My main recommendation for your timeline is to be generous and overestimate e v e r y thing. Thinking 30 mins for speeches? Make it 45. Thinking 20 minutes for group shots? Make it 30. You'll never regret adding extra buffer time to parts of the day, trust me. You want to be feeling relaxed and time-rich as possible on the day so you can fully relax and know that you've got everything running smoothly. From my perspective and to really get the most out of having me there on the day, I recommend something similar to the following for the afternoon part of the day:

- Ceremony: usually around 30 mins-one hour
- Confetti throw (if not happening when you walk back up the aisle): 15 minutes
- Drinks reception candids: 30 minutes
- Group shots: 30 minutes
- Couple shoot: 30-45 minutes, longer if you would like to go offsite to another location

Ideal total time between end of ceremony and speeches beginning: two hours. Two hours might seem like a long time, but it will fly by and honestly it's worth adding in! If you need to keep a tighter timeline, there's also the option of adding a 2nd shooter to your day so they can snap away at candids while we do the group shots and couple shoot!

There's so much emotion and excitement and the reality of the day finally being here is so real. Make an awesome playlist, surround yourself with your favourite people, and I'll capture the lovely moments as they happen!

I typically arrive around two hours before you leave for the ceremony. This allows me time to capture the details and final touches to your look in a relaxed manner. Please have your outfit, shoes, jewellery, flowers and any other sentimental details/special touches ready for me to access and ideally in one place. The easier the details are for me to access, the better, and I'll send a checklist across to you the week of the wedding to ensure you've got things ready and can relax even more on the day.

If you're giving gifts or letters/cards to each other or to your parents/bridal party on the morning of the wedding and would like these moments photographed (they can make for some really lovely moments to be captured!) then hold off on opening/reading these until I arrive. 

I would recommend having your hair and make-up complete around an hour before leaving for your ceremony - this gives you plenty of time to get into your outfit, snap some bridal & group portraits and enjoy a bit of relaxed time with your bridal party before leaving for the ceremony. In the world of Instagram & TikTok and reels & trends, there's a lot of content creation going on, so if your hair and make-up artists would like to capture their own content please ask them to build this into their timings with you to avoid running over. I'm also totally happy to share images with suppliers if you are okay with the gallery being shared and I don't charge them for web usage - feel free to let them know this! 

Choosing a preparations space:
This is another one of the many important decisions a couple will have to make: where to get ready? And the things to consider are so much more important than many people realise.

1. Make sure that there's enough space for everyone in your room so things aren't cramped - usually too many people in a room makes it feel stressful, you want to be as relaxed as possible at this point of the day!
2. Light! I can't stress how important it is to think about light in your preparations space - it is absolutely key for beautiful photos. Big windows and lots of them are ideal - the more natural light, the better.
3. I know the mornings can run away a bit - but if possible, delegate the task of keeping the space as clutter-free as possible to a bridesmaid or two.  Things to make sure have been cleared would be: suitcases, towels, clothes, bright coloured bottles/cans of juice/hairspray/deodorants etc., shoes, and anything else that might have been flung off to the side!

If the two of you are getting ready in different places, I'm usually with just one of you. However, there's an option to add on a 2nd photographer for partial coverage of the day, so if you would like both of your preparations covered then it's possible! If you're getting ready in close proximity (for example - both at the wedding venue) then I can capture a bit of both and will come along a little earlier to ensure I have plenty of time to do so.

Here it comes... The moment in which you say your vows!!

I will be up at the front for the ceremony wherever possible. If it's a little cramped and there's not much space I may have to shoot from the back and from the aisle. I like to be as discreet as possible, but I'll move around a little to get different angles and capture images of guests watching the ceremony as well as the two of you saying your vows. I will always try to make sure I do not interrupt the ceremony in any way.

Some officiants have very strict rules about photography and I have, in the past, been told that I cannot photograph at all during a ceremony. It's best to ask ahead of time if there's a policy that we should be aware of to avoid disappointment as each celebrant may have their own particular rules. I will always endeavour to capture the ceremony as best I can but there's not much I can do if I'm given strict rules to follow. 

