Putting Together a Timeline for Your Wedding Day

You want your wedding day to go as smoothly as possible and one way to make that happen is to have a timeline put together in advance. This will help everyone involved in the wedding stay on track and collaborate on the sequence of events for the day.

When putting together a wedding day timeline it is important to build in enough time for tasks such as hair and makeup. The larger your bridal party is the more you need two or more makeup artists/hair stylists to make the process go as quickly as possible. Many wedding ceremonies have started late because the bridal party wasn't ready on time. Building in enough time for everyone's hair and makeup to be done is a crucial step in helping your wedding day flow smoothly.

Your wedding day timeline should take into account the time of day you want the ceremony to begin. Whatever time you put on your invitations expect that your guests will arrive approximately 30 minutes before then. It is important that any photos scheduled to be taken before the ceremony should be finished by the time guests begin arriving. You will also want to ensure that music will be playing when guests get to your venue and that they will be able to get into it. Also consider the fact that while the majority of your guests are likely to arrive before the scheduled start time, inevitably there will be at least one or more guests who arrive at the venue late. This should be kept in mind when putting together your wedding day timeline. Most weddings start anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes after the scheduled start time.

Scheduling your cocktail hour and sit down dinner is also important. The cocktail hour is especially important if guests won't have to travel between venues to attend your ceremony and reception. Even if they do have to travel, you will need to know the approximate time it takes to get from the ceremony site to the reception site. You can then choose when to have your cocktail hour begin.

Sit down dinners are typically served to guests within 15 to 30 minutes after the cocktail hour officially ends. Plan on 45 minutes to an hour for your guests to eat and enjoy their meals. Any toasts that are to be made during the reception should be made while guests have their dinner plates in front of them.

After the dinner has ended and dancing has begun it is typical to give your guests one hour until the wedding cake is cut, which usually signifies that the reception is coming to an end. Within that hour you should schedule your garter and bouquet toss if they are to be included in your reception.

Once guests have left your reception venue you will need to plan on approximately one hour for the breaking down of your venue. Keep this in mind when tasking wedding party members with cleanup.