Free planning tool
Your wedding photo plan
A few answers about your day, and you get the coverage I’d recommend, a draft photo timeline around your ceremony and sunset, and a family photo list to fill in. It updates as you type.
Your day
Venue not listed? Pick the closest town. It sets the sunset time.
Leave it blank and I’ll suggest one that works with the light.
Your wedding photo plan
Saturday, October 10, 2026
Sparta, Sussex County, NJ. Ceremony 3:30 PM (suggested). All times Eastern.
I’d plan on 6 hours, 1:00 PM to 6:30 PM. That’s The Short Story. Sunset is 6:25 PM.
Recommended coverage
6 hours
1:00 PM to 6:30 PM
The Short Story, 6 hours, $1,900.
- Start at 1:00 PM: about 90 minutes before you are dressed at 2:30 PM, for the details, the last touches of hair and makeup and getting dressed.
- Your must-have moments end around 6:30 PM: 30 minutes into open dancing, after the first dance, toasts, parent dances and cake.
- 1:00 PM to 6:30 PM is 5 hours 30 minutes. Rounded up: 6 hours.
Prices from my published collections. Extra hours can be added later, once the timeline is set.
- Golden hour
- 5:48–6:42 PM
- Sunset
- 6:25 PM
- Portrait window
- 5:55–6:20 PM
Draft photo timeline
Built around a 3:30 PM ceremony and the light on your date. Highlighted blocks are the ones the light decides.
1:00–2:30 PM
Details and getting ready
Rings, invitations and the outfits first, then the last touches of hair and makeup and getting dressed.
2:30–3:00 PM
Dressed, with your family
A few quiet photos with parents and the people getting ready with you, and individual portraits of you each.
3:00–3:30 PM
Guests arrive
You tuck away. I photograph the ceremony space before it fills.
3:30–4:00 PM
Ceremony
About 30 minutes. The anchor for everything else.
4:00–5:00 PM
Cocktail hour
Family photos first, then the wedding party, then you join your guests.
4:00–4:20 PM
Family photos
13 groupings from your list below, about 20 minutes. Grandparents and anyone seated go first.
4:20–4:45 PM
Wedding party and a few couple photos
In open shade near the ceremony spot. Then you join your guests.
5:00–5:10 PM
Introductions and first dance
Straight into the room and onto the floor.
5:10–5:20 PM
Toasts
Faces in the crowd as much as the speaker.
5:20–5:50 PM
Dinner
I photograph the room and the tables, then step away while you eat.
5:50–6:00 PM
Parent dances and cake cutting
Short and sweet, so the dance floor can open.
5:55–6:20 PM
Sunset portraits
Step out between courses. Twenty-five minutes, then back to your guests.
6:00–6:30 PM
Open dancing
I stay until the floor is full and has peaked, about 30 minutes in.
Worth knowing
- No ceremony time yet, so I used 3:30 PM, about three hours before sunset. It leaves room for family photos, cocktail hour and a relaxed sunset window.
- I have assumed a 30-minute ceremony and a reception that starts an hour after it. Send me your venue's real times and I will tighten everything.
- Hills and tall trees can hide the sun 10 to 20 minutes before the official sunset, which matters in Sussex County, the Hudson Valley and the Poconos. I check the horizon at your venue when we plan. On a cloudy day the light is soft all afternoon and the window matters less.
Family photo list
Build up, then peel away, one side at a time, so people step in once and out once. Add names, untick anyone who doesn’t apply and mark the groups that need care.
13 groupings, about 20 minutes. Suggested for a medium family.
Pick one person from each side who knows everyone by face to have the next group ready. Send me the list with names a couple of weeks before the wedding.
Your date, venue and coverage come along. You’ll hear back within 24 hours.
How it works
The rules behind the numbers
- Coverage
I start 60 to 90 minutes before you are dressed and stay until 30 to 45 minutes into open dancing, add any travel with a buffer, and round up to the hour. Then I match it to the smallest published collection that covers it.
How many hours you actually need- The light
Sunset and golden hour are worked out for your date and venue with the same solar maths as my golden hour planner, in Eastern time. The portrait window is the 25 minutes ending just before sunset.
Golden hour planner- Family photos
With a written list and a simple order, 12 to 15 groupings take about 20 minutes. The list starts from your family size; you edit it to match how your family actually works.
Building the family list
This is a starting point, not a contract. Timeline planning is part of every collection, and I tailor it to your venue’s real times once we talk.
Your date only happens once.
Send me your plan and I’ll tell you honestly what I’d change, even if it means fewer hours. You’ll hear back within 24 hours.