How to Create the BEST Wedding Day Timeline
An extensive yet comprehensive day-of timeline is IMPERATIVE for a successful wedding day. So allow me to guide you to success.
Before you begin, you need to know whether or not you are doing a first look with your partner before the ceremony. This will alter the way your timeline is set up. If you are following a traditional timeline (where the groom doesn’t see the bride until the ceremony), the majority of your photos will be taken during cocktail hour. If you are doing a first look, you will be able to take couple portraits and full bridal party photos before the ceremony, as well as family photos if it makes sense for you.
Another thing you’re going to want to do is create a list of photos you want, and discuss this with your photographer. Get specific time amounts from them for how long they’ll want with each group (bridesmaids, whole bridal party, family etc.) to meet your photo needs. Then, you are ready to begin putting together your timelines.
I recommend creating a few versions of your timeline for specific people groups. A general timeline, which is what the guests will experience. A vendor timeline, with their arrival and departure times. A photographer timeline, with specific photo sessions listed. And a bridal party timeline, so the groomsmen don’t wander too far when they’re supposed to be getting ready to line up. Start with a timeline for you and your partner, and create the others to follow yours.
The easiest way to put this together, without using specific software to aid you, is through Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. This way you can use columns to separate the timelines but easily see how they all line up side by side.
1. List out each item happening with time needed to complete.
This includes individual getting ready times, specific photo sessions (whole bridal party, groom portraits etc.) and special moments (any first looks, gift exchange etc.).
If you’re wondering what are realistic times for certain moments, I’ve listed a few to get you started.
Hair & Makeup - ask your HAMU team what the average time is for the styles they are doing. Take their average and add 15 minutes (seriously). Specifically ask how big their team is so you know how many girls can be getting ready at the same time. BRIDE AND MOTHERS GET READY FIRST.
Getting into wedding dress - AT LEAST 15 minutes, take into account if you have buttons or zippers or several parts, everyone’s will be different. If you want plenty of detail shots of putting on shoes, putting in earrings, etc, do at least 30 minutes here. Don’t forget your veil here too!
First Look - will be 10-15 minutes for EACH person/group of people.
Bridal Party Portraits - Each individual grouping of photos will take 3-5 minutes. (if you have 3 bridesmaids, set aside 10 minutes minimum for individual photos, if you have 8 bridesmaids set aside 25 minutes minimum, etc.) If you have a larger bridal party, have a specific order written out for your photographer to follow and do these photos rapid fire style to keep things moving (1 min for a smiling photo, 1 min for laughing/silly photo) to save time here. Having a mother or friend here with the list and timer on their phone to stay on track is recommended.
Grand Entrance - set aside 10 minutes to line up for grand entrance, and then 5 minutes for the actual ordeal (or 10, if you have a large bridal party). Then 5 minutes buffer for everyone to settle down and for the DJ to hand off the mic to toast givers.
Toasts - ask your toast givers to write no more than 3 minutes worth, and plan for 5 minutes each. Follow these same guidelines for a parent’s thank you and blessing before dinner.
Dinner - 45 minutes is the minimum here, try for no longer than 90 minutes. Depends on catering style and capability of your catering team. Make sure the last table to be served has at least 15 minutes to eat before the next event happens.
2. Add in travel time, including walking!
Travel time isn’t exclusive to just drive time. Consider how long it takes to go from your bridal suite to where you line up, or how long it takes to walk from the cocktail area to the reception space. These are all factors that need to be included.
3. Add additional buffers to EVERYTHING.
A good rule of thumb is to now go through and add 5 minutes to each item that you’ve allocated more than 15 minutes to. Every. Single. One. The good part here is, no one ever worries about being ahead of schedule, so no reason to fret about being too prepared, right? If you get lucky and are done with things before the scheduled time, that leaves time for you to make a tiktok with the girls, or just sit, breathe, and take it all in, or have a snack… I’d opt for a snack. But no one has ever said, “Wow it took so long for my wedding day to start, we shouldn’t have gotten here so early!”
4. Work backwards from ceremony start time, then move forward with reception.
Now that we have our itemized list of events happening and how much time we need for each item, we get to add actual times to them. Start with your ceremony start time, and work your way backwards, punching in the according times as you go. Then do the same thing moving forward from your ceremony start time into your reception activities. Hopefully at this point everything is lining up at times that make sense and are functional for you. The next step is to add in vendor arrival and exit times based on the times you’ve established. Another item you should add is when your venue allows you to get in and when they expect you to be cleaned up by.
Some things to consider if the logistics aren’t working out for you:
Bring in a larger hair and makeup team to get everyone ready in time.
Add day-of hours for your photographer, or consider a second shooter for overlapping portrait sessions.
Enlist in more helpers to get your ceremony and reception space decorated in time (this could be a professional like a day-of coordinator or rental team, or friends and family).
Consider a first look with your partner to get the majority of photos over with before the ceremony begins and allow for a shorter cocktail hour.
What creates problems day-of:
The biggest issue of getting behind schedule is simply not allocating enough time for certain events. Adding in buffers between each item will help with this.
The bride should never get her hair and makeup done last. Ever. Period. The horror stories I have heard about the bride getting ready last and not having any photos with their bridal party are heartbreaking.
Crowds take FOREVER to move from place to place. The bigger your guest list, the more time you want to allocate between events. If your ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception are all in different locations, plan accordingly.
Consider traffic during the time of travel. When you tested the drive from your ceremony to reception location on a Tuesday at 1pm, it may have taken an easy 15 minutes. But, if your ceremony's end time is around rush hour (not to mention a weekend), it’s possible that your 15 minute drive could turn into 30.
Have a DETAILED photo list for your bridal party & family portraits. Another tip here is to designate a helper who KNOWS EVERYONE'S NAMES to be the photographer’s assistant during family photos to call people out and get them where they need to be. The smoother these go, the better for everyone involved.
Keep your catering team in the loop if you fall off schedule. No one wants cold potatoes, or overdone steak. If after the ceremony, family photos go 20 minutes over, someone needs to inform your head of catering that grand entrances are likely to be considerably late, and they should hold off on filling the buffet.
BONUS TIPS:
Make a note of when the sun sets on your wedding day! Your photographer will likely want a few golden hours shots, so determine when the best time for that is.
Include a lunch break!
Factor in some alone time for you and your partner, at least 15 minutes.
Set aside time to do a reception space first look once everything is set up! You poured blood, sweat, and tears into planning a gorgeous space for your guests to enjoy, so you deserve a moment to take it all in and be proud of what you accomplished.
Plan on your ceremony starting 5 minutes late for people who are still arriving/getting seated, especially if it’s a hike to the ceremony location from the parking lot. Have someone watching as people park so you know if you have late comers to wait for.
Have fun building your timeline! Happy Planning!
