The best order for wedding family photos
The order matters more than the list. Get it right and twelve groupings take about twenty minutes. Get it wrong and people wander off to the bar.
6 min read · Updated 7 October 2026
The best order for wedding family photos is: anyone who needs a chair and small children first, then one family at a time, starting with the biggest group and releasing people a few at a time, finishing with the wedding party. Allow 1.5 to 2 minutes per grouping, so 10 to 15 groupings take 20 to 30 minutes.
Most couples write their family photo list in the order people come to mind: parents, then grandparents, then siblings, then “oh, and the cousins”. Photographers almost never shoot it that way. They reorder the list so that each new photo needs as few people as possible to step in or out. Not sure who to include yet? Start with who to include in wedding family photos.
That one change is the difference between a calm fifteen minutes and a stressful forty.
Four rules that decide the order
- 1Anyone who can’t stand for long goes first. Grandparents, anyone using a walking aid, heavily pregnant relatives. Do their photos, then get them a seat and a drink.
- 2Small children go early too. A four-year-old flower girl has about ten good minutes in her. Spend them on photos, not waiting.
- 3Do one side of the family at a time. Swapping between families means two sets of people waiting instead of one.
- 4Build up, then peel away. Start with the biggest group for a family, then release people a few at a time until only the closest relatives are left. Nobody has to come back once they’ve been released.
The test for a good order
Read your list from top to bottom and count how many people step in or out between each photo. If any step involves more than four or five people moving, something is probably in the wrong place.
A sample running order
Here is a typical order for a couple with parents, siblings, a grandparent who needs a chair and some aunts and uncles. Swap in your own names, or see six example lists for different families.
Partner A’s family first
- 1Couple with GrandmaStart here so she can sit down straight after
- 2Couple with the whole immediate familyParents, siblings and their partners, nieces and nephews, Grandma
- 3Couple with extended familyAdd aunts, uncles and cousins to the group that’s already there
- 4Couple with parents and siblingsRelease aunts, uncles, cousins, partners and little ones
- 5Couple with parents
- 6Couple with siblingsParents step out, siblings stay
Then Partner B’s family
- 1Couple with Partner B’s whole immediate family
- 2Couple with parents and siblings
- 3Couple with parents
- 4Couple with siblings
Finish with
- 1Couple with both families togetherOptional. It’s a big group, so only if there’s time and space
- 2Couple with the wedding party
Which family should go first?
Go first with whichever family has someone who needs to sit down, or small children. If neither does, start with the family that’s physically closest to where the photos are happening. It sounds trivial, but it saves a surprising amount of time.
Should both families be in one photo?
A photo with both families together is lovely, but it’s often the hardest one to organise. It needs the most space and the most people, and it usually happens at the moment everyone wants a drink. If you want it, put it either right at the start, while everyone is already gathered, or at the very end as a last group. Don’t put it in the middle.
Add your family and we’ll put the shots in this order for you, and show who steps in and out at each one.
Make my family photo listMaking the order work on the day
- Use first names on the list. Your photographer calling “Uncle Gerry and Auntie Anne” works far better than “bride’s aunt and uncle”.
- Give a copy to one loud, organised relative or friend who knows both families: your family photo wrangler. They round people up while the photographer shoots.
- Tell people beforehand that they’re in the family photos. A short message the week before saves hunting the bar for a missing cousin.
- Have a chair ready for anyone who needs one before the first photo starts, not halfway through.
Questions people ask
Who should be in the first wedding family photo?
Anyone who can’t stand for long, usually grandparents, followed by the largest group for that side of the family. Starting with them lets older relatives sit down quickly.
Do you do the bride’s or groom’s family first?
There’s no rule. Start with whichever family has older relatives or small children, or whichever is nearer the photo location.
How many family photo groupings should we have?
Most couples are happy with 10 to 15 groupings. Past about 15 the family photos start eating into drinks reception and couple portrait time.