Hear me out... 
You have asked your family to use the farm for the PERFECT rustic, chic, DIY wedding of every girls dream! Catering is set, DJ is hired, you've booked me to document the day... what else could you possibly need? 

A day of coordinator. 
That is what you need. 

In the last five years, I have never encountered a wedding "catastrophe" but, I have encountered plenty of small fires that could easily have been handled by a dedicated wedding professional. 

Flowers not at the ceremony site? Coordinator will call. 
Need to flip the room for your reception? Coordinator has got your back. 
Favors need put together? Coordinator did that an hour ago. 
Cake needs cut? Already on it, and has saved you both a slice for later. 

There are so many things to be considered when you are planning any wedding, especially a DIY wedding. Hiring a day of coordinator is such an incredible value, as it is truly the only way you can be assured that all of your items have been completed (and up to YOUR standards). If you are on the fence about hiring a wedding day professional, shoot me a message and let me change your mind. I promise that this is one thing you should squeeze into your budget!

    The day is approaching and you get an email from your vendor team asking about your wedding timeline... if you haven't already hired a wedding coordinator, you are probably scrambling to figure out how to schedule one of the biggest days of your life. Luckily, if you have booked JD Imagery's photo +video team - we have already touched base on this and you're not in the dark. 

    If you are in the dark, I am happy to break down how you can stretch your day and events to be the most efficient possible! We are going to say that you have booked an 8 hour photo + video package. I'll break it down as if you are having a first look, and as if you are seeing each other for the first time on the aisle. 

FIRST LOOK WEDDING TIMELINE
11:30am -photo & video team arrive
(prep photos, detail shots, dressing, etc)
1:30pm- private first look for couple
1:50pm- bridal party group photos
2:10pm- bridal party photos 
(broken down into each side)
2:30pm- couple private portraits
3:30pm- entire bridal party touchup/rest at venue
4:00pm- ceremony
4:45pm- family portraits
6:00pm- reception begins
6:10pm- bridal party entrance
6:15pm- couple first dance
6:20pm- other formal dances if applicable
6:30pm- dinner 
7:00pm- cake cutting
7:05pm dance floor opens
7:30pm- photo & video departs

TRADITIONAL WEDDING TIMELINE
12:00pm- photo & video team arrive
(prep photos, detail shots, dressing, etc)
2:00pm- bridal party photos 
(broken down into each side)
2:30pm- family portraits
(broken down into each side)
3:30pm- entire bridal party to venue 
4:00pm- ceremony
4:45pm- group family formals
5:10pm- group bridal party photos
5:25pm- couple private portraits
6:00pm- reception begins
6:10pm- bridal party entrance
6:15pm- couple first dance
6:20pm- other formal dances if applicable
6:30pm- dinner 
7:00pm- cake cutting
7:05pm dance floor opens
8:00pm- photo & video departs

 In all of my experience, I will ALWAYS suggest (and root) for getting as many photos done before the ceremony as possible. There are two main reasons for that... 
1. The end of the ceremony on your wedding day marks the big "ah-ha" moment. You did it, you finally did it! Now, you want to enjoy the moments after with your new spouse. Pop champagne, eat the amazing food you picked out, and slice that big cake! But.. you still have hours of photo/video that still needs to be captured. Not that this puts a damper on your day, but in my experience, couples are less interested in photo/video time after the ceremony. They are ready to see their friends/family and party!
2. Receiving Lines...if you've been to a wedding you have been caught in one. Traditionally used as a way for the couple to thank each guest for coming - they eat up a ton of your day. For a guest list of about 120 people. you can expect the receiving line to take 25-35 minutes. Your aunt wants to tell you how great you look, your grandmother is commenting on the flowers, your cousin Joe is asking when the bar opens, and your neighbor from 13 years ago is telling you he saw your parents before the ceremony started. Before you know it, you now have only 60 minutes left to do your family photos, bridal party photos, AND couple portraits. Whoops!

Now, I realize that every wedding is unique so there is no "one size fits all" wedding schedule, but I think the above will give you a great head start! And of course if you have any questions - reach out to your vendor team. Hopefully that's me, but, if not no hard feelings - just ask them! We truly are experts at this point and can steer you in the right direction based on the details of your big day.

Xoxo-
​J