The Say Less Podcast

025 - Mastering the Wedding Timeline: Tips from Industry Vets

• Grace Cacho & Alex Taylor • Episode 25

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In this episode, Alex and Grace share their combined 16 years of wedding industry experience to unpack the often-overlooked importance of crafting a solid timeline. They emphasize how understanding your priorities, venue specifics, and season influences can make or break your perfect wedding day. Whether you're a bride, vendor, or wedding planner, their insights will help you craft a day that truly reflects what matters most to you.

In this episode:

  • Why the wedding timeline is the backbone of a successful day
  • How to start planning your timeline: venue, photographer, and expectations
  • The significance of first looks and when to schedule them
  • How season and lighting influence ceremony and photo timing
  • The trend toward couples being more involved in their wedding day
  • The 5-hour event rule and why it’s essential for guest enjoyment
  • Summer versus winter wedding schedule considerations in Texas
  • How to prioritize what matters most and communicate it clearly to vendors
  • The importance of vendor vetting and setting realistic expectations
  • Practical tips for planning around sunset, guest comfort, and personal preferences

With these expert tips, you'll be well-equipped to design a wedding day timeline that aligns with your priorities, venue specifics, and season. Remember, your wedding is your story... plan it around what makes you happiest, and let the timeline support that vision.

Send us burning questions, topic ideas, and things you’re loving about the podcast!

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Grace & Andrew Cacho provide clarity to businesses and personal brands by means of Brand Message Clarity, Audits, Brand Strategy, Content Creation, Photo & Video, Web Design, and Social Media Management.

SPEAKER_01

I'm pro first look too. And I have a lot of brides that definitely want to go the more traditional route and let their husband see them when they're walking down the aisle. If that, if you have dreamt about that for the past 20 years of your life and that's all that you want, go forth and enjoy it and do that. And and do what you want. And of course, do what you want. Like we're Grayson are always gonna say, like, do exactly what you want and have your wedding day be exactly what you want it to be.

SPEAKER_00

I wanted to start a podcast for creative entrepreneurs. So I asked Alex to join me and I said, say less. I'm in. Welcome to the Say Less podcast, where we actually say a lot more about motherhood, creativity, photography, business ownership, and everything in between.

SPEAKER_01

We are your hosts, Alex and Grace, and this is a space for creative women building something meaningful. Whether you're raising babies, raising your rates, or just trying to figure out your next move.

SPEAKER_00

We talk about all the real stuff. What's working, what's not, what we're unlearning, what nobody tells you about building a business that has to fit inside a real life.

SPEAKER_01

The pivot, the pressure, the sustainability, and all of the seasons. If you've ever felt like you're creating in the margins of your time, your energy, or your confidence, you're not alone here.

SPEAKER_00

So stay lost. Let's get into it. Okay, everyone. This is our PSA to all of you that are brides or thinking about being a bride, or maybe you're a vendor. Or if you're like a starting photographer or like a vendor. Good.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, yeah, yeah. Starting wedding planner, helping a bride throughout this process, this will also relate to you.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Alex and I have a combined 16 years of experience in the wedding industry. And we've just seen it all and we've seen things go really well and really terribly. And it all goes back to the timeline, truly. Expectations. 100%. Yep. Yep. So a lot of brides ask, when should I do a first look? If I should do a first look, when should the ceremony be? And there's no cookie cutter template answer for that. Um every season, you're gonna get different lighting. You should have plan B's depending on the season for rain. Just all kinds of things to consider. So we're gonna chit-chat a little bit about best practices. It might be kind of all over the place. This is just something that we we we understand, and it's not something that we can like write down and talk about. So we're just gonna kind of like go with the flow. I'm excited. We're just gonna go with the flow.

