{"id":212118,"date":"2017-10-03T14:00:39","date_gmt":"2017-10-03T13:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/whimsicalwonderlandweddings.com\/?p=212118"},"modified":"2025-11-26T14:45:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T14:45:11","slug":"wedding-day-timeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/wedding-day-timeline\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide To The Perfect Wedding Day Timeline"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wedding<\/p>\n

One of the key ingredients to planning a great wedding, the kind that guests will love, is putting together a smart, intuitive, and well thought out timeline for the day. We\u2019ve all been to weddings where we\u2019ve felt bored or in danger of passing out from starvation and the dancing bit seems to always starts late and feels like it ends too soon. One of the really key ways of avoiding all that is to carefully tailor your timeline for the day around what you have planned for your guests.<\/p>\n

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One Size DOESN\u2019T Fit All<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s tempting to choose a time your celebrant or venue suggests without thinking too much about it, but remember they\u2019re not going to factor in every element of your wedding plans so the start time they suggest won\u2019t necessarily be the right one for you.<\/p>\n

As with everything in my arsenal of wedding lessons learned the hard way, the process of getting the timings right is pretty organic but there\u2019s a technique and some guidelines that will help you to figure out what\u2019s going to work best. So where to start? This is one time where it\u2019s actually not best not to start at the beginning.<\/p>\n

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Start At The End and Work Backwards<\/h2>\n

The best way to figure out the right timings of the wedding is to start at the end and work backwards. This is how you\u2019re going to avoid missing out on an hour of boogie time because your speeches ran longer than you planned, so it\u2019s where I always begin with every wedding day timeline.<\/p>\n

Most bands or DJs will play from 8pm to 12am as standard, but if your venue has a later or earlier finish time then you have to factor that in and make sure you book your entertainment for the right times.<\/p>\n

Once you know the \u201cend time\u201d available at your venue, as well as the hours your band is going to play for you, then you have a start time in mind for the evening party and you should work backwards from there. The end goal is to have everyone in the room and ready for the first dance at 8pm (or whatever is applicable). From there, just write down all the things you need to do and start allocating a realistic length of time to each element.<\/p>\n

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Bridal Party Preparations<\/h2>\n

The team doing your hair and make up will be able to tell you how long they will need on the day, but remember to schedule it so they are finished an hour before you\u2019re due to depart. This leaves you extra time to allow for delays as well as photographs and it\u2019s always better to feel relaxed than rushed.<\/p>\n

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The Ceremony<\/h2>\n

Your celebrant should be able to give you an approximate length of time for your ceremony but as a rough guide\u2026<\/p>\n

Civil ceremony: 20 – 30 minutes
\nHumanist Ceremony: 30 – 40 minutes
\nChurch Ceremony: 40 – 45 minutes
\nChurch Ceremony with Mass: 1 – 1.5 hours<\/p>\n

Also allow an extra 20 or 30 minutes after the ceremony for guests to congratulate you and say hello as well as any photos.<\/p>\n

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Transport<\/h2>\n

If your ceremony and reception are taking place at two different venues then you need to factor in time for transport. Allow additional time for traffic, delays and the time it takes for guests to get to their cars, gather belongings, park or get on and off coaches.<\/p>\n

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Cocktails, Canap\u00e9s & Photographs<\/h2>\n

I\u2019d usually recommend somewhere around two hours for the average cocktail reception but it all depends on what you have planned, how formal the wedding is and the number of posed photographs you have in mind.<\/p>\n

This is the time when the bulk of your formal wedding photos will be taken and as each one takes about three minutes I always recommend couples limit their list of formal wedding shots to eight to ten to avoid this section becoming too long.<\/p>\n

Work with your photographer on this and plan out the time they will need to get the shots that you want. If they want to take you off for some couple\u2019s photos in a separate location then you have to allow for that and I always recommend scheduling in as many photos before the ceremony as you can (like group shots of the wedding party). Strategizing this really helps to cut down on the time that guests are left hanging around as well as giving you more time to enjoy the wedding and have fun with your guests.<\/p>\n

This section is one of the trickiest parts to schedule, but try to carefully balance making sure the photographer has enough time to capture all those fantastic pics with ensuring guests aren\u2019t bored or hungry. As a rule of thumb you will need to provide one drink per guest per hour plus a top up, so don\u2019t plan on a two hour reception with one drink on offer because your guest won\u2019t thank you for it. Also think about adding some extra food or entertainment to keep everyone happy if it\u2019s been an early ceremony.<\/p>\n

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Seating Guests<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s amazing how long it actually takes to move 100 or more people into a room and sit them down. It\u2019s a bit like one of those games at the fair when you hammer a bunny and another head just keeps popping up. It\u2019s a wedding; people are enjoying themselves and they will take time chatting, some will be reluctant to leave the bar area and others will pop to the loo and I find it gets slower as the day moves on (and the vino flows) so always factor in extra time for any traditions or movements of guests through the day.<\/p>\n

