All About Wedding Events After the Ceremony

The cocktail hour

Normally, the couple will go take some post-ceremony photos with their close friends and family, but for the remaining guests and wedding party... it’s cocktail hour! This is the in-between time between the ceremony and the reception where guests can mix and mingle while enjoying a cocktail or refreshing beverage. If you’ll need a lot of time for post-ceremony photos but still want photos of cocktail hour, it might be worth talking to your photographer about a second shooter.

Pro Tip: To keep things organized, we recommend working with your caterer to plan the specific Cocktail Hour beverages and appetizers that will be handed out or available during this time. Typically, this part of the event is no more than 30-45 minutes max. 

Final photos (family)

If you decided to do a first look then congratulations, you’ve already taken the majority of your wedding day photos. This is now the time for you and your partner to take photos with your extended family. These are people you're close with and want to make sure you get nice photos with. Think: aunts and uncles, grand parents, cousins, nieces and nephews-- you get the picture! But make it quick so they have time to make it to the end of cocktail hour.If you decide to opt out of the first look, then this is the time you'll need to take all of your individual photos along with both your wedding party and your family photos. Make sure to schedule in a good chunk of time for these!