SPEAKER_01

I wanted to start one thing and say that I feel like, and correct me if I'm wrong, correct me from your experience too, Grace. I feel like when if you're a bride that's planning your wedding, if you're a vendor that's helping a bride, so if you're the wedding planner, blah, blah, blah, the best place to start with getting your timeline will either be your venue owner slash manager slash coordinator, the one that works at the venue, yeah, and your photographer.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And those being your two people. And there's a lot of times when I talk to brides about timelines that I actually I like ask for information from the venue owner of the bride, that question that you mentioned when you were doing a little intro is when should I do my ceremony? And of course, like the seasons change and like in the fall, closer to 4:30 in Texas is the right time. But in the summer, you can get away with 7:30 p.m. because it's bright until almost nine. And different venues have different lighting, like there's just so many variables. Yes, have different lighting and different locations at the venue have different lightings. And I know we've talked about this, but I do shoot at Sparrow Creek a lot, which is in Graham, Texas, and they have they have multiple ceremony locations. You can get married inside, you can get married in the front, kind of like in their little field area, but they also have like a creekside patio on the back side. People get married back there, and it just varies. I wouldn't get married on the patio later in the day because the sun is going to be hidden behind the venue. Versus if you're getting married in the field, you want to wait for the perfect time so your guests aren't blinded by the sun. So starting when you're starting out with your timeline and you're like, I just have no clue where to begin. I would, I would refer to your photographer, but also your venue.

SPEAKER_00

Start with conversations. Yes. Don't go to TikTok first.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. No. And don't Google and don't ask Chat GPT. Yeah. Don't ask ChatGPT. And don't ask ChatGPT. Right.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. No, I think having clear expectations about what's important to you on wedding day is a big factor too. I mentioned this to Alex, but I just sat down with a bride that I have currently. She's super organized. She's, I don't know if she's going to listen to this podcast, but she'll know exactly who I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_00

And she is like the like it's a dream. She has like such a detailed plan for her day. And I I just had to reiterate because she's not doing a first look and ceremony is later in the day. So after ceremony, a lot of our pictures before the sun goes down, it's gonna be like bam, bam, bam, wedding party, big family, and like maybe 15 minutes of couples portraits. And those are the only like the Pinterest photos that you save for months and months and months. We might only get 15 minutes to do those. And yes, it can be done. It has been done, but like those that need that expectation needs to be set. And so if you prioritize like couple portraits and pictures with you and your spouse, future spouse, maybe consider a first look. So you have like double the opportunity to get photos. You can knock out a bunch of family photos beforehand. And obviously, like in the in the shorter days in like the winter time, you don't you don't have as much time to do all of those things. So kind of having to move everything up and and all those factors. It's a lot, it's a lot to consider.

SPEAKER_01

So I know we always talk about two, especially on the podcast, but like the trends and kind of like what's changing in the wedding industry and the ins and outs. And I'll tell you what I've been seeing a lot more. And this, it can go two different ways. And so, like, I want to talk about it, but then I also want to say kind of like how to achieve it. I have been seeing more couples that are wanting to join their cocktail hour and be present and a part of their days more. So, for example, I have a friend and she probably isn't listening to this podcast either, and she probably wouldn't know what's about her. I attended her wedding with Travis years ago. She, I actually think now that I'm thinking about it, she got married prior to Travis and I. So I'm talking eight years ago, eight plus years ago. We attended as guests, and they after the ceremony, went out and did couple portraits. So just her and her husband, they were gone for almost two hours. Taking to do that. That's what I suppose. And I'll actually never know. I'll actually never know. But I just remember thinking, like, I'm dying of starvation. Yeah. You have a hundred and fifty guests that are sitting around and wanting to eat. And I'll play devil's advocate and immediately say your wedding day isn't about your guests. But at the end of the day, you are planning this party and dinner for guests. When it's dinner time, it's about your guests. I mean, it's about your guests, and you still have to service them and serve them like in the way that like you've invited them, and the expectation is to be fed and have a beverage. And it like making people wait is crazy. But back to what I was saying is I've been having more couples that are wanting to be a part of their cocktail hour and be more integrated with their guests throughout the day and not so much just at the reception, and have been adding coverage and at the beginning of their day and not having the like full hour-long portrait session after ceremony. And I've been enjoying that because I've been seeing on social media, and I've been just experiencing this more often, where people are like, there shouldn't be like an entire portrait session for you and your husband after the ceremony when like you've paid all this money and created this experience. And it shouldn't only be for your guests. And the cocktail hour that with your beer donkeys and your live band and your branding bar and all the things that you've planned are also for you to enjoy. And spending that entire time taking pictures is such a waste, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And it's hard for me to say that, like as the photographer, being like, of course, I think the most important thing is the photos, but there's another time that we can do with that. So if this sounds like you, if you're a bride and you're listening, going like, I am planning all this fun stuff for cocktail hour and for dinner and for drinks and for blah, blah, blah. And if this is sounding like you, I recommend having a first look, enjoying that time with your future spouse, husband slash wife, slash whoever, earlier in the day and having your photos at that time so that when ceremony time comes, you can snip snap and take your family photos and then enjoy the time with your guests. Yep.