Now, here is a topic very very close to my heart... Guest's cameras!
I do not have a strict policy against guests using their cameras during the ceremony, however - I do request and highly recommend that you ask your guests to have their phones/iPads/cameras away during the ceremony (aka, "an unplugged ceremony"). Your guest's faces are what you will want to be seeing in these moments rather than their devices. It's all about your experience, your guest's experiences and your final set of images. It's unfortunate but sometimes we really do need to be reminded to be more present in the moment, soak up the love and happiness in a room and actually BE wherever we are. You could also ask your officiant to make a short announcement to guests at the start of the ceremony, or even have a note printed in the invitations/order of service.

Confetti throws can be a great way to end your ceremony! So here are a few tips if you're thinking about having a confetti exit...

1. If you would like to do your confetti throw as part of your ceremony exit, confetti can be handed out during the document signing to save some time, and people can gather up the aisle as you're getting ready to walk up. 

2. For venues with limited space or light, opting for an outdoor confetti throw post-ceremony may be a better option - you'll be stowed away for a few minutes (a nice wee bit of time to yourselves!) while your ushers and I organise everyone into lines and hand out confetti. 

2. Consider whether or not you want to do a confetti throw with ALL of your guests. If you feel like it might be a little overwhelming to arrange with so many guests, I recommend opting for the option of doing a confetti throw with just your bridal party when we do the group photos. This can be a really fun way to kick up some energy during the group shots. 

3. Go for bigger petals/pieces/paper if you can and get LOTS of it! The teeny petals/pieces will go in your hair and stay there for the rest of the day as they are very tough to remove. The biodegradable paper options are my favourite (especially in bold colours!) but medium/large petals if your venue do not allow paper is also a nice option. I highly recommend this website for all things confetti: https://properconfetti.com/ and if you can throw a couple of confetti canons in there then even better!

4. I know  little bags for confetti are cute, but to make the throwing part easier for your guests and to avoid lots of little bags being in the photos, I 100% recommend having the confetti in a basket of some sort so the guests can grab a handful on their way to the confetti line.

5. Check with your venue co-ordinator BEFORE buying confetti or spending hours drying out your own petals. This is very important as unfortunately some venues have strict rules against confetti, so please check with your venue co-ordinator to avoid any disappointment (or us getting in trouble!) and let your guests know in advance so they don't bring any if it's not allowed. 

6. Hold hands, smile, kiss, dance - ENJOY IT! Don't do a confetti throw just because you think it'll make for a good photo opportunity - do it because you feel like it would be a fun element to add to your day, and if it's not your thing then do something more true to you! Bubbles, party poppers, pompoms, or a good old fashioned round of applause and cheer are also wonderful options!

I love capturing candid shots of guests having a good time! The hugs, the smiles, the outfits, the conversations between people who have never met! They're the little moments that couples often miss out on and don't see on the day, which is why planning enough time for me to capture these moments when considering your timeline is essential. My advice on this is that you should leave at least 30 minutes after your ceremony or your group photos for me to play around with - this means you also get to enjoy some of your drinks reception, say hello to your guests and munch some yummy canapés! 

Ahhh, the group shots! This part of the day has potential to be very stressful as it can be a bit like herding cats... SO, to keep things as smooth as we possibly can here are some tips...

1. Fill your booking form in fully! There's a section on there for a list of group shots. Once you've filled this in, I go back in and put it into an order that flows well and I make a list of every person we need so that everything is as clear as possible.

2. Nominate a couple of ushers/family members to help out or someone from the bridal party who is not a member of your immediate family (as they're likely to be in the family shots!). Ideally I like to gather everyone involved in the group shots into a spot nearby the group shot location if possible. This makes it much easier and quicker to just call out who we need and get through the list without having to wait around for missing members!

3. Keep it simple! I recommend a maximum of 10 group shots for weddings for a very very good reason. It's not a restriction and if you would like to add extras on to there then that's fine, but I'd highly recommend sticking to the 10.

4. Trust me with location & timing. If we're outdoors and it's a sunny day, there'll be lots of squinting so we may have to change our original plan for taking these shots. I'll try to find an open and shaded spot or we may have to postpone the group shots to happen later in the day (I've done them after dinner before in the summer because it was full sun all day!).

