My fiance and I are wedding photographers based in Atlanta, GA. This is how we planned our cruise wedding. This article will continue to be updated as we navigate through this experience together.
At the time of writing this article (September 2018), we have been engaged for almost 2 years. We have put off planning our wedding time and time again due to a variety of reasons including personal finances, family health problems, and the paradox of choice that comes with having too many options available to you. With my dad’s cancer now in remission, and our finances in a better place, there never seemed a better time to start planning for our wedding!
Why plan a cruise wedding?
We started brainstorming all of the possibilities. Being active professionals in the local wedding community in Atlanta for the past 10 years, we knew we always wanted to plan a destination wedding. We had initially thrown ideas around like an intimate wedding in Vegas, or an all inclusive resort in Mexico, etc. With all of our ideas floating around, we knew we wanted our wedding to be affordable for family and friends to attend, and we wanted to provide an amazing experience for those who chose to come out.
It came to me in a dream one night! Of all the places to find wedding inspiration! The next morning I contemplated the logistics of planning a cruise wedding. It seemed to check off all of our boxes.
Cool destination? Check.
Affordability? It’s possible depending on the cruise line, check.
Non traditional & non cookie cutter? Check.
Does it provide a unique & awesome experience for our guests? Check.
How to choose the best cruise lines for weddings
Ideally we were looking to plan a shorter cruise over a weekend. Weekday cruises & longer cruises are less affordable, and would require our guests to take off more vacation time from work. We also wanted to choose a port that was close enough to drive to if our family and friends preferred not to fly.
We chose our cruise line and port based on availability. When we started looking at the nearest ports within driving distance, we were limited to just 3 (Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa). When we looked at the cruise lines available at these ports that offered 3&4 night cruises, we also realized we only had a couple of options available to us. Between Carnival, Disney, and Royal Caribbean, we personally had the best experiences with Royal Caribbean in the past.
We looked at the Royal Caribbean cruises available at the time of year we wanted to get married that matched our criteria (3 or 4 night cruise, over a weekend, and cool locations!). With only 2 or 3 cruises available, there was clearly one winner with the best cruise itinerary that covered 2 islands in the Bahamas within 3 nights.
Cruise wedding reviews : Should I get married on a cruise?
Once we had a fairly good idea of the cruise we wanted to get married on, we started to research Royal Caribbean Wedding reviews, and just cruise wedding reviews in general – we wanted to cover all of our bases. What we found was a very mixed bag.
There were absolute nightmare horror stories posted online highlighting terrible experiences with various cruise lines that dropped the ball when planning weddings & terrible customer support stories. There were also equally great experiences and stories highlighted. After reading as many cruise wedding reviews as we could find, we came to a consensus.
The most disappointed brides seemed to be the ones with the highest expectations. As wedding professionals, we know all too well that anything that can go wrong will go wrong on a wedding day. Wedding professionals do the best they can to prepare for mishaps in advance, but sometimes there are circumstances beyond anyones control that can influence how a wedding day might unfold. In an ideal world, we wouldn’t let those things ruin our day and ruin our precious memories. We would take it in stride & focus on what’s most important to us. We would focus on enjoying our day and creating amazing memories & experiences with the ones we love.
Another thing we read about in the various cruise wedding reviews we stumbled upon is that cruise weddings are not for everyone. Many wedding packages with cruise lines are fairly restrictive in nature – including the times and dates available for ceremonies, the legality of the ceremonies, the vendors available, etc. This is both a blessing and a curse. For the super laid back bride who doesn’t want to plan anything, this is ideal. For the more type a bride looking for a higher level of control and more options for customization, cruise weddings might not provide the best experience.
When we contacted Royal Caribbean’s wedding team, we were prepared for anything! We received a copy of their wedding packages & deliberated on the one that might work best for us.
Wedding days can be LONG – as the one vendor who arrives while you are getting ready in the morning and doesn’t leave until after you leave, we, as wedding photographers, probably know this more than most!
As you start to plan out your special day, you might soon realize just how long that day becomes.
If the Wedding Photography Collection you purchased comes with a limited number of hours, you might be debating whether it’s worth it to add on more time with your photographers, or if there are things you can cut from your wedding day timeline to make it work with the number of hours you’ve purchased.
While this decision is entirely personal and might be based on a number of other factors, we’ve put together a couple of sneaky tips and tricks to help save you time on your wedding day!
1) Streamline & Prioritize the Getting Ready Photos
What moments during your getting ready process do you want captured? On the wedding day, our wedding photography studio tends to photograph ANYTHING and EVERYTHING as it unfolds. But when pinched for time – are there unique and specific moments you’d like to prioritize over others?