SPEAKER_00

Don't you say? Yeah. And then okay, I am seeing that. Yeah. If you can't sneak away for 10 minutes or so while everybody's partying, everybody's already eaten or whatever. Yeah. Based on your timeline, go out when the sunset is perfect. Yes. And you're not stressing because, like, oh my gosh, we haven't gotten anything else. So we like we're limited. I am I am pro first look for that reason. Do whatever you want to do. But yeah, there's there's just so many, so many different ways it can go.

SPEAKER_01

I know. I'm pro, I'm pro-first look too. And I have a lot of brides that definitely want to go the more traditional route and let their husband see them when they're walking down the aisle. If that, if you have dreamt about that for the past 20 years of your life and that's all that you want, go forth and enjoy it and do that. And do what you want. And of course, do what you want. Like we're Grace and we're always gonna say, like, do exactly what you want and have your wedding day be exactly what you want it to be. Yeah. Just know that you're going to miss aspects of the day in order to get the portraits because they are important. But we're both pro first look for sure for that reason.

SPEAKER_00

I would love to. I just had this idea, so don't hate me. And I'll and I'll I'll make it a collaborative effort. But I kind of want to rapid fire, like ideal timeline based on the season, like time of year. Um, so like as a photographer, you're perfect, like during the summer, perfect arrival time, ceremony, reception, like flow of the day. Not that it's our wedding, but as photographers, like rhythms that we've seen work really, really well. And I think just hitting like overall like warmer months, longer days, and then like cooler months, shorter days, just like kind of hitting those two. So, like for summer, our days are super long. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna kind of default to you to start us off because you've been doing this sure, let's be honest, longer than me. And I've also like I'm just about to jump back into weddings this summer after having two babies. And so I'd yeah, I would just like love to know your initial thoughts. So, like a summer wedding, what is your ideal like timeline? What works really well?

SPEAKER_01

Okay, so for the summer, it general broad sense, I typically shoot 3 to 11 p.m. That is like just the normal time is three to 11. And then other times throughout the year, so fall and like winter, it's closer to two to 10. Yeah. So 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. And then in the summer, 3 to 11, sometimes even like 3:30 to 11:30, because the ceremony is later, because it's hot, and because the sunset is later. And then, as like a rule of thumb, I always tell all my brides this your event should be approximately five hours, no more, no less. No more, no less. So if your ceremony is at 4:30 p.m., your exit should be at approximately 9 30 p.m. This is a hill I will die on. Okay. Yeah. This is what your guests are willing to withstand is approximately five hours of event time. Okay. This doesn't mean that your party needs to be over and you need to be in your car driving away at 9 30. I know that's lame. As someone who loves to drink and party too, I'm not advocating for that, but I am advocating for make sure dinner and your cake cutting and all of your special dances, toasts, everything falls before 9:30. Do your final dance, do your sparkler exits, then all the greens are gonna get their purse and head out. And then your DJ starts playing Nicki Minaj and the party begins again. Okay. So that's 9:30 p.m. So your events in five hours. Okay. So that's winter, that's winter and fall. And we have had a 4:30 ceremony. We've taken family photos from 5 to 5:30. We've had cocktail hour from 5:30 to 6:30. We've done a couple portraits if we needed to from about 5:30 to 5.50. You've joined your cocktail hour and enjoyed the last 30, 40 minutes of it. At 6:30, we're having our grand entrance. You're going in, the wedding party is getting announced, everyone's getting announced, your food opens, buffet line opens. It is time to eat. Your vendors are hiding in a closet, shoveling in a plate of food, living their best life and slurping on a coke at approximately 7:30. You begin with your toasts, you begin with your special dances, whichever feels most important to you. As soon as that ends, you're tiptoeing over to cut your cake. You can announce it or not. I've been seeing people not announce it as much. I've been liking that. More of like a private cake thing.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

