Start Your Wedding Timeline From Scratch
Every wedding is different, so copying a wedding timeline template you found on the internet word-for-word is probably not going to work for your big day . Start fresh, and use your ceremony time as a starting point. Make a list of all of the events that need to happen before and after the ceremony and then determine how long each of these will take. You can then start to plot your wedding day agenda accordingly. Check out the sample wedding day timeline below as a guide :
Choices For Planning A Wedding Reception Itinerary
A wedding reception itinerary does not have to follow a prescribed order of the evening. Couples should keep in mind the comfort of their guests to have a successful reception. Serving dinner after a full dance will leave guests hungry, but having a slightly different order of wedding reception will be something guests remember long after the last dance played.
Consider How Important It Is For Your Guests To Enjoy Your Wedding Day
Do you want your guests talking about how amazing your wedding was for years to come? Well, dont forget about them. Remember to keep them in mind as you plan out your day. Having a good flow to your day will allow the guests to have a good time and enjoy the celebration. If they are waiting around for long periods of time before the show can go on, then it can be an overwhelming process. Consider the amount of venue locations, how far people need to walk, how late the party goes, how long the ceremony lasts and how long speeches or traditions take. All of these details add to the overall experience of your wedding day.
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Bride And Groom First Dance
The bridal couple take the first dance with their chosen wedding song. The guests and bridal party stand around and watch as the couple move over the dance floor. A sample dance itinerary may follow this schedule:
- Bridal party dance
- Father of the bride invites everyone to dance
- Open dancing with popular dance songs
Start Building Your Timeline By Reviewing The Details Youve Gathered Thus Far
First, document when each team will arrive. Then, add when they will depart.
Next, focus on your wedding morning. Thanks to their schedule, your hair and makeup team will guide the timing during the morning.
Your photographer will likely be next to arrive. Add the timing details they have provided to your document. Now is also the time to talk with your photographer about whether or not you would like to do a first look and also when will work best to capture portraits with your wedding party and family. Also note when your officiant should arrive as well as your florist, caterer, and more.
Your timeline likely has a solid framework at this point!
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Wedding Day Timeline Tips And Ideas
Planning your wedding day timeline can be one of the most stressful parts of the entire wedding planning process. We have put together a bunch of tips and ideas to help make your wedding day run as smoothly as possible.
There is also an awesome video at the bottom of this post that includes some great wedding day timeline tips from Jamie at JW Coordination.
The entire planning process starts with your ceremony time. This is the first thing that you will want to lock in. The entire day revolves around the wedding ceremony. The second big decision to make is whether you want to do a first look or not . Once you make your decision on these two things, the entire process gets much easier. Another great resource for you to check out is our list of getting ready tips.
Why I Love The Wedding Day Timeline
Saves sanity
Easy is the LAST word I wouldve used to describe the last two months of wedding planning, ha! And while yes, we were dealing with uncertainty surrounding covid affecting our numbers, the last two months are crunch time, no matter how prepared you are.
Wedding Day Timeline does all of the thinking FOR you. Instead of spending hours thinking through how things need to happen , Wedding Day Timeline generates the timeline for you and allows you to share it with your family and wedding vendors so youre all on the same page.
Get this, Wedding Day Timeline AUTOMATICALLY sends an updated timeline the week of the wedding to everyone that youve included in your wedding party and your vendors. You can let it do its thing if youre unlike me, or if youre like me you can manually send it to everyone with strict instructions to accompany it, hehe.
And I know what youre thinking, But what if things change and you need to make adjustments?. You have unlimited timeline revisions, so no matter what life throws at you , youll have control of your wedding timeline.
Saves time
Saves money
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+ Bonus: Wedding Timeline On The Go
In case you dont want to edit the files attached, the easiest way to create your own wedding timeline is by using our app! The Wedbox photo app allows you to create your own wedding. You can invite your guests and you all collaborate on the wedding photo album everyone uploads their pictures from your wedding!
The quality is higher than Instagram hashtags, and thats not the only reason to have the app. You can easily create your wedding timeline with just a few clicks. Totally customizable, easy to use and understand! You can add all the events you want, and you can print it out. An easily editable and smart solution for all wedding couples.
How Do You Time A Wedding Ceremony
The start time for the wedding ceremony is between 3:30 and 5:00 p.m.
- Getting ready occurs in different locations.
- Ceremony ends at 4:00.
- Cocktail hour is from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Cocktail hour is the perfect time to snap some family portraits.
