Creating Your Wedding Day Timeline
- Jamie
- Apr 1
- 6 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Planning a wedding is an exciting experience, but it can become overwhelming very quickly. Having a timeline for your wedding day helps to ensure that you feel prepared, and everything goes as planned. Organization and planning will allow you to take a big, deep breath and enjoy the day, knowing that there is a plan in place. In this blog, I'll walk through what a "typical" wedding day timeline looks like at our little venue in the country.
Understanding the Importance of a Timeline
Before diving into the details, let’s highlight why a timeline is essential. A wedding day timeline provides a structure to your day for you, your wedding party and all of those traditional moments you want included in your day. Not only do you want to make sure you've remember everything, timing is important too! How long should something take? How much time is too much time?
This day only happens once! Without a timeline, there may be missed opportunities such as first looks and that special wedding party introduction you've been planning! Also, I've seen that without structure and organization, this can cause a lot of stress and anxiety to the bride, the groom and anyone else involved in the wedding day. Chaos is not something anyone wants on Wedding Day, trust me!
Getting Started: Setting the Ceremony Time
Ceremony Time:
Your wedding timeline will center around your ceremony time. What we see with our couples, is that the location of the sun is key! This makes perfect sense. No one wants the sun blaring in your guests' eyes throughout the ceremony. Something else to consider is what season is your wedding in? When does the sun set? There are no lights on our ceremony site, so we'd have some disappointed guests if they were sitting in the dark.
One thing I love about our ceremony site is that trees surround it. This means no glaring sun and it's usually pretty shady, which is very welcomed for those warmer wedding days.
Here’s what we see as a typical ceremony time.
Ceremony start time: anytime from about 3:30 - 5:30, depending on the season
Guests Arrival: ~ usually about 30 minutes prior to the ceremony time
This allows guests sufficient time to arrive and settle in, sign the guest book and use the rest room before finding a seat for the ceremony. We definitely see more evening ceremony times at our venue. This allows for more "getting ready" time through-out the day, which is nice so that you don't feel rushed. This also allows for more daylight pictures before the ceremony, and then after the ceremony you get the "golden hour" which is perfect for taking photos.
Let's use 4 o'clock as our example ceremony time for this blog.
Wedding Day Morning! Rise and Shine!
Getting Ready:
Once you secure your ceremony time, work backward to determine when you’ll begin getting ready. Typically, aim to start hair and makeup four hours before the ceremony, but obviously, this will all depend on your hair and makeup person. This also changes depending on how many bridesmaids are getting their hair and makeup done as well. If you have decided to decorate the space on your Wedding Day, you'll need to allow more time in the morning to do that before you start getting ready.
Below is an open timeline for the morning. This all varies depending on how much decorating there is to be done, how many bridesmaids you have getting ready, etc. The start time can shift depending on those variables.
8:00 AM - 2:00 - Decorate your space, breakfast & mimosas with bridesmaids, hair & makeup
This schedule allows for any unexpected delays - trust me, there will also be something that puts you behind! Studies show that brides who allocate enough time for preparation are 50% more likely to feel relaxed when walking down the aisle - I definitely agree with this. Allowing some "down-time" before the ceremony is ideal. Make some time to catch your breath, take a few moments with those closest to you, and just to take in the moment. You won't get these precious minutes back again, enjoy them!
Groom’s Preparation
We all can admit that the groom definitely has it a bit easier on wedding day, but that doesn't mean they don't need their time to get ready too! While the brides are getting ready, the grooms and their groomsmen need to prepare, too. Luckily, they usually don't have to arrive at the venue until much closer to picture time, but you still want to set an arrival time that will allow for delays.
12:00 PM - arrival of groom and groomsmen
12:30 - 1:30 - Last-minute touches for suits, hair, and boutonnieres
This gives the groom time to calm his nerves and enjoy some time with his friends before the formal photos. Take some time to breathe, get a bite to eat, and relax!
Picture time!
Your photographer may want to use some time before the ceremony to take detail shots, bridal portraits and any fun pictures of the groom and groomsmen. I would suggest taking any pre-ceremony pictures that you can so that leaves fewer to take post-ceremony.
2:00 PM - 3:15 Pre-ceremony pictures
Time to Hide the Bride!
I would suggest tucking the bride away 30-45 minutes before the ceremony start time. Guests will start to arrive around this time, and at our venue, we like to make sure she's tucked away before anyone sees her! During this time, she can have some quiet time to reflect, have a few moments with dad, or anyone else that might be walking her down the aisle.
3:15 - 4:00 Tuck the bride away, guests arrive
Ceremony time!!!
Time to get this party started... A typical ceremony only lasts about 15 minutes.
4:00 - 4:15 Ceremony
Bar Opens/Cocktail hour
At our venue, as soon as the ceremony is over, the bar will open and cocktail hour will begin. We recommend doing a cocktail hour/social hour after the ceremony to keep your guests occupied while post-ceremony pictures are taking place.
4:15 - 5:15 cocktail hour/post-ceremony pictures taking place
Reception
5:30 PM: Guests arrive at the reception
5:45 PM: Grand Entrance & first dances
6:00 PM: Prayer, dinner is served
7:00 PM: Toasts/speeches
7:15 PM: Cake Cutting
7:45 PM: 9:00 PM - dancing/cocktails
Setting approximate times for each event keeps everyone informed and allows you to enjoy the evening without worrying about the schedule. Research indicates that weddings with a structured timeline can lead to a 20% higher guest satisfaction rate. The happiness of the couple is always our biggest goal, but guest experience matters too!
Send-Off: Ending the Night on a High Note
Finalize with a Memorable Send-Off
9:00 PM - Last dance
9:05 - SENDOFF!!
As the night comes to an end, a well-planned send-off can leave a lasting impression on your guests. A sparkler exit is always such a fun way to send the bride and groom off to the beginning of their forever!
Tips for a Successful Wedding Day Timeline
Communicate with Your Vendors: Share your timeline with caterers, photographers, and any other vendors to ensure everyone is aligned. Everyone being on the same page is KEY!
Keep Buffer Times: Life is unpredictable; allow some flexibility in your schedule for when things come up....because they will!
Stay Flexible: While a plan is great, be ready to adapt as needed on the day. When we create a timeline for your day, we always stress to our couples that this is a "fluid" timeline. Things can be shifted up or backwards depending on the guests and of course, how the bride and groom are feeling.
Making the Most of Your Day
We strive for excellance at our venue, which I think most venues do. Your Wedding Day is a special day and we want things to be perfect. With planning and communication, things will be organized and smooth. This ensures that the bride and groom have a fun, stress-free day!
Until next time...
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