5. This part doesn't have to purely involve fake grins and eyes front - the moments before and after "the" photo are just as important to me, they often lead to some wonderful natural shots, so have a giggle, have a boogie, we'll make it as fun as possible!

This is the part of the day where you two finally get some down time to yourselves (plus me)! 

I like to keep this whole part particularly relaxed and enjoyable for you both - so you can just take a nice deep breath away from the hustle and bustle of the wedding.

I won't steal you away for too long - I want you to be able to experience your wedding to it's full potential and not have guests saying "the photographer took them away for AGES" etc. That's just not my style. That being said, if you can give me 30 mins of your time just before heading in for speeches/dinner then we can get some beautiful pictures of the two of you basking in the excitement of being newlyweds.

Timing for your couple portraits is pretty important. I usually plan a wee route of sorts for us to walk around and hit up the spots that have some beautiful light before your speeches start. I also like to take couples out for a bit later on to capture that gorgeous evening light - timings for this vary through the year, so we can chat further about this directly and how to fit it into your timings for the day.

What if it's raining? Ahhh, Scotland. I will seek out some indoor spots to use as a back-up in case of any horrendous rain. But let me tell you - if you're up for shooting in the rain in the evening once the hair/make-up etc. aren't quite as pristine anyway, then I absolutely am. I love adventurous couples, so I'm up for the challenge if you are. Indoor shots can also be a wonderful way to capture your venue, and it's likely I'll want to take some inside with you anyway!

Speeches before dinner is, in my opinion, the way to go. It gets the pre-speech jitters out of the way before the meal, there's usually more natural light coming through the windows, and it means if we get some lovely post-dinner light outside I can steal you away for some evening portraits without having to worry about being back in time for speeches (or worse - the nice light happening during speeches and us missing it completely!). This also means everyone can relax and have their meal with flowing conversation, and less chance of any of your food not being at its prime when it's served. 

Some venues like to place their top table directly in front of a window. I, personally, would advise not doing this! If your top table is directly in front of a window/set of windows/a door with windows, then you're going to get a tonne of blue light spilling in from the outside which will make for a mix of crazy blue light and warm light (as your venue is likely to use warmer toned bulbs rather than daylight bulbs!). I promise your speeches photos will massively benefit from this advice if you follow it! 

Another thing to consider is location of the speeches in general. If you can do your speeches outdoors (weather permitting, of course) then that is also an absolutely fab option. You could have some benches/chairs/hay/blankets kicking about for people to sit down on and be able to soak up some extra sunlight & outdoor time before everyone heads inside for dinner & dancing. Or, you might have another space which you can move to after dinner while the dining room is being turned around for dancing (for example, the ceremony space if this is different to dining/dancing). 

First dance time! This is another part of the day where I say to couples to slow themselves down a little. Soak it up. Hug it out. Breathe and enjoy the moment. It'll fly by! If you have any confetti/choreographed dances/special moves planned then please let me know in advance so that I'm fully prepared to catch the right moments where possible!

I love a good ceilidh and all-round party vibes, so I won't just disappear after the first dance (if you're having one). I like to stick around for around 30 mins-an hour so I can catch people throwing some shapes and having a blast on the dance floor.

Without a doubt, the most common thing I am told by couples as I'm leaving their wedding or when they get in touch after is that the day has absolutely flown by. It goes fast - very fast. Sometimes this means that couples feel like they've barely had a chance to stop and breathe. So my biggest piece of advice for a wedding day? Whenever you get the chance - stop for a moment, look around, take it all in and breathe. You might get to do this ten times across the course of the day, or you might only get to do it once. Either way, make the most of every moment and enjoy yourself.

In terms of the photography side of things, just trust that I will capture your day as it unfolds. I'm very much a story-telling photographer and I love to get in on the action. Leave your hang-ups behind and I'll be around capturing those moments where you're laughing or smiling or chatting with loved ones. If there is anything you need from me before, during or after the wedding please let me know. I often end up becoming a bit of a PA at weddings and not just the photographer!

I hope you have enjoyed reading through this guide! If you've made it to the end in one go - WELL DONE! Please let me know if you have absolutely any questions. 

Talk soon!
Lianne x