If considering cutting back hours, we encourage our brides to prioritize and focus on the moments that matter the most to them.
The wedding day is a combination of stylized portraiture (both candid & posed in nature) as well as unique and special moments that tell the story of your day. Our advice is to prioritize the key portraits and moments that are the most important to you, and to cut back mercilessly on the lackluster moments that may be devoid of emotion or meaning. These are incredibly personal decisions to make – and decisions that only you have to be happy with at the end of the day.
2) Limit the number of Wedding Day Locations
Another factor to consider in shrinking back a photography timeline is to reduce the number of locations used on a wedding day. With fewer locations, come fewer opportunities to travel and fewer opportunities to get stuck in traffic. Every time a new location is used, time is required to break down and pack up gear, lug said gear into a vehicle, drive to the next location and maybe get stuck in traffic along the way, get to the next location, find a parking spot/ pay to park, unpack said gear, and get gear set up and established before photos can be taken again.
By limiting the number of locations used on your wedding day, the less time will be spent in travel & re-establishing gear again.
Fewer locations = less travel time & more photo time!
3) Group reception activities together
There are two ways to schedule your reception events (ie: first dances, cake cutting, toasts, bouquet/ garter toss, etc) – You can spread them out throughout the evening or schedule them back to back.
This decision might very well depend on the amount of time you have allotted for this portion of the day. After cocktail hour (1 hour) & dinner (1 hour) is done, how much actual reception time do you have left?
If you have 3 or 4+ hours left after cocktail hour & dinner, you have a longer reception! Spreading out your events throughout the evening is a nice way to break up your time. Rather than having 4+ hours of endless dancing, you have an event to look forward to every hour or so.
On the other hand, if you have 1-2 hours left after cocktail hour & dinner is said and done, spreading out your events throughout this 2 hour window will result in a break every 10-30 minutes. You’ll have just enough time to start a conversation with a friend before being whisked away for the next event.
If you find yourself with 1-2 hours left for your reception, we highly recommend scheduling your events back to back (where it makes sense). This ensures you’ll have at least an hour – hour and a half of uninterrupted dancing time, and uninterrupted time to mingle with the family and friends who came to your wedding.
Examples of grouping like events together would mean that your first dance, father-daughter dance, and mother-son dance happen back to back. If you held off until scheduling these dances for after dinner, you could also add in the cake cutting & toasts immediately after. As an added bonus, you & your guests would also get to eat dinner immediately after cocktail hour.
4) Stage an early send off/ No send off
The last tip we have for you to save time on your wedding day is to stage an early send off or go without one.
If you don’t care much for send off photos, you can cut your photographers’ coverage at some point during the evening once enough reception photos have been covered.
If you would prefer to have these send off photos, you also have the option of staging a send off earlier in the evening.
During a typical reception, the crowd tend to thin out as families and elderly guests start to leave. Staging an early send off will often act as a cue for these people to leave at that time, leaving the fun party animals behind to dance the night away!
If you have a smaller guest count to begin with (less than 100), staging an early send off will ensure there are more people to see you go & you’ll have send off photos with the majority of your guests.
Summary
At the end of the day, you always have the option to add on more time with your wedding photographers. However, if you would like to stay within your purchased number of hours, you have several options available to you if you’re looking to save time on your wedding day.
You can streamline & prioritize the photos taken during the getting ready portion of the day.
You can limit the number of locations to reduce travel time.
You can schedule your reception events back to back.
You can stage an early send off, or cut it all together.
What Is a First Look Wedding? Pros, Cons, and Timeline Tips
Thinking about doing a First Look on your wedding day? Learn what a First Look wedding is, the pros and cons, and how it can shape your wedding photography timeline and overall experience.
Table of Contents
What Is a First Look?
A First Look wedding moment is a private time on the wedding day when a couple sees each other before the ceremony. It’s an emotional, intimate experience — often filled with joy, happy tears, and a moment of calm amid the day’s excitement.
While the emotional connection is central, First Look wedding photography also offers practical benefits. It opens up more flexibility in your wedding timeline by allowing couple’s portraits, wedding party photos, and even family photos to be completed earlier in the day. That means more freedom to enjoy the ceremony and celebration without feeling rushed.
Why Consider a First Look Wedding Timeline? 5 Key Factors
1. Sunset Timing: Will There Be Enough Light After Your Ceremony?
Have you checked what time the sun sets on your wedding day? If your ceremony ends around or after sunset, doing portraits afterward may mean working in very low light — or even complete darkness.
This is especially important for fall, winter, and early spring weddings, when the sun can set as early as 5:00 PM. If you’re planning to take outdoor portraits and want that naturally lit, light-and-airy look, you’ll want to be strategic about your timeline.
