Something runs late on the wedding day, and suddenly that cushy hour of photo time that was on your schedule evaporates into 15 minutes of chaos with a 24 person bridal party and a list of family portraits a mile long.
The ability to handle the pressure of a late wedding day with grace and ease is definitely what sets apart great wedding videographer/photographer from the good ones.
But the ability to prevent the day from running late in the first place is what turns a great videographer/photographer into a true wedding professional.
Here’s three of the most common reasons that weddings tend to run late with some solutions to prevent it from happening!
1. Communication: The Hair and Makeup Artists Don’t Know the Photo Schedule
The hair and makeup appointments tend to be the number one reason that brides run late.
Brides at times, tell the artists that they need to be finished at 2:00 pm because photos begin at 2:00pm – leaving zero time for putting on the dress, traveling to photos, or somebody running late with their appointment. This is a sure way to start things running late.
When you’re drawing up the photography/videography schedule for the wedding day, include a hard stop time for hair and makeup and tell your brides to schedule their appointments to finish an hour before that hard stop time.
It is advisable to build in time for dressing the bride. This will build in the time you need and can be a cushion for other other things that may run late.
2. The Family is Notorious for Running Late
When telling families the schedule, move things up by 15 to 30 minutes. This “lie” is okay and they will thank you for it. They don’t want to miss anything or be rushed once at the venue.
Tell the family an easy-to-find location to meet for pictures that require little direction. Sometimes family is late because they simply don’t know where to meet!
3. The Travel Time was Underestimated
A five-minute trip to the church actually takes twenty minutes with a bridal party of fifteen people. Count unexpected traffic or road work, and the shoot can be really late.
Always over-estimate the travel times. Build this into the schedule.
I always schedule 15 minutes for a 5 minute car ride and 45 minutes for a 30 minute trip.