- Dinner is served from 5:00 to 5:30.
- At 6 p.m., take a break to take some sunset pictures.
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Continue Building Your Timeline By Filling In Reception Details
Your caterer is the key team to guide timing during your reception. They know when and how they like to serve dinner , and they know how much time to allow.
Once you know your caterers plans, loop your photographer and DJ into the mix so all three groups stay on the same page.
Now, its time to work on the middle of your timeline. When we mention the middle of your timeline, were referencing the time in between when hair and makeup are complete through your ceremony.
When building this section of your timeline, start with your ceremony. The most common ceremony start times we see are 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., but you can choose any time that feels right for your wedding. Unless your ceremony is a full Catholic mass, which typically is a full hour, most ceremonies are 30-45 minutes long. Plan for guests to start to arrive 30 minutes prior to the start of your ceremony, so you, your partner, and your wedding party will want to be tucked away 15-30 minutes prior to guests arrival.
Use map apps to your advantage! If you are not having your wedding at a dual-purpose venue, youll likely need to factor in travel time between ceremony and reception locations. Its key to know how long it will take for you to travel from the location where youre getting ready to your ceremony location and then to your reception. Always plan to add in time to account for traffic.
Pay Vendors And Organize Cash Payments & Tips
There are some wedding vendors you will need to pay on the day of your wedding, while others youll be able to finalize things with weeks before.
Be sure to keep a detailed spreadsheet listing each vendor, and your payment situation with them, and whenever possible, pay each one as soon as you get the chance. The last thing you want is to be called up on your honeymoon by the florist because you forgot to pay their invoice!
As mentioned, its a good idea to select a reliable person, be it a bridesmaid or groomsman, to be responsible for payments on the day. Get together with them during the planning process, and divide up the payments, and tips into labeled envelopes.
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Your Getting Ready Timeline
Below is a sample timeline with a first look . If your ceremony starts at 3:30pm, 4:30pm, or 5pm, just adjust the times below by the appropriate amount of time.
- 12:00pm: Candid photos of bride getting hair/make up done.
- 12:45pm: Bride completely finished with hair and makeup.
- 12:45pm: Photos of girls in robes/pajamas, champagne toast
- 01:00pm: Groom gets ready
- 01:15pm: Bride gets into dress
- 01:35pm: Bride first look with father, brother, mom, etc…
- 01:50pm: Bride gets ready for first look with groom
- 02:00pm: First look
- 03:00pm: Family photos
- 03:15pm: Bride tucked away to freshen up while guests arrive
- 03:30pm: Photographer captures photos of ceremony details and guests arriving
- 04:00pm: Ceremony starts
- 04:30pm: Visit with friends and family at cocktail hour
- 05:40pm: Reception
A good to rule to follow for weddings where everything takes place at the same location is to do the first look 2 hours before your ceremony start time.
Below is a sample timeline with no first look :
As you can see from these very realistic sample timelines, there is simply more time for bride and groom photos if you do a first look. There are also many more opportunities to capture candid photos since you will have more time with your family and friends. We do not say this to persuade you into doing a first look. We just want to be as honest as possible, provide you with the information, and then allow you to make the decision that fits best with your wants and needs.
How long do things take?
How To Make A Wedding Reception Timeline Poster
A wedding reception itinerary can be made in Word, Excel, or as a pretty poster.
You can change all the times in the wedding day schedule template. You can also edit the text or add additional text.
Before you start to create a poster, I suggest you create a wedding schedule template. You can use the Excel template above or you can jot down the schedule on paper. Once you know what your wedding reception schedule should be, you can choose any of the templates and customize it with your own text and times.
You can give a copy of the wedding itinerary to all vendors and to your bridesmaids and bridal party. You can also add it to the invitations and you can print a poster to hang at the venue.
The images below are wedding timeline examples. You dont need to use them as-is. You can change every element to suit your special day.
In this version, you can change the picture of the bride and groom to look more like the couple getting married. There are many different couples available. For example, if the bride is red-headed and the groom is blond then click on that option to change the picture.
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Final Tastings With Caterer
Couples are now beginning to demand higher levels of service, and restaurant-quality food at their reception, while also choosing to customize as many aspects as possible.
With the above in mind, your caterer needs to know as early as possible your demands for the food, and the type of service you require.
Last-minute adjustments should be made during the final tastings and not in the weeks leading up to the event!
