So I had to end up going with showing Caron and Deborah’s Trash The Dress shoot first because I’m having a horrid time choosing my top 10 favorite images from their wedding the day before.

Deborah and Caron are the singers/musicians behind the band Deborah Vial which is big in the Texas area. They are now semi-retired and live in Hawaii but when they heard that DC legalized gay marriage- they decided to plan their wedding for DC in just a few weeks. I’ll blog more about their wedding when I post it- but the next day we headed over to Rock Creek Park in DC and decided to get our feet in the river. Nothing too drastic as they were tired from the wedding day and it was *cold*. Note to self: when shooting in a river, wear crocs as river rocks are sharp and slippery.

Forgive me for posting so many images of just Deborah but I’m slightly obsessed with her purple dress. Like, way obsessed.

On your wedding day, you’re going to be doing a lot of stuff you never have nor ever will do again. Like putting on a wedding dress or custom suit. Or getting flowers delivered in bulk. Or prepping for more than 50 people coming to eat.

Due to the nature of all these new experiences, things tend to take longer and be a bit more complicated than expected. Most people reason – well, I take 5 minutes to put on my regular clothes so how much longer can putting on my wedding dress take? But since you’re not used to lacing up a corset everyday or trying to put on shoes while wearing a very heavy dress, things take longer. So I always advise couples to give themselves plenty of time for things and to think about scheduling from both a minute/tiny detail way and a big picture, bird’s eye view.

Your timeline should be realistic and well-thought-out. This document will be critical for your photographer to be in the right place at the right angle for all the events. It’s also critical for this timeline to be realistic because if it takes you 45 minutes longer than you thought to get your makeup done, that typically really eats into my couple portrait time. So you don’t get as many fun pictures of just the two of you. It makes me sad

Things that will take way more time than you ever thought:

• Hair and Makeup: For each attendant, expect 40 minutes for hair and another 40 minutes for makeup. For the bride or brides, expect 50 minutes to an hour for hair and another 45 minutes for makeup. For the groom or grooms, expect 20 minutes max if you are getting makeup or hair done by a professional.
• Geting dressed: Usually you should have any attendants get dressed first while you are finishing up hair/makeup so they can be ready to help you put on your wedding gear. I usually say 30-45 minutes should be allotted to get dressed for the bride or brides. This is in case a button pops or a zipper breaks – you have time to sew things back on or fix things.
• Flowers: Most couples want to have their bouquets or boutonnieres with them for their formal shots. Get your flowers delivered waaaay ahead of when you need them as I find most floral deliveries run behind schedule. I have more than once had to delay formal shots and eat into my photo time waiting on the flowers to be delivered.
• Group Shots: While I already addressed how much longer group shots take than you would ever think, I’ll say it again. Do your group shots before the ceremony! I beg you! It also stops the wandering eye problem so everyone looks at my camera and not the 10 others behind me.
• Speeches: Remind your loved ones that a good speech should take no longer than 4-5 minutes max. Once you approach the 7 minute mark per speech (and you have multiple people speaking before dinner), guests start to revolt because they are hungry and want to eat!!
• DIY Details: If you are making a lot of reception/ceremony decor, go you! But be aware that actually setting up everything will be a big production/time sucker. So I always recommend having your Captain of the Day or Planner be in charge of at least 2-3 people who are willing to commit a few hours in the morning to setting up. If you can ask your venue about setting up the day before, all the better.

Resources for making a wedding timeline:

• A Smart Planner highlights the key things you must have on your timeline
• A workshop by the Hive in Virginia on making a wedding day timeline and a lot more (I was just at their office and it’s worth the workshop alone just to see how cute their office is and meet Maria of Ritzy Bee)
• A wedding bee bride has a super detailed timeline which is really helpful

So freakin finally I’m posting Mandy and Bekah’s engagement shoot. You saw the sneak peak. So here’s the other goodies. And I’m gearing up for their wedding in NYC that’s in a month so watch out.

So I had the idea I would have time to update the blog this week with a killer engagement session from Mandy and Bekah and post some sneak peak of images I did from a wedding this weekend (with a purple wedding dress mind you) but I’m trying to pack everything in before a video workshop tomorrow and then the B List conference.

So I got home from the wedding Monday afternoon, tried to crank out a few images from this weekends wedding to show the couple, spent all of Tuesday hand editing images so I could get the couple’s slideshow together for the reception in Hawaii this weekend. Today was spent frantically finishing another clients slideshow, emailing clients with upcoming weddings, putting together a wedding prep list, and now I’m about to pack for the conference. Tomorrow I will geek it out along with a bunch of other photographers at a video workshop for photographers. Then Friday I drive down to DC at the crack of dawn (literally) and have cocktails with a bijillion wedding vendors and finally get to meet all the other B List top wedding bloggers. Then Saturday is a full day spent with all the other bloggers talking about everything blog related! Yummy dinner to follow with fellow bloggers that night. Sunday I get to watch a demonstration in the morning, say goodbye to all the bloggers, get all ready for an engagement shoot/shoot the Georgetown engagement and promptly fall asleep Sunday night so I can wake up at 5am to drive back to New Haven.

Honestly, I’m hoping adrenaline can last till next Monday because I know I won’t be running on sleep.

New York is a very special place for Mandy and Bekah who traveled all the way from Canada for the weekend to get their engagement pictures and pack wedding planning into one little weekend! I got to go on the venue tour with them and am drooling over the thought of their wedding next month at Gary’s Loft.

And please wish for Mandy’s speedy recovery. She broke her foot shortly before this shoot and should get her cast off juuuuust in time for the wedding.