I always allow about 30 minutes in the schedule to seat wedding guests and I often ask ushers to help with helping guests to find their seats. If you\u2019re having a receiving line then guests will queue to greet you as they enter the dining room but if not then this is a fantastic time to schedule in 30 minutes of couple\u2019s photographs with your photographer while the guests are being seated.<\/p>\n

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Speeches<\/h2>\n

First rule of wedding speeches: everybody thinks their speech is five minutes long (when actually it\u2019s almost always more like fifteen). Speeches are such a wonderful part of the wedding day but they are also the part that most often sends the schedule into chaos so be realistic when planning this out. Try and limit the number of speeches to three and ask each person giving a toast to do a trial run and make sure they\u2019re not speaking for longer than ten minutes. I usually plan for between 30 and 45 minutes for this section and find it\u2019s closer to 45 minutes in most cases.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s becoming more popular to have speeches at the start of the meal, or to stagger them between courses and that\u2019s great, but check with your caterer first to work out the best times to avoid any problems with service. You don\u2019t want your chicken going dry if the speeches go on much longer than planned.<\/p>\n

This is also another key time to make sure guests aren\u2019t left hungry, so if you\u2019re doing speeches before the meal, I often ask the caterers to provide bread or a mezze style starter so guests can munch while they listen.<\/p>\n

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Catering Service<\/h2>\n

As a guideline, it takes 1.5 hours to serve 100 people a three-course meal but the best way to put an accurate estimate on this is to ask your caterer. If you\u2019re pushed for time in the wedding schedule and feel like the day is too long, a great way to save some is to have starters pre-set on the tables when guests arrive or to schedule speeches during dessert.<\/p>\n

\"Wedding<\/p>\n

The Cake<\/h2>\n

You can cut the cake at any time of the day, from the cocktail reception to just before the first dance so just allow 15 minutes for guests to gather and for the photographers to capture the moment. Bear in mind when planning when to cut the cake and serve it that it will take the caterers some time to slice and prepare it and they won\u2019t be able to do this at the same time as preparing the meal.<\/p>\n

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Entertainment Set Up<\/h2>\n

Ask your band or DJ how long they need to set-up and what kind of sound check they need and factor this into the timeline. In rare circumstances the band or DJ will be able to set up earlier in the day, but more often than not they just arrive an hour before their start time for set up. So if you\u2019re using the same room for dinner and the evening reception then you\u2019ll need to schedule your dinner service and speeches to make sure the band aren\u2019t setting up or doing a sound check during the speeches or the meal, which often means adding in 30 or 40 extra minutes after dinner for guests to chat and mingle while the band sets up.<\/p>\n

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Room Turnarounds<\/h2>\n

At certain venues you\u2019ll need to have a room turnaround where furniture is moved or the room is being prepared for the next part of the day with dancefloors, lighting or sound and stage equipment. Quite often this means moving guests to a separate area while the transformation takes place. Trust me when I tell you that the wedding day is really is going to whizz past soooooooo fast, so if there are periods of waiting added to the schedule then don\u2019t be afraid to get creative and make use of this time to your advantage.<\/p>\n

I really love adding in little extras to these parts of a wedding day; like a signature cocktail, surprise entertainment, fireworks or fun ideas with photography. There\u2019s no reason you can\u2019t break with tradition completely and use this time for speeches, cake cutting or even a dessert buffet and it can really help to make the day flow nicely to make a feature of waiting times.<\/p>\n

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Late Night Food<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re having some kind of late night food, I always recommend scheduling the service around the band\u2019s break so guest don\u2019t miss the fun while grabbing a bite. When you schedule that part, try and do it about 2 hours before the end of the night. That way the last hour of the party will have everyone on the dance floor and the flow won\u2019t be disrupted by people wandering off in search of food.<\/p>\n

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Refine Things<\/h2>\n

Once you have your draft timeline in place, evaluate your start time and if you feel it\u2019s too early then start looking at the schedule and work out where you can make adjustments or use your time more efficiently. When I think I have it right, one thing I always do is run the timeline past the venue, caterers and photographers to make sure it works for everyone.<\/p>\n

\"Wedding<\/p>\n

So that\u2019s it folks! The wedding day timeline is definitely one of the foundations of a really fantastic wedding day so spend a little bit of time getting it right before leaping in. There\u2019s almost always going to be delays of some sort, but you can minimise those by planning realistically from the outset. Your aim is to have time for everything without feeling rushed, but to also make sure guests aren\u2019t left hanging. Most of all make sure you leave yourselves the time to enjoy the day!<\/p>\n

The photos with this post are by one of my favourite photography teams, The Hendrys<\/a>, taken at the wedding of the lovely (yes just completely lovely) Melanie and Luke. This Urban-meets-Parisian stone cowshed wedding was one of my favourites of all time for so many reasons and I\u2019m delighted to share some images of Mel and Luke\u2019s beautiful day with you all.<\/p>\n

Sara xxx<\/p>\n

*This is the third in the wedding planning feature series from Whimsical Wonderland Weddings expert contributor and wedding planner Sara J at Love Street Weddings*<\/em><\/p>\n

Further Reading<\/h4>\n