A First Look wedding timeline is one way to ensure those portraits happen in beautiful natural light — but it’s not the only way. If you’d prefer to wait until the ceremony to see each other, the ceremony should end at least one hour before sunset — ideally 1.5 to 2 hours before. Portraits taken during the final hour of daylight are possible, but the sun is actively setting during that time, which means we’re constantly adjusting lighting and camera settings. This can slow things down significantly — especially during family portraits — and can result in a lack of visual consistency across those images due to the shifting light.
The earlier the ceremony ends, the more flexibility we’ll have to create beautiful, well-lit portraits without the added stress of racing against the sun.
2. Personality & Nerves: How Do You Want to Feel on Your Day?
When deciding whether to do a First Look Wedding Timeline or a Traditional Wedding Timeline, it’s worth reflecting on how you and your partner naturally experience big moments — especially under pressure. Some couples know they’ll thrive in the spotlight, while others recognize they might feel more grounded with a quiet moment together beforehand.
For those who describe themselves as more private or introspective, the idea of being the center of attention can feel overwhelming. A First Look Wedding Timeline allows for an emotional, meaningful connection in a setting that’s calm, quiet, and away from the eyes of your guests. It becomes a moment just for the two of you — instead of being on display during one of the most emotionally charged moments of the day. It can make your first time seeing each other feel deeply intimate, without the pressure of performing in front of family and friends.
For couples who identify with being detail-oriented, hands-on planners, or simply find themselves managing many moving parts, seeing your partner ahead of time can provide a sense of calm and clarity. It brings the focus back to what the day is really about — the two of you and your commitment to each other.
Over the years, many of our couples have told us that their First Look became one of the most meaningful parts of their wedding day. It gave them a chance to slow down, take it all in, and share an experience that felt genuinely theirs — before the whirlwind of the celebration began.
3. Emotions & Makeup: Want a Private Moment (and a Touch-Up)?
Emotions and personality often go hand-in-hand — and on a day as meaningful as your wedding, even the most composed people can feel unexpectedly overwhelmed.
If you or your partner anticipate a wave of emotions the first time you see each other, a First Look Wedding Timeline can provide a quieter, more private setting to experience that moment together. It’s a chance to embrace the tears, the joy, and the emotional weight of the day without the pressure of an audience. And if makeup touch-ups are important to you, it also gives time to refresh before walking down the aisle.
If that emotional moment happens during the ceremony, you’ll be standing in front of all your guests, with no real opportunity to pause, regroup, or freshen up before portraits and post-ceremony interactions begin. It can still be beautiful and meaningful — just something to be aware of if you think you might get teary.
That said, if you don’t expect tears, this may not be a deciding factor for you — and that’s totally okay. Every couple’s dynamic is different, and your decision should reflect what feels most authentic to you.
4. Timeline Flexibility, Guest Time, and Transition Logistics
How a First Look Impacts Your Day
When couples choose to do a First Look wedding timeline and complete most portraits before the ceremony, it opens up more breathing room for the rest of the day. You’ll have the option to attend cocktail hour, enjoy a private moment together, or simply transition into the reception with less pressure.
What Happens Without a First Look
If you decide not to do a First Look Wedding Timeline, most of your wedding portraits are typically scheduled during cocktail hour — which is usually only about an hour long. In most cases, you’ll be away from your guests for the majority (if not all) of that time. We generally need about 30 minutes for immediate family and wedding party portraits, assuming there aren’t an extended number of group photo requests.
Why Transition Time Matters
After portraits & before the reception begins, we also need a 15-minute transition window to move into the reception space, adjust lighting and camera settings, and photograph the decor before guests enter the space. During this same time, your DJ or planner is usually lining up the wedding party for introductions, and one or both partners may be bustling a wedding dress, touching up makeup, or simply taking a moment to reset before being announced into the reception.
Limited Time for Couple’s Portraits
All of that leaves us with only about 15 minutes — at most — for couple’s portraits during cocktail hour. While we can still create something beautiful, it’s not a lot of time to offer variety. In a perfect world, we recommend setting aside closer to an hour for couple’s portraits — whether all at once or spread out across multiple parts of the day. A First Look Wedding Timeline gives us that additional opportunity to make that happen earlier in the day.
Portraits During the Reception (and the Best Timing)
We can absolutely plan for a few more portraits during the reception if you’re open to stepping away — and many couples are! When this happens, we usually aim for a 10–15 minute window after formalities are complete, once the dance floor opens. That way, you’re not missing any key moments or meals, and you’re not pulled away from guests during a time when everyone is reconnecting and relaxing. This approach gives us a little creative space without disrupting the flow of the evening.