Before You Design Your Timeline
Before you download one of the editable wedding day timeline templates below, I recommend that you first check out my wedding day schedule guide. This guide will show you all the details you should think about when creating your timeline.
Once you understand the main segments that comprise a wedding, the templates below will help give you the best plan for your day. A well planned timeline will not only help you get better photos, it will also reduce the chance of missing photos from your shot list. Additionally, it will also help make your wedding photography more efficient so you can spend more time with your guests.
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What Is A Wedding Day Timeline Template
This kind of free timeline template is one meant specifically for planning the events that make up a wedding. While there are sample blank timeline templates, these particular templates have some unique features:
- as there will be opportunities for guests and others to have photos so as to remember the day.
- Reception, as the bride and groom will want to celebrate with the guests at the reception.
- Preparations, as the bride and groom will have to prepare themselves some time before the ceremony proper.
- Flower delivery, as the flowers will have to be delivered and set up well ahead of time.
Early Afternoon Wedding Timeline
If you are having an outdoor wedding, then you will benefit a great deal by having an early afternoon ceremony. This wedding day timeline template is perfect for weddings that are kid friendly as well and is based on the ceremony and reception being held at the same location.
9 am – Start hair and makeup.
9:30 am – Your photographer should arrive to take getting ready photos.
10 am – Vendors should be arriving to set up.
11:30 am – Couples first look portraits.
12 pm – Family portraits.
12:30 pm – Guest should start arriving.
1:15 pm – Begin Ceremony.
2 pm – Cocktail Hour begins, more family photos and bridal party photos.
2:45 pm – Guests begin to take their seats for a meal.
3 pm – Toasts.
5 pm – Cake cutting serve desert.
6 pm – Couple Departs.
6:30 pm – Vendors begin break down and clean up begins.
7:30 pm – All vendors and clean-up crew should be done and out.
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Talk Everything Over With Your Vendors
When you have finally finished your wedding day schedule, its important to go over and communicate this schedule with each of your vendors. Understand when they will come in to set up and when they will leave. If you have a wedding coordinator, they will follow up with all of your vendors on your behalf. Understand the flexibility of your vendor if your time runs a little over. If they were supposed to leave at 9 PM, but youre running behind schedule, will they stay longer? What do the additional fees look like to extend their time?
Let the caterer know what time you want each course including desserts served.
Timelines can seem complicated, but they dont have to be. By taking the time to plan your wedding day and create a wedding day schedule, youre sure to have a fun-filled day with little interruption.
+ Wedding Timeline Templates
Planning a wedding is any day a huge affair. Its not just about the D day but also the rehearsal dinners, bachelors/bachelorette parties and reception event post the ceremony. In such a situation its always smarter to maintain a proper wedding timeline. To ease your work here, the online world brings you a wide range of wedding timeline templates most of the Microsoft Excel wedding blank timeline templates options are free to download.
These templates offer a ready made timeline structure so that you are not needed to create anything from scratch. The timeline templates are easy to customize and you are simply needed to download them and enter your specific wedding details- these are great time savers.
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Wedding Day Of Timeline Template
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The Timeline For Getting Ready
There is only a few months left, and there is still so much to do! To effectively manage your time and schedule preparations, a wedding timeline would be a great help. Most wedding plans take about nine to twelve months. To have everything ready, here are a few steps you could add in your timelines:
- Twelve to ten months. You ought to announce your engagement first. Set the wedding date and budget. Create a guest list and book venues for the wedding and reception.
- Nine to seven months. Pick your wedding dress. Shop for dresses, tuxedos, and other accessories. Book florists, photographers, and videographers.
- Six to four months. Secure transportation and reserve rentals for the wedding. Also, send out invitations.
- Three to one months. Confirm RSVPs. Plan and book for your honeymoon.
- A week before. Have rehearsals and finalize arrangements.
- The day prior. Relax and allow plenty of time to get ready.
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Wedding Reception Itinerary Tips
A wedding reception itinerary serves as a wedding planning guide for couples on the big day. To plan an itinerary:
- Observe the order of things at family and friends’ weddings. How well are things organized? Was there too much time between the dinner and dance? Did the guests seem rushed to eat?
- Ask the wedding caterer advice on how much time to allot to dinner, based upon the type of meal served and number of guests attending.
- Get help from the reception site coordinator, who may have several sample itineraries available.
- Remember to ask the wedding reception bandleader or DJ for advice on the reception itinerary. He or she often has sample itineraries available and can serve as emcee of the evening.
