Wedding Day Timeline

Hey Khristian,

Google is my best friend sometimes lol. I found this template for the same start time. Not sure of your end time but of course you can switch it up to better suit your personalized day. Hope this helps.

• 7 a.m. Wake up; eat breakfast.
• 8:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. Nearlyweds and wedding party shower and cycle through hair, skin, and makeup.
• 12:15 p.m. Eat a quick lunch; photographers arrive during the last hour when the nearlyweds are getting ready and start to capture any preliminary shots.
• 12:45 p.m. Hair, skin, and makeup touch-ups.
• 1:00 p.m. Wedding party are dressed and ready; nearlyweds gets into their attire.
• 1:30 p.m. Photographers shoot portraits with nearlyweds, wedding party, family, and any others.
• 2:30 p.m. Everyone travels to the ceremony site.
• 2:45 p.m. First look photos with the couple.
• 3:10 p.m. Photographer shoots couples individual portraits, wedding party portraits, and family portraits.
• 4:30 p.m. Ceremony begins.
• 5:15 p.m. Cocktail hour begins.
• 6:00 p.m. Guests move from the cocktail hour to the reception area.
• 6:15 p.m. The wedding party is introduced, and then the newlyweds make their entrance and either have their first dance or take a seat.
• 6:25 p.m. Dinner service begins.
• 6:35 p.m. While guests are eating, speakers make short toasts.
• 7:00 p.m. Wedding parents, wedding party, and other pre-determined dances take place.
• 7:15 p.m. Dance floor opens for guests.
• 8:00 p.m. Cut the cake (or open the dessert bar).
• 8:15 p.m. Guests are served dessert.
• 8:20 p.m. Newlyweds make a short thank-you speech while guests enjoy dessert.
• 8:45 p.m. Toss the bouquet (if you're doing that) or just get back to dancing!
• 9:30 p.m. Announce last call.
• 9:55 p.m. The last dance.
• 11:00 p.m. Break down and clean up.

I suggest speaking with each of your vendors to get the timeline they need in terms of time. I've got info from both my photographer and hair/make-up and working from the ceremony time backwards and forward. Also talk to your DJ to get the plan and times for the flow of your reception as the "activities" need to be taken into account as well.

I had no idea how much each detail is planned out.

I'm currently working on our timeline as well, good luck to you!

Hi Khristian! I'd talk to your wedding photographer about making a day-of timeline, because taking pictures will be a huge part of your day and the timeline decisions!!

This article has great scheduling tips and a sample timeline you can use as a starting point:

9 Wedding Day Timeline Rules Every Couple Should Follow