The Risk of Running Behind
While most wedding days stay on schedule, if any part of the day runs longer than expected, portrait time is often the first area where adjustments are made — and that typically means reducing or cutting that time to keep the rest of the event on track.
To keep the reception timeline on track (especially meal time services and entrances), planners or venues may decide to shorten the portrait window. Since this time doesn’t directly impact guests or other vendors, it’s usually treated as the most flexible.
This only becomes an issue if the schedule runs late — but unless your preferences are clearly communicated to your planner in advance, there’s often an assumption that portraits can be condensed or skipped if needed.
If having that time is important to you, we strongly recommend voicing that early in the planning process. Building in extra buffer time — like with a First Look Wedding Timeline — adds more flexibility and helps protect that window if anything shifts on the day.
5. Honoring Tradition: Is a First Look Right for You?
For some couples, there’s nothing more meaningful than seeing each other for the first time at the altar — that quiet intake of breath, the collective stillness, the weight of that moment surrounded by your closest people. If that’s the way you’ve always envisioned your day, we deeply respect that.
Tradition isn’t just a preference — for many, it’s tied to heritage, family, or a sense of emotional grounding. And while it may come with a few logistical trade-offs, those details are secondary when weighed against what matters most to you. Your values, your story, and the meaning behind your choices deserve to be protected.
Our goal is to empower you with all the information you need to make decisions that align with your values and your vision for the day. If preserving tradition is at the heart of that, we’ll be there to support it fully — and to capture those moments with care, intention, and deep respect for what they mean to you.
In Summary: Should You Do a First Look Wedding Timeline?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to doing a First Look Wedding Timeline or a Traditional Timeline — only what feels most aligned with your values, your vision, and the kind of experience you want to create together.
If capturing a wide range of portraits, building flexibility into your timeline, or easing into the day with a quiet moment together feels important — a First Look might be the perfect fit.
If tradition holds deep meaning for you, and you’ve always envisioned that emotional first moment happening at the altar, that’s just as powerful of a choice.
Our goal is simply to give you the clarity and context to make an informed decision — one that reflects who you are as a couple and how you want to remember your day. Whatever you choose, we’ll be there to support it fully, and to document it with care, intention, and heart.
FAQs About First Look Wedding Timelines
What is a First Look wedding tradition? A First Look is a private moment when a couple sees each other before the ceremony. It’s often emotional, intimate, and offers a chance to connect without the pressure of an audience. It also opens up more flexibility in your photography timeline, since many portraits can be completed earlier in the day.
What are the pros and cons of doing a First Look? Pros include reducing stress, easing nerves, maximizing portrait time, and allowing more time with guests after the ceremony. Cons may include needing to be ready earlier and stepping away from a more traditional timeline. Ultimately, it depends on your priorities and how you want the day to feel.
Do we need a First Look to get sunset portraits? Not always — but if your ceremony ends near or after sunset, a First Look may be the only way to capture portraits in natural light. Without one, portraits will likely need to be done in lower light conditions or after dark, unless your ceremony ends at least 1.5 to 2 hours before sunset.
Can we still get great photos without a First Look? Absolutely. If you’d prefer to wait until the ceremony to see each other, we’ll make the timeline work. Just know that all combined portraits (with both partners + family + wedding party) will happen after the ceremony, which may mean less time with guests — and less light to work with — especially if anything runs longer than expected.
Can we do extra portraits during the reception — even if we’ve already done some earlier? Yes — many couples choose to step away briefly during the open dance floor for a few additional portraits. We typically aim for a quick 10–15 minute window so you’re not away from your guests for long. This isn’t meant to replace your main portrait time, but it can be a fun way to add variety — especially if you’re hoping for nighttime or creative lighting portraits later in the evening.
Still unsure whether a First Look Wedding Timeline is the right fit for your day? Reach out to us — we’re happy to walk you through your timeline and help you plan a wedding experience that feels fully your own.
About the Photographers
Hi! We're Jaimie & Kyle (+Associates) with Jaimie Dee Photography. We're Atlanta photographers based in the metro area and service clients all over the globe. Jaimie Dee Photography was established in 2008. We're primarily a wedding and portrait studio. Our images are crisp, clean & colorful and strike a balance between classic and candid styled portraits. Aside from the photography, we help you craft the perfect photo experience - from the beginning planning stages to the finished artwork hanging on your walls. When you're in front of our camera, we'll also offer you gentle guidance through a combo of stationary and movement based poses. We'll help bring out your inner diva too - even if you're shy! If you're looking for a photographer in the metro Atlanta area or beyond, we'd love to meet you!
