How to Make a Wedding Timeline
The last thing you want to do on your wedding day is to stress about everyone being in the right place at the right time—and the best way to avoid any confusion is to create a timeline! Today, I’ll share with you a basic wedding timeline so you know what to expect on your big day!
A wedding day timeline should outline the entire day and ensure that you, your partner, your bridal party, and all your vendors know what’s going on. If you aren’t working with a wedding planner or a day coordinator, you’ll likely need to create the timeline yourself. This can be a daunting task—you’ll need to know how long everything will take and how much time you need.
Follow this guide to learn how to make a wedding timeline, see some examples, and get some tips and tricks to ensure you get the most out of your day!
What Goes into a Wedding Timeline?
So, what actually happens during a wedding day? What do you need to schedule into your timeline?
Getting Ready
The wedding day starts with getting ready. It’s best to talk to your hair and makeup artist about how long this will take, but two hours is pretty standard! Make sure to leave enough time for you and everyone in the bridal party to get dressed as well.
Arrival Times for Vendors
When you’re deciding how to make a wedding day timeline, remember that this isn’t just for you! Your vendors will need to know when to arrive and when to begin setting up, so make sure to include this information in your timeline and send it to each of your vendors.
First Look
Some couples stick to the tradition of not seeing each other until they walk down the aisle, but others opt for a first look. A first look happens right before the ceremony. The photographer will position one of you facing away, and the other will come up behind them and tap them on the shoulder. It always creates really sweet moments, and it’s a great way to get some time to yourselves before getting up in front of all your guests! So many couples say that all their wedding day jitters melted away after they saw each other for the first time. Ask your photographer for advice when it comes to scheduling time for the first look and if they’ll want to take some photos afterward, but usually, this takes about 15 minutes to half an hour.
Bridal Party Photos
Bridal party photos usually happen after the first look, if you’re doing one! If not, photographers will often take photos of each side of the bridal party separately beforehand, and then after the ceremony, they will take photos of everyone together.
Ceremony
The moment you’ve been waiting for - time to tie the knot! Ask your officiant how long the ceremony will take, but half an hour is usually plenty of time. If you have any religious or cultural traditions or a unity ceremony that you want to incorporate, make sure to schedule time for this too!
Cocktail Hour and Family Photos
Cocktail hour is the time right after the ceremony when guests mingle and grab drinks. This gives the venue staff time to set up the reception and dinner area, and is also the perfect opportunity for the two of you to slip away and take some photos! Some couples do family photos before the ceremony, and use this time during cocktail hour for couple’s photos. Others do family photos after the ceremony, especially if some family members won’t be present for the beginning part of the wedding day. Cocktail hour is usually, as the name suggests, an hour!
Dinner
After cocktail hour, it’s time for dinner! Depending on how many guests you have you will need to decide how much time to budget for everyone to get served their meals. The couple usually gets their meals first, so that after they finish, they can go around to the tables and greet all of their guests. An hour is usually enough time to schedule just for eating - as other activities begin guests will still be finishing up their meals.
Reception
There are lots of activities and traditions that you can do for your reception, so make sure to break up your timeline with each one! There’s the bouquet and garter toss, toasts, dances with parents, your first dance as a couple, cake cutting, and more you can do. After all that is done, the night usually ends with breaking it down on the dance floor.
Send Off
Some couples do a send-off at the end of the night - they have their guests stand around with sparklers, flower petals, or ribbons, and send the couple off. If you decide to do this, make sure to schedule it into your timeline!
Sample Wedding Timeline
Now that you know what goes into a wedding timeline, here is a sample!
9:00 AM Hair and Makeup arrives
9:15 AM Begin hair and makeup
11:00 AM Photographer arrives
11:30 AM Groom and groomsmen begin getting ready
12:00 PM Bride puts on a dress
12:45 PM First look
1:15 PM Wedding party and Family photos
2:15-30 PM Bride and groom hide as guests arrive
2:50 PM Couple and bridal party line up for the ceremony
3:00 PM Ceremony begins
3:00 PM Bartender arrives for setup
3:00 PM Catering arrives for setup
3:30 PM Cocktail hour
3:30-45 PM Bride and groom relax and refresh
4:30 PM Dinner begins
4:35 PM Bride and groom enter
5:00 PM Toasts begin
5:30 PM Cake cutting
6:30 PM Couple’s first dance
6:35 PM Father/daughter dance
6:40 PM Mother/son dance
6:45 PM Flower toss
7:00 PM Dance floor opens
Wedding Timeline Tips
Here are some final tips to help you put your wedding timeline together!
Leave Some Buffer Room
It’s always best to have extra time than to not have enough! As a rule of thumb, things often take longer than you expect them to, so leave some extra time between each part of the day so that you don’t have to be stressed.
Remember Travel Time
If you’re getting ready at home and driving to the venue after, or if your reception is in a different place than your ceremony, don’t forget to put this into your timeline and budget a little bit of extra time in case you run into traffic.
Consult Your Photographer or Wedding Planner
Your photographer will be your guide through all of this - they know how long bridal party photos usually take, how much time they need for a couple’s photos, and how to plan your photos around the best lighting throughout the wedding day. Don’t be afraid to ask them for advice!
If you still need a wedding photographer and are ready to start planning your day, contact us!
