Why You Should Add Time With Your Photographer and Coordinator For Your DC and Baltimore Micro Wedding
If you’re reading this, you’ve most likely booked Tiny Wedding Collective for your DC or Baltimore micro wedding! YAY! We’re so excited to help you coordinate the tiny wedding or elopement of your dreams. One of the most important pieces of support we offer is our help with the day of the wedding timeline.
Once we know where you’re getting married and what time your ceremony is taking place, we’ll start to put the pieces together in your Wedding Day Playbook you received immediately following your booking.
At this point, we’ll start talking about your add-ons, including additional time with your photographer and day of coordinator.
To help, we’ve compiled a list of reasons you may want to include additional time with these vendors for your wedding to run nice and smoothly so that you can spend your wedding day enjoying yourselves!
Getting Ready Coverage For The Wedding Party
The “getting ready” portion of the wedding day is often overlooked when planning a micro wedding but it really is filled with so much excitement and anticipation and can make for some really genuine and emotional photographs! If you just want a few getting-ready photos, we recommend that the photographer arrives once hair and makeup are completely finished and you’re about to step into your dress or tux - about 30 minutes of extra coverage. If you want more details captured - the tail end of makeup/hair, the dress hanging, invitation, etc - we’d recommend at least 60 extra minutes of coverage. And if you want both partners getting ready covered, we recommend adding at least an extra 1.5 hours.
And don’t forget! If you’re adding additional time with the photographer for getting ready photos, you’ll need to also add enough time for them to arrive at the ceremony location 30 minutes before the start.
If you both want getting ready coverage, we recommend you both get ready at the same DC or Baltimore location whether that’s your home, a hotel or an airbnb.
First Look Photos in Baltimore and DC
If you’ve decided to include a First Look within your wedding day timeline, you may want to add some additional time to the front end of your day so that it doesn’t need to be rushed.
You’ll want time to really take in the moment with your partner and have some time to compose yourself before walking down the aisle. When booking the base package, our team arrives 30 minutes before the ceremony so your First Look will take place right when we arrive. 30 minutes may seem like a lot of time but we’ll need everyone seated and in place for the processional no later than 10 minutes before the ceremony start time.
Plus, if you don’t want your guests to see you before you walk down the aisle (we love a grand reveal!) then we’ll need you to “hide” before guests arrive which will only leave you with 5 or so minutes for a First Look. If including a First Look, we recommend adding 30 minutes of extra time with the photographer and day of coordinator. This will also give you some extra time for portraits of just the two of you!
See one of our favorite Baltimore tiny wedding first looks below!
Family Size Considerations For Small Weddings
If you have a large family or a big group of friends and you know everyone is going to want formal photos with you, then we’d recommend adding on an additional 30 minutes with the photographer/coordinator so that it doesn’t take time away from your portraits or having fun at your reception!
A month before the wedding, you’ll fill out a questionnaire that will ask you to list the different family/friend portrait combinations you’d like. This is so that the day of coordinator can help the photographer assemble these so that you can get to the fun parts of the day!
(Pro tip - not wanting to spend a ton of time on formal portraits? Let your VIPS know ahead of time — parents, grandparents, etc — so that they don’t take over with 10+ requests!)
Venue Requirement in DC and Baltimore
Lots of DC tiny wedding locations and Baltimore micro wedding venues require that you have a Day of Coordinator present for the entirety of your contract or, at the very least, until all of the “events” at your reception have concluded. (Food courses, toasts, dances, cake cutting, etc.) If this is the case, let us know!
Set Up and Decor Placement
If you’re planning a reception at a venue or restaurant after your ceremony and need assistance setting up or placing “personals” (that’s industry lingo for decor,) then you’ll want to add on additional time with the Day of Coordinator! Allow your family, friends, and guests (and you!) enjoy the day rather than tasking people with a to-do list.
This might include setting up tablescapes with name cards, table numbers, or specialty favors. Maybe you have a welcome and bar signage you’d like placed around the venue.
Depending on when you have access to the venue, you’ll add time either to the front end of the timeline, before the ceremony, or after the ceremony between the portraits and the reception. Don’t worry - we’ll help you with deciding where to add the time onto your timeline!
Reception Coverage
If you’re planning some of the more traditional wedding day events (toasts, first dances, cake cutting, etc.) you’re definitely going to want photos of that! You’ll also want your Day of Coordinator there to keep the timeline moving so that you’re not forced to keep track of the time or play emcee at your own wedding!
The day goes by in the blink of an eye: you’ll want to be as present as possible and have the memories in photo form to look back on!
Check out some of our favorite candids from the day of our couples simply enjoying their beautiful small and intimate wedding ceremonies.
The need for extra time comes down to being prepared to plan for delays and add some buffer time between events. Having this extra time will make your day run smoother and allows you both to be fully present during your micro wedding day here in DC and Baltimore.
Ready to add additional time with your photographer and day of coordinator? Still have questions? We’re here to help! Email us today!
The Tiny Wedding Collective is a Washington DC-based all-inclusive elopement and intimate wedding planning service for DC and Baltimore, Maryland. A Tiny Wedding is for couples who want to celebrate their commitment in a thoughtful, stylish way but don’t want the stress and fanfare of a big, expensive wedding. Not all couples fit inside the same traditional box and it’s time that we make space for inclusivity, diversity, and creativity. To find out more about what it’s like to work with us, please fill out our contact form here.