You cut your cake, your coordinator or your caterers or whoever you have helping cuts, and the cake is set out and the party begins. Yeah. And then you have that time until 9:30 to do all the dancing and all the partying. You do your exit, and then people can leave if they want. Your wedding party, your friends, your young people all stay and live their best life and have a party. Yep. Until whatever you want. That's great. That's my like recommended. And then that would mean your vendors are there from approximately like 1:30 to 9:30. Average like vendors, you know, eight to 10 hours. Mine's eight. Um, but I always add, and of course, it's not a hard stop. I always tell brides, I'm like, if you're going 30 minutes over, then we are, and it's fine. Yeah. But 1:30 to 9:30, and that gives your photographer three hours prior to the ceremony to capture all the images of getting ready and your details and your decor and your girls separate, your guys separate. And if you have a first look, like there's plenty of time. Yeah. And that's my like recommended timeline.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. And obviously, there's like flexibility in that depending on whether you want to do like first look and family portraits before ceremony or whatever. And then after, like, you have more flexibility to do whatever. You can go for the full cocktail hour. You can, there's just so many ways to do that. But I think that's a great rule of thumb. Like the five-hour party is so important. So good. It's and so important. And then for like fall, I guess just like bumping everything up, just like doing everything earlier to like meet the demands of the the light.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_00

I I feel like a first look is a big, it's not, it's not controversial. It's not the word I'm looking for. It's just like, should I do one or should I not? I again, this is these aren't my weddings. I'm showing up and photographing whatever you want to do with your day.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_00

I feel like summer weddings are more forgiving with timelines because the day's longer and you have like more light after ceremony usually that you can kind of play with. Like if you don't want to do a first look in the fall, I'm I'm just like pro first look, and let's do as many family pictures beforehand as possible. Yeah. And then like after we have time for dinner, and you can like there's still time to eat and all those things, and then still get couples' portraits or whatever. And again, at the end of the day, it goes back to like what is most important to you. So, do you want more pictures of you at cocktail hours, spending time with your friends? And yeah, it's it's totally dependent on what you want.

SPEAKER_01

I'm glad you said that. I'm glad you said that because so you I know Grace obviously knows how kind of my process works, but I do have multiple calls with brides prior to their wedding day. So yeah, usually a consultation prior to booking. And then when we book, we're good. We do emailing, we do the engagement session, and if there's bridals or boudoir or anything like that, we get that all planned over email, chat in person at the sessions. And then I usually have one, sometimes two phone calls prior to wedding day, like within the month of is about. So we can kind of go over the timeline. I really harp on family photos and just making sure that the list is organized. If I can like you know family dynamics, yes, and yes, yeah, you're really great about that. I want to know if your parents are divorced and you hate your stepmom. And like this is all important to me because I want to know who you want in your photos and um you know what's most important. But what you said kind of like struck a chord with me because I have started incorporating into my process when I talk to brides. I've been asking, what's most important to you?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

What's most important to you? What are you looking forward to? It's actually in my form now. What are you most excited about and what are you looking forward to most? And then on the phone, I'm like, what's most important to you? Because I hear something different every time. It's never the same. And I do have some that are like, I'm looking forward to my private time with my spouse and like our portraits together. Like that's what I'm looking forward to most. And I'm like, okay, then this isn't the time for me as the photographer to be like to offer, let's rush through it so you can get to your cocktail hour. And then I know I mentioned this, like the branding bar. I had a bride in April who was like, we have planned so much for our cocktail hour. And they had a live guitar player and a live violinist that was like playing country music, yeah, a branding bar, and they had brought in like custom brands for all of their friends that had like farms or anything like that with their custom brands and like a whole of that. They had like hors d'oeuvres and they were being passed around and they had an open bar and like it was so beautiful. And they were like, we don't want to be taking photos for an hour because we want to join our guests at our cocktail hour that we have like intricately planned. And I was like, I love it. I also want to be there because that's so cool. And I want to take the pictures of it and like also enjoy it with you. So I feel like if you're a vendor that's listening to this, or if you're a bride, what are you most excited about and what's most important to you? And can you build your timeline around that moment? Yeah. And make sure to communicate that to your vendors. Yes. If they're not asking you.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I was gonna say if you're a vendor, be sure to ask. Yeah. I think if you're a vendor and you keep running into like several events in a row where it's just like we ran into this hiccup and this hiccup and this expectation wasn't met, I think that just goes to show that you need to have more conversations on the front end. I feel like people get into the wedding industry, especially now, and this is just kind of a hot take. Not everybody, I'm not lumping us all into one little group, but so many people I think jump in the wedding industry because the price tag is higher. Like as far as vendors go. And there's some people robbing people blind and there's no expectations met, there's no planning involved, they're just here to make a buck. Yeah. And so as you're even sifting through vendors, wow, sorry, that S was a little much. As you're sifting through vendors I had a little whistle. Yeah. You can like vet people through how are they, you know, approaching your day? Are they asking you what's most important to you from the get-go? Like, how can I serve you from the get-go? And so, like, brides knowing that, and then vendors also like be aware that your the day is probably going to not go as planned if there is no conversation around the plan. Right. And you don't want to end up with like a bad review and like I wanted to spend this time with my husband, but the planner rushed us into this thing, or I didn't get any photos of this thing, but your photographer, because it's standard, thought that the portraits were the most important thing to you. And in reality, it was like pictures with your grandma. You know, you we just have to like there needs to be more conversations around it. And it, I think it all starts there. It just all starts with actually talking about it.

