You’ve spent months planning every detail of your special day! The venue is perfect, the cake is going to be delicious and you’ve found the perfect pair of wedding day shoes! But none of that matters much if your guest and vendors are left feeling confused on your wedding day! One of the best ways to prevent any wedding day confusion is to create a timeline! The wedding day timeline is one of the most important things for any wedding! It ensures that the couple and bridal party understand that’s happening and when! The vendors will all be able to jump in and complete their part of the day in order and on time! The guest will feel like your wedding day flowed effortlessly and won’t be left wondering what’s next!

We’ve had the pleasure of working weddings with and without timelines and we suggest that every couple should have a timeline! It doesn’t have to be perfect! It just needs to walk everyone through the order of the day! To give you a better idea of what we mean, I’ve included two sample timelines below! This timeline is one that we received a couple of years ago from Amy with Plume Events and felt that it was awesome! The couple’s wedding day felt stress-free and relaxed after following this timeline! Feel free to copy either of these timelines and plug in your own times based on your ceremony and reception start times!

First Look Timeline

10:00 Ladies arrive on site

10:30 Hair & Makeup begins

12:00 Guys arrive on site

12:45 Photographer and DJ arrives 

1:30 Ladies getting ready photos

2:00 Hair and Makeup complete

Matching robe/PJ photos

Guys getting ready photos

2:15 Bridesmaids get dressed and straighten bridal suite

Groom and groomsmen final details (photographed putting on cufflinks, shoes, ties, etc.)

2:30 Bride puts dress on

2:45 First Look with Dad

Groom gets in place for first look

2:50 First Look with Bride and Groom

Bride & Groom Portraits

3:15 Full Bridal Party Portraits

3:45 Bridal Party in hiding

4:00 Guest are seated for ceremony

4:10 Line up for Processional

4:30 Ceremony

5:00 Cocktail Hour

Family Photos

Any remaining Bridal Party Photos

Bustle dress

**Bride and Groom join cocktail hour, if time permits

5:45 Photographers photograph reception space

6:00 Guests find reception seats

Bridal Party & Parents lines up for intros

6:15 Bridal Party Introductions

First Dances

Bride & Groom Dance

Father/Daughter Dance

Mother/Son Dance

Welcome/Blessing

6:30 Dinner Service begins

7:15 Bride & Groom Sunset Portraits (if needed)

7:30 Toasts

7:40 Cake Cutting 

8:00 SUNSET

8:00 Bouquet toss/Garter removal and toss

8:10 Dance floor opens

9:30 Bar Closes

9:45 Exit

 

Traditional Timeline (no first look)

10:00 Ladies arrive on site

10:30 Hair & Makeup begins

12:00 Guys arrive on site

1:45 Photographer and DJ arrives 

2:30 Ladies getting ready photos

3:00 Hair and Makeup complete

Matching robe/PJ photos

Guys getting ready photos

3:15 Bridesmaids get dressed and straighten bridal suite

Groom and groomsmen final details (photographed putting on cufflinks, shoes, ties, etc.)

3:30 Bride puts dress on

3:45 First Look with Dad

4:00 Guest are seated for ceremony

4:10 Line up for Processional

4:30 Ceremony

5:00 Cocktail Hour

Family Photos

Bridal Party Photos (bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girls, ring bearer)

Bride and Groom Photos

Bustle dress

6:15 Photographers photograph reception

6:30 Guests find reception seats

Bridal Party & Parents lines up for intros

6:45 Bridal Party Introductions

First Dances

Bride & Groom Dance

Father/Daughter Dance

Mother/Son Dance

Welcome/Blessing

7:00 Dinner Service begins

7:15 Bride & Groom Sunset Portraits (if needed)

7:45 Toasts

7:55 Cake Cutting 

8:00 SUNSET

8:10 Bouquet toss/Garter removal and toss

8:20 Dance floor opens

9:30 Bar Closes

9:45 Exit

A few things to note after going through both of these timelines!

• The first look timeline has the photographer arriving almost 4 hours before the ceremony! This is to allow time for detail photos (dress, shoes, invitations, etc), robe/pajama photos with the girls, groomsmen getting ready photos, first look photos, bridal party photos and bride and groom portraits! There is a lot that happens prior to the ceremony and there needs to be ample time to capture it all!
•  I suggest that every wedding timeline include little buffers throughout the day! For example, include a little extra time for makeup, just in case it takes longer! We’ve seen it happen so many times! Also, plan to have everyone dressed at least 30 minutes prior to the ceremony. Just in case someone has a wardrobe malfunction at the last minute! This way, it won’t affect your ceremony starting on time!
• I’ve also included time for the reception space to be photographed! This is an area that’s often forgotten! You’ve spent so much time planning each little detail on the tables, it’s a must to have photos without guest and purses on the tables! This does mean that formal photos will need to be done prior to your guest entering the reception!
• If you have hired a wedding planner or day of coordinator, this person will usually be the one to create your wedding day timeline! I am definitely not a planner, but I have seen what it takes to have a low stress wedding! It’s so important to plan ahead of time vs winging things on a wedding day!
• Be sure to include times for toast, cake cutting, dances, bouquet toss, etc! Most of the time, the DJ is in charge of making announcements through the reception! This ensures that he/she knows when to announce the next activity!

We really hope that this is helpful when you’re planning your day! Feel free to reach out to us with any questions!