TETTIER
WEDDING guide
You might get a thrill out of planning your wedding or you might just be trying to get through this season.
Either way, this can be a stressful time of planning, and we’d love to lighten your load. This guide is full of tips and suggestions from the many weddings we’ve been a part of.
LEt’s TAlk Timeline
Your timeline dictates the flow of the day, so the most important tip we can give you is give yourself way too much time for everything. This is the best way to make sure you’re able to relax and enjoy the big day.
Example timelines
Wedding With First Look
12 - Photographers arrive for detail shots and final hair/makeup shots1 - Put on wedding outfit and accessories1:30 - First look & couple photos2:30 - Family & wedding party photos3:30 - Hide away for ceremony, photographers take photos of ceremony & reception spaces4 - Ceremony4:30 - Bubble/Confetti "exit" to cocktail hour 5:30 - Introductions and formal dances6 - Speeches & dinner6:30 - Golden hour couple photos7:30 - Cake cutting and open dance floor8 - Photographers head out
Wedding Without First Look
12 - Photographers arrive for detail shots and final hair/makeup shots1 - Put on wedding outfit and accessories1:30 - Wedding party photos (separate)2:30 - Hide away for ceremony, photographers take photos of ceremony & reception spaces3 - Ceremony3:30 - Bubble/Confetti "exit" to cocktail hour 3:45 - Family photos4:10 - Wedding party photos4:30 - Couple photos4:45 - Introductions and formal dances5:15 - Speeches & dinner6:30 - Golden hour couple photos7:30 - Cake cutting and open dance floor
Getting Ready
Between decorating, hair/makeup, and group photos, the morning can be busy. The more you have planned ahead of time the less you have to stress about.
Makeup Math
I always recommend to plan one hour per person getting hair and makeup, divided by the number of stylists you have. If everyone is doing it themselves, they count as stylists.
Details
We always get detail shots as soon as we arrive, so if you could put everything you want photographed in a box for us, that would be helpful. Some examples are anything sentimental, your Save the Date, the rings, shoes, some extra flowers or ribbon, jewelry, perfume, your vows, and more…
First look
Deciding whether or not to do a first look can be a tricky question. We always respect your decision either way. The day runs a little smoother when there’s a first look because we can take family, wedding party, and couple photos immediately after to get them out of the way. If you prefer your first look to be down the aisle, we’ll take separate wedding party photos before the ceremony and then just finish up the rest of the group photos during cocktail hour. Just make sure you have at least 2 hours of sunlight after the ceremony so that you have enough gorgeous light for all your group and couple photos. You can take a closer look at the example timelines above for time suggestions, but just keep in mind that the sunset varies depending on the season.
If you do a first look, it’s all about you. It may feel like it’s specifically a photo moment, but we do our best to disappear and let the moment between the two of you be as personal as it can be.
Picture Perfect
Everything that happens is part of your special day. Don’t feel like you have to make the getting ready room spotless, or worry about stepping in front of us. We want to capture it all as it happens.
Ceremony
It’s 30 minutes until the ceremony, you're hidden away, your hearts pounding in anticipation. It’s all built to this start of something new.
Start Time
There are a few things to keep in mind when picking a time for your ceremony. The lighting, and if you're having a first look.
The time of day you pick will have the most notable impact on the photos of your ceremony. If you’re having an outdoor ceremony, you don’t want to have it when the sun is at its highest because it will cast harsh shadows on your eyes. Unless you have the ceremony in the shade. If you’re having an indoor ceremony, you’ll want to find a location that has lots of natural lighting with large windows and the timing is less important because the windows will diffuse the sunlight. If for whatever reason that’s not possible, we will use flash and still capture stunning photos.
If you’re not having a first look you’ll want to give yourself around 2 hours of sunlight after the ceremony for family, wedding party, and couple photos.
Grand Exit
We personally love when couples do an exit out of the ceremony with bubbles, flower petals, or whatever else you can think of! It makes for stunning photo and video, and really builds on the excitement of the ceremony.
These are the photos you hang on the wall, and have as your profile picture for the next five years. With careful planning, they can blow you away!
Couple Photos
These are the photos you hang on the wall and have as your profile picture for the next five years. With careful planning, they can blow you away!
Get the essentials
Don’t fill your photo time with too many activities. If you spend the entire couple time driving around or changing outfits, you’ll never give your photographer or videographer time to get into that creative mindset.
Give yourself plenty of time to get the photos you want. The most important thing is to plan a couple of special photos ahead of time. Trust your photographer to catch all of the natural moments and create stunning photos on their own, but if you want those works of art that stand a cut above, plan those ahead of time. They may have ideas they’ve always wanted to try, or you may have thought of something unique to you. Either way, bring it up ahead of time and put it in the schedule. They will tell you when the lighting will be perfect, and all of the other technical aspects.