SPEAKER_01

So, no, in that in not trying to cut you off at all, but I'm like, that like brings like a great, no, that like brings like something that I have mentioned to you and have been thinking about a lot, but vetting your vendors of someone may be amazing and they may have all this experience and they may have shot at this venue a million times, and they may have shot your friend that you were a bridesmaid and they may have, you know, been a part of their wedding, but knowing like which vendors are right for you, I have come across the issue of having of someone wanting to hire me. This isn't really like a personal experience, but kind of like just trying to make a point, trying to hire someone with the expectation of blank and them not being able to deliver it because that's not who they are. So I had a bride in the past, and I've told you about this, who, and this is no no shade to her at all, just like not completely clear on like what she wanted, and seeing all these examples of the super trendy documentary style, candid style, flowy, crying, fun, Dutch angle, and all the like fun aspects of kind of having like a more organic, go with the flow type of wedding day. And her wanting that style that I love, but it's not really my style. It's not really how I execute on a wedding day. Not to say I wouldn't be willing to, but if that's what you're looking for, I might not be the right choice for you, right? Right. And her saying that's kind of what she's wanting, but at the same time delivering me this like timeline with like every 10 minutes wanting this and 10 minutes later wanting this, and 10 minutes later wanting this, and making sure we squeeze in this and wanting this special moment with her grandma and wanting this exact moment and this exact shot and a shot list and a timeline and every 10 minutes, and like having this very specific detail of a day, which yet again, I'm happy to do. I've done it, I can do it. I like the organization, I like the expectations to be listed out. I'm happy to say, listen, stuff happens. And sometimes I can't deliver every single thing that you want. Now, your most important things, I will make sure I get them if I do them at midnight. You will get everything that you're dying to have. I can't create all these organic moments for you, though. You can't have the whole thing. You can't have the fun and cutesy and candid documentary style photographer and get a hundred things on your shot list and everything you're wishing to have. You have to hone in on what's most important and what am I wanting. And does this vendor align with that of what I'm wanting?

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Does that make sense or did that just sound like a ramble?

SPEAKER_00

No. So that I'm like in another point that we've talked about already, not on here, but outside of this, the shot list, half of it, more than half of it, probably lives in our brains rent-free. Yes. Yes. Unless we're all about the decor.

SPEAKER_01

We know about the details. We're gonna do it.

SPEAKER_00

If there are things that are sentimental or like extra important to you, tell us those things. Otherwise, we're photographing everything, every part of the day. The venue, every corner we can get. Like Alex and I are well, I learned a lot from Alex, but we're very similar in that regard. Like we we will overshoot because we want to capture every single moment. Um so if something is important to you, tell us. But we're, you know, even the the groupings for like the wedding party, entire wedding party, just girls, just guys, and individual picture with just the bride and every bridesmaid, just the groom and every groomsman, like those are things that we're naturally going to go through on a wedding day. Right. So if there's anything extra, those are the kind of things to voice. Yes. Yeah. Otherwise, um, I think the more important conversation to have is not the shot by shot list, but like overall, like what do you want to walk away with at the end of the day? Right. Feeling and being able to look back on and being able to say, like, you know, showing your kids and telling them a story, and you have a photo for reference. Like, if that's like what's really important for you. So this is not a soapbox I thought that we would just jump on and stay on.

