Most couples have no idea what a wedding photographer actually does between the moment we arrive and the moment we leave. The portfolio shows the frames. It does not show the card swaps, the equipment cleans, the meetings we have with the venue manager about where the cake is going, the half-hour we spend in the kitchen waiting out a rain shower. Here is a real twelve-hour wedding day from our 2025 season, anonymised, in twenty-three timestamps.
Pre-day
20:00 (day before) — Anastasiia sends final timeline confirmation to the couple, vendors, and team. The Lead photographer reviews the venue scouting notes from the pre-wedding visit. Cards are formatted clean, batteries charged twice (camera and grip). Bodies and lenses are wiped, calibrated.
Day-of
08:45 — Lead arrives at the studio to pack the day-of case. Two bodies, four lenses, two strobes, one continuous LED, three lavalier mic kits, fifteen spare batteries, ten cards in two physical boxes (one stays in the car).
09:30 — Lead arrives at the bride's prep. Second photographer arrives at the groom's prep across the city. Both check in with the couple, set up neutral colour cards for white-balance reference, photograph the dress + rings + invitation suite while the bride is still in robe.
10:15 — Hair-and-makeup half-done. Lead steps out to scout the light in the room where the dress is currently hanging. Moves the dress 1.5 metres to a window with better backlight. Bride does not notice.
11:00 — Both teams meet at the Mairie. Civil ceremony begins at 11:30. Lead briefs the second on the geometry of the signing-the-register frame and which corner of the Salle has the cleanest backdrop.
11:52 — Civil ceremony ends. 7 minutes for family group portraits on the steps outside. Lead is calling family names from the list Anastasiia sent the day before. Second is composing the wide frames so we hit them once and move on.
12:15 — Drive to reception venue. Card swap in the car. First card of the day goes into the second physical box, which stays in the car. Lead reviews the next 90 minutes' schedule out loud with the second.
13:00 — Cocktail hour at the château. Photographers eat for the first time today, standing, in the kitchen, 6 minutes total. Then back out for candid coverage of guests arriving and the couple greeting parents.
14:30 — Couple portrait window. 45 minutes. Lead has scouted four spots during the pre-wedding visit. Backup spot in the orangerie if it starts raining (rain shower in the forecast). The session moves through three of the four spots. Bride asks about her dress at minute 22; Lead has a small wipe in the pocket for exactly this moment.
15:30 — Ceremony in the chapel. Symbolic. Both photographers + the videographer are in the back third of the chapel. Lead has agreed with the officiant where the line is for not stepping forward during the vows. We do not cross that line.
“We do not cross the line we agreed with the officiant. Ever. The frame we lose by staying back is a frame our reputation gains.”
— Andre
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16:30 — Confetti exit. We have already scouted the angle. Three photographers in a row at staggered focal lengths — wide, medium, long. Confetti is shot at 1/4000s to freeze the petals. One of the three frames is going to be the album cover.
17:00 — Family group portraits. List of 12 groups, reviewed with the bride two weeks ago. Anastasiia is on a phone call coordinating the catering changeover during this — there's always something logistical to coordinate during family portraits.
18:00 — Sunset window. 35 minutes. The most important 35 minutes of the day from a portfolio perspective. Couple is told they will get a 5-minute break at minute 17, which they always need.
19:00 — Reception begins. Card swap. Wipe gear. The dust from the courtyard is real. Lavalier mics are placed on the officiants and the speakers — the audio rig is checked twice.
19:45 — First speeches start. Two photographers + the videographer + a backup body on a tripod recording wide. Speeches are the highest-stakes audio of the day. Backup recording on three separate devices.
20:15 — Dinner is served. Photographers eat for the second time today. 18 minutes, seated, with the venue staff. The catering team has set aside two plates for us.
21:00 — First dance. The flash bracket is set up in advance. The dance is two-and-a-half minutes; we shoot through about 35 frames; three will make the gallery; one will make the album.
21:30 — Coverage officially ends. Brief the couple on what comes next: the gallery arrives within the delivery time written into their agreement. Hand them a small printed thank-you card with the URL of their private gallery, which will be populated when the gallery is ready.
22:30 — Studio. Cards are copied to two physical drives and the cloud archive before we sleep. The Lead does not start culling until tomorrow morning.
The day after
Anastasiia checks in with the couple by message around 10:00 the next day. The Lead starts the first cull pass on the gallery. The edit then runs to the delivery date written into the couple’s agreement.
From the shoot