The Orbit East Journal
Your Wedding Day, Hour by Hour
Journal
YOUR WEDDING DAY PHOTOGRAPHY TIMELINE, HOUR BY HOUR
The most common reason wedding photographs disappoint is not the photographer — it is the timeline. Here is the schedule we build for a typical 5:30 pm autumn ceremony in Jacksonville or St. Augustine, and why each block is the length it is.
Orbit East
THE SCHEDULE
1:00 pm · Details
Thirty minutes for rings, invitation suite, shoes, perfume and heirlooms while hair and make-up finish. Keep everything in one box.
1:30 pm · Getting Ready
Sixty minutes in a room with a big window and a clear corner.
2:30 pm · Into the Dress & Suit
Thirty unhurried minutes — buttons and bustles always take longer than expected.
3:00 pm · First Look & Portraits
Forty-five minutes of calm portraits before guests arrive, freeing cocktail hour for you.
3:45 pm · Wedding Party
Thirty minutes: group photographs first, then candid moments.
4:15 pm · Rest & Touch-Ups
Forty-five minutes to hide from guests, hydrate and breathe.
5:30 pm · Ceremony
Ask your officiant for an unplugged ceremony and to step aside for the kiss.
6:00 pm · Family Portraits
Twenty minutes with a named list and a helper who knows the family.
6:20 pm · Golden Hour
Florida’s golden hour is short. Ten minutes in the right light beats an hour in the wrong light.
Journal
Ten minutes in the right light.
Orbit East
THE RECEPTION
Plan entrances, first dance, toasts, cake and parent dances inside the first ninety minutes, so every moment is captured even with eight hours of coverage. Every timeline we write also includes a scouted covered location — summer storms usually pass within the hour, so build that hour in.