SPEAKER_01

I'm sweating. I'm sweating. I'm like, I have caffeine max today, and like we've recorded like two things that have just like been so good and so important. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So the other thing I wanted to say is I wanted to talk about kind of a timeline for summer because I did my like 4:30 to 9:30, you know, the 2:30 or 130 to 9:30 type of schedule for like fall and winter. Yeah. But then like the summer schedule is different. Yeah. And if you're getting married in the summer in Texas, you're crazy. Yep. And if you're buying you're hearing that, then enjoy it. And you probably know that and we love you, but you're crazy. You're crazy.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So I'm like, I wanted to make sure to say that first.

SPEAKER_00

I'm like, several of my brides are actually in the summer this year. So I'm like, I can't say too much. So no, I'm like neither one of us really have done that. I don't know. I was just last summer. I made to say yes. You did last year.

SPEAKER_01

Last summer I did. I did a bunch during the summer.

SPEAKER_00

You were pregnant. Yes. Well, like closer we got to summer, you were pregnant. But um, yes. Anyways.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, as you know, you were alongside me. I literally shot one 39 weeks pregnant. So I did it with Georgia and you were there. Remember? Yeah. And I can say because it was Cassie and Connor's wedding, and it was literally five days before I had Georgia. I was 39 weeks pregnant and I shot her wedding. Remember traveling following me around. I know. Yeah. Following me around with that big neon pink Stanley and was like giving me water. I was really struggling that day and performed and executed, and I still posted amazing. And I love those people. But yeah, I was 39 weeks pregnant and that was crazy. And then I did it again last summer. But honestly, I was I had a healthier pregnancy with Jack. It was there was nothing to it. I think it's just the difference in being pregnant with girls and boys. Like with Georgia, I was so swollen and gained so much weight and was so sick. And then with Jack, I really had just a healthier pregnancy. So I was doing better. But I did do it again last summer. And I have rides this summer too. I have an August 1st wedding. Like I really, and I I'm fine with it. I'm fine with it. Mostly everything's planned for the indoors. You still have to step out to take the photos. And like obviously, I'm gonna survive, but I do always worry about my couples. And like you're wearing this giant fluffy dress that's concealing your heat and your sweating. Anyways, that's not the point. If you are planning a summer later sunset type wedding, uh I recommend closer to like 3 to 11 as like my normal schedule in planning about a 6:30 p.m. ceremony. Yeah. Now, what to consider? Because the five hour rule still applies here, right? So 6 30 to 11 or 11:30 would be like your time, six to six, six to eleven. You have to keep in mind the eating time because if your ceremony is at 4:30 and then you're having family photos, couple portraits, cocktail hour, dinner season.

SPEAKER_00

People can wait.

SPEAKER_01

They're a little, yeah. Yeah. Because you can do an hour and a half and serve dinner at six. But if your ceremony is at six, you don't want to make your people wait until eight o'clock to eat dinner. Yeah. Not appropriate. Yeah. Not appropriate. Not appropriate. So I would really consider doing a lot more earlier in the day and kind of, and I'm not saying like rush through, but I'm saying get to your evening events quicker. Yes. And I don't know what it is about the summer, but my my summer brides really love to party. And I have like found that they're wanting to get to um the reception quicker, anyways. That's really true. And like it, it's really like more of a party time. And I think people just like in the summer want to party, right? So like it's kind of like the season makes you want to have a beer and have a dance. And so I have seen that more, like the trend of that more often, anyways. But it's also something to keep in mind. Um those of you that are my brides, I have past brides that listen to the podcast, which I love and I think it's so sweet. I love it. I love it. I'm like, I hi to Maggie, hi to all my girls that listen to the podcast or my past brides. And like, I just think it's so sweet. But I will say, for those of you that are prospective brides, I know I already mentioned reaching out to your photographer and your venue for the details for this, but I also send out a 60-page bridal guide, which is crazy. Once you book with me, not crazy, you I know, right? You do. I'm like, if you're a bride, then you're thinking that's not crazy. But if you're not a bride, you're like 60 pages, that's crazy.

