Timeline Tips: Steps to Take to Plan the Big Day’s Flow

Here’s the truth: The wedding of your dreams will only happen if you craft a wedding day timeline. Without detailing when each event happens, your big day will quickly dissolve into chaos… no bueno!

Use these practical tips to help you create a realistic wedding day timeline. 

Once you have it down, your big day will flow so seamlessly that everyone—including you—will get to experience all the magic weddings have to offer.

Here’s what you need to know:

Wedding Timeline 101

Let’s start with the foundation. These wedding timeline basics are imperative to a pleasant guest experience, and will keep any and all stress-related panic attacks at bay.

Buffer: Leave 15–30-minute buffer time between major events during your wedding to account for any inevitable delays as you transition from one to the next.

Guest Experience: Plan from a guest perspective: You don’t want to leave guests hanging, twiddling their thumbs. 

Avoid long waiting periods between the ceremony and reception. Ensure guests are entertained during the transition from the ceremony to the reception with an enjoyable cocktail hour.

Start with the Ceremony: Begin your timeline with the ceremony. 

Use the ceremony time as your baseline, then plan from there in both directions. For example, if you know the ceremony is at 3pm, how much time will you need to get ready?

Communicate to All Key Players: Your vendors, wedding party members, everyone involved in helping execute your big day needs to know what is happening and when, so they can show up and do their part. 

Share your wedding day timeline with all involved parties no later than one week before your big day.

Pre-Ceremony Prep

Here is a quick rundown of what your pre-ceremony preparation could look like. Everyone’s a little different though, so use the specifics of your wedding to create a timeline that works for you:

Venue Setup: Make sure you have ample time to set up the venue and reception area. If the venue allows you to set up the night before, take advantage of that. 

The exact setup time you need depends on the décor and size of your wedding.

Hair and Makeup: Aim to have your hair and makeup done 30 minutes before you need to be dressed.

• Reserve 60-90 minutes per bridesmaid for hair and makeup

• Give yourself 90-120 minutes as the bride

• The bride should have her look done last so she appears the freshest

Getting Dressed: As the bride, give yourself at least 30 minutes to get dressed. Your bridesmaids shouldn’t need more than 15 minutes to get into their Bella Bridesmaids gowns.

Photography Timeline

Pre-planning the photography portion of your big day is crucial. Everything happens so fast, and if you don’t account for photos, they likely won’t happen.

Photos of the Prep: Have your photographer arrive during the final hour of getting ready.

Wedding Party Pics: Reserve 30 minutes for each side of the family, including bridesmaids and groomsmen, plus an additional 30 minutes for group shots with everyone.

Family Pictures: Pre-plan the wedding photo shot list. Adjust the time based on the size of the family, and block off 3-5 minutes per shot.

Couples: Allocate 45-60 minutes total—you can split this up to take advantage of different light and special moments you want to commemorate that occur during the course of your special day. 

To maximize golden hour, check the time the sun sets, and reserve at least 20 minutes to get the best photos.

Wedding Ceremony Timeline

The guest experience begins with the ceremony. Here’s what the timeline should look like:

Welcome: Open the venue 30 minutes before ceremony start time so your guests can get oriented.

Wedding Party Entrance: Your wedding party should emerge and take their place 10 minutes before you do.

Ceremony: You should have a general idea of how long the ceremony will last, make sure this is communicated to all participants.

Reception Timeline

It’s critical you create a timeline that reflects your wedding. 

Here’s a rough idea of what that could look like, but again: Your wedding will likely be different and include specific variables you need to account for.

Cocktail Hour: Allocate around 60 minutes while you finish photos.

Grand Entrance: Schedule it about 15-20 minutes after cocktail hour ends.

First Dance: Can take place immediately following entrance, or after salads are served.

Meal Service: This can depend on the size of your wedding. Generally, 45 minutes are sufficient for a buffet service, and 60-90 minutes are enough for plated service.

Toasts: This is best during or right after dinner, when guests are still seated.

Cake Cutting: Usually happens 1-2 hours before reception end time.

Bouquet Toss: Occurs after the cake cutting.

Last Dance: This should be scheduled around 15 minutes before the night ends.

Send-off: Allocate between 10 and 15 minutes for guests to get into position so they can send you off with one last cheers.

Conclusion:

The more organized you are before the wedding, the less stressed you’ll be on your big day. 

Keep your timeline realistic. Include buffer time, and don’t forget to share it with all the key players involved in making your special day spectacular.

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