after the sun has gone down.

I also HIGHLY recommend doing a first look and getting the majority of your pictures done before the ceremony.  This is a huge stress reducer for the bride and groom, and it allows you to get to the reception sooner to party with all your friends! Not all couples want to see each other before the ceremony, so just make sure you have enough time and sunlight left after the ceremony, or book a post-wedding portrait session with your photographer to make sure you have all the Bride/Groom portraits you want!

Basically, this schedule is to help you gauge how long each segment of the day might take. Keep in mind the time of sunset and build your schedule to allow for plenty of daylight. Check out the SUNSET CALENDAR HERE

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Before photographers arrive- Bride starts hair/makeup (give this at least 2 hours)

2:30 pm- Photographers arrive- detail shots, rings, locations, getting ready

3-4 pm- Getting Dress on, Finishing Touches for Bride and Groom

4-4:45/5 pm – First Look/ Bride and Groom Portraits

5-5:30 pm- Wedding Party Photos

5:30-6:15- Family Portraits (Tip: Have a family member in-the-know communicate with and wrangle relatives)

6:30 – Pictures done, guests start arriving for ceremony

7-7:20- Ceremony

7:30-7:45/8 – A few Bride and Groom portraits at sunset/ Driving to reception

7:45/8 pm- Wedding party arrives at reception

8:10 pm- Wedding Party Announced and First Dance

8:15 pm- Special Dances (aka Bride and Father)

8:15-9 pm- Dancing, food, mingle

9:00 pm- Cut the Cake

9:15-10 pm- Dancing

10 pm- Garter/Bouquet toss

10:15 pm- Last few dances

10:30-10:45 pm- Bride and Groom exit!

If you book your photographer for all day coverage, you’re allowing more time for candid shots, pictures of you hanging out with your best men and best ladies, pictures at the salon getting hair/makeup done, pictures of the groom and groomsmen grabbing a beer before they get suited up, and allowing for more travel time between venues.

Education Reformer Michelle Rhee and NBA Pro turned Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson tied the knot this September in Knoxville, TN at Blackberry Farms. It was so secretive, that even the Mayor’s staff didn’t know. In fact, I didn’t even tell my husband where I was going or what I was doing when I went to shoot this wedding.  The setting, the dress, the boat dock, the flowers… everything was perfect. Even the weather was sunny and warm, until Michelle started walking down the aisle. The skies opened up and rain poured down on the wedding party standing on the boat dock, but everyone maintained high spirits and it made for some gorgeous pictures!

(p.s. pinterest is fun, but please don’t pin the pictures from this wedding or use without permission. thanks- K)

Feature in the Sacramento Bee.

And here’s part of the photo essay from Sactown’s October Issue!

John Giffen is a dear friend who also helped us find and purchase our first home!  We hit up downtown Nashville for a few fresh headshots for his real estate business.  My trusty husband James also came along to make sure my strobe didn’t fly away with the wind.

Had a great time with you John! Excited to see your business growing! – Kristin

A photo look-back at 2011 and some resolutions for the year to come! Thanks to the clients and friends that made this year so memorable!

New Journeys

Celebration

Generations

Smoke Bombs

New Friends

Shooting this wedding for Sactown Magazine!

Superheros

Sisters

A home

Dedicated friends

The Promise of Adventure

Beauty

Fun

Stories

Llamas

Soul Mates

New Life

Day Break

Glam

Renewed Love

Art and Music

Magic

My good memories of 2011 include so many of you. Thanks for letting me be a part of your stories.

Love, Kristin

Some goals for 2012:

Personal:

Clean out the basement

Get to know our neighbors

Open our home to friends several times a week

Have defined office hours and don’t work when they’re over!

Wake up for 6am yoga once a week

Get involved in a Bible Study

Go somewhere crazy

Hike a 14er

Cook a healthy meal at least 3x a week

Read at least 2 hours a week

Join a CSA

Plant a garden

Professional Goals:

Blog 2x a week

Shoot more with other cameras (film, iphone)

Finish the 2-3 photo-art projects I have going

Do more work in other states/countries

Collaborate with other artists (not just photographers)

Go to a SCORE business workshop

Meet with SCORE mentor

Shoot to tell stories not just to share beauty

Make large prints of a photo series

Make a wedding album and first year album

Teach more

Hire an assistant

Make a business plan

TAKE RISKS

What are some of your goals??

PHOTOS ARE AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD NOW!

To get a free download of your picture from the event on 12.21.11, click here!

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristin_sweeting/)

Instructions:
1. Right Click on your image
2. Select size (“original” is the Hi-Res Version)
3. Click “Download the original size of this image”
4. Viola!

or to order a print of your image go to pictage by clicking here!

(http://www.pictage.com/1192254)

email me with any questions: kristinsweetingphotography@gmail.com

Thanks!
Kristin

Model- Daniel Smith