SPEAKER_00

Just run it through chat and have it summarized. No, I'm just kidding. No, I didn't say that.

SPEAKER_01

I'm like, I really so hard on that.

SPEAKER_00

Bloodsweating tears. No, it's beautiful.

SPEAKER_01

I've seen it in months of effort to make it. And it's everything you need to know. It's your engagement session and what to wear and how to plan it and how to pick.

SPEAKER_00

And it's I think you're timeline like selling it as a template, right? For like photographers that are listening. I should. I should. In my dream life. That's me trying to wink. It's not great, but I know.

SPEAKER_01

I know. Now I'm seeing it. I'm like, in my dream life, I'm gonna have a little Etsy store with some of the stuff like I've built out and like maybe some t-shirts and some stuff that I've like thought of over the years.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

To sell, and all my guides and templates and stuff. Kitting you so off topic. I'm so sorry. Oh, I know. Wow, you're doing this. You're doing this because I'm sitting on the topic and you're not. Anyways, the guide includes basically all that I said, timelines for different times of the year, and choosing like first look versus non and kind of the pros and cons and all of that is stuff to consider. And if you're listening to this podcast and you want it, I will email it to you for being a loyal listener. And if you want it, I'll send it. You don't have to be my bride. If you want to see it, I'll be happy to share. I did work on it really hard and I'm proud of it. So I think really the point that I want to get across, I know we always say like land the plane. What is most important to you? And let's center the day around that. If the most important thing is getting the documentary style photos, let's choose our vendors based on that and plan our day around that. Yeah. You might want to photographer for 12 hours then in that case. So that there's a lot of push in time between everything. So keep that in mind. Yeah. If your most important thing is joining your cocktail hour, you need to do a first look and just hear that. And I hope that it's heard because pick what's most important to you. For me, what was most important to me on my wedding day was dinner. And I wanted to make sure that I had time to sit and eat so that I wouldn't drink too much and not feel good, and I didn't want to be drunk, and I wanted to eat, and we had foggies, and that's my favorite. And I was really excited. And uh Travis was really excited about the reception. And we had like chosen cocktails and drinks that were like specific to us, and we were excited to drink and hang out with our friends, and he wanted to be a part of that. And ask what ask your spouse what's most important to them. Ask yourself what's most important to you. Plan your day around that and plan your vendor. Yep.

SPEAKER_00

Period.

SPEAKER_01

Mike job.

SPEAKER_00

No, that was so good. And it like I I'm I'm having thoughts about other things that we can do in relation to this. Um, even like how you know you can go about choosing a photographer, how to choose your vendors. Because it's overwhelming. It's so overwhelming. There's just so many options. And I I I'll even get friends message me that are getting photos done for not wedding things, and they're like, How do I, especially with all the crazy AI stuff that's happening? It's like, how do I get somebody that I won't talk about all that now, but there's just so much. And we acknowledge the fact that it is so much to think about. So choosing vendors that understand that and will work with you instead of putting putting all the work on you and making you think about it on wedding day. That should, that's not the normal. That shouldn't be the normal. So yeah, I think that's all we have to say about that for now.

SPEAKER_01

I think that's all we have to say about that. And this was specifically about timelines. And it, like I said, I just want the point to be figure out what's most important and then make your timeline around that. And if you need any help, please reach out to Grace and I. We'd love to help. If you're not my bride, I don't care. We can chat with you. I'd love to share my bridal guide and I would love to help you craft a day that's gonna be amazing. We can also connect you with Madison, who's Grace's sister, who is worked a million wedding days from the coordinator perspective. And yeah, she has amazing advice on that as well. So we'd be happy to get you into the right alleyway of what you're needing. Yeah. So let us know.

SPEAKER_00

No, I think that's great. And hopefully it's helpful. Yeah, yeah. I I know it was for at least one person. If it's it was only for one person, it was worth it. Gosh, if it was for me and you to just get it out of our brains and into the world, then fine. I'm like, how long have we been sitting on that for years, a decade for you? I don't know. We like sweated and spurted it out or something that needed to be said. Okay so oh my gosh. Okay, say less. Say less. We will see you guys next time. Please