Wedding Timeline

Tips and Tricks
Written By Steph Coffman

One of the questions I always ask couples in an inquiry call is, “how do you want to feel on your wedding day?” About 90% of the time, they say, “I want to be stress-free and have the day flow as seamlessly as possible”. You know how you get that? Putting together a day of timeline that makes sense.

The key to having a stress-free, smooth wedding day is having a rock solid wedding day timeline.

Check out the steps below for how to generate your wedding day timeline!

Step 1: Gather All Wedding Day Information

You need to write down all of the timing information you know:

  • Ceremony and reception start times

  • Venue access times

  • Vendor arrival and departure times (including how much set up/clean up time they need)

You also need to make some decisions:

  • Do you want a first look, first touch, or to stay completely separate? This will dictate what photos you can take before the ceremony, how early you need to be dressed and ready, and what happens during Cocktail Hour.

  • If you have limited hours for your photographer and/or videographer (or content creator), do you want getting ready content and a staged grand exit, or do you want them to arrive later so they can stay through the end?

  • What special dances, toasts, and other activities do you want to do during the reception?

Step 2: Draft the High Level Wedding Day Timeline

Start with mapping out all of the times you gathered in the previous step. Let’s look at an example:

  • Venue access time - 9am to 12am, Ceremony at 4:30pm, Reception at 6pm, Grand Exit at 10pm

  • Hair and Makeup 9am to 3pm, Planner - 9am to 11pm (set up from 9am to 2pm, then manage day, and clean up 10-11pm), Florist 10am - 2pm, Photographer and Videographer - 2pm - 10pm, DJ 2:30pm-10pm, Catering 3pm - 10pm

  • First look plus family and wedding party photos before the ceremony (need to be done with hair and makeup by 2:30pm), couple photos after the ceremony, sunset photos (golden hour starts at 7:15pm)

  • Photographer and Videographer will miss getting ready photos, but stay through the Grand Exit

  • Activities: First dance, Father Daughter dance, Mother Son dance, dinner blessing, Father of the Bride speech, Maid of Honor speech, Best Man speech

So the high level timeline would look like:

  • 9am Planner arrives for set up

  • 9:30am Hair and Makeup Begins

  • 10am Florist arrives for set up

  • 2pm Photographer and Videographer arrive; Florist departs

  • 2:30pm DJ arrives for set up, Hair and Makeup finishes

  • 3pm First Look, Wedding Party Photos, and Family Photos; Catering arrives for set up; Hair and Makeup departs

  • 4:30pm Ceremony

  • 5pm Cocktail Hour and couple photos

  • 6pm Reception starts

  • 9:45pm Grand Exit

  • 10pm Clean Up; All vendors leave except Planner and Venue staff

  • 11pm Planner and Venue staff depart

Step 3: Fill in the Details of the Wedding Timeline

Now that you have the high level timeline of the wedding day, it’s time to fill in the details:

  • 9am Planner arrives for set up, Hair and Makeup artist arrives and sets up

  • 9:30am Hair and Makeup starts

  • 10am Florist arrives for set up

  • 2pm Photographer and Videographer arrive and take detail photos; Florist finishes and departs

  • 2:30pm Hair and makeup finishes and couple and wedding party get dressed; DJ arrives for set up

  • 3pm First Look; Catering arrives for set up; Hair and makeup artist departs

  • 3:15pm Wedding Party Photos

  • 3:35pm Family Photos

  • 4pm Tucked away for ceremony, guests start arriving

  • 4:25pm Line up for processional

  • 4:30pm Ceremony

  • 5pm Cocktail hour and couple photos (and any photos that didn’t get done before the ceremony)

  • 5:40pm Reception space reveal for couple

  • 5:50pm Welcome guests in for dinner

  • 6pm Introductions into first dance

  • 6:05pm Father Daughter Dance

  • 6:08pm Mother Son Dance

  • 6:12pm Dinner blessing

  • 6:15pm Dinner Service

  • 6:50pm Father of the Bride Speech

  • 6:53pm Maid of Honor Speech

  • 6:56pm Best Man Speech

  • 7pm Dance Floor Opens and Cake Cutting

  • 7:15pm Golden Hour photos

  • 9pm Last Call for bar

  • 9:35pm Last Song for everyone

  • 9:39pm Line everyone up for Grand Exit, Couple has last private dance

  • 9:45pm Grand Exit

  • 10pm All vendors leave except Planner and Venue staff - clean up

  • 11pm Planner and Venue staff depart

Things that may affect your timeline:

  • Shorter venue access times or vendor service times

  • Getting ready off site (build in time for transportation)

  • Not doing a first look (all group photos will have to be taken during Cocktail Hour)

  • Larger wedding parties and/or families (may need to take extra photos during Cocktail Hour)

  • More or less dances and speeches

  • Golden Hour photos timing (use this site to determine what time golden hour is on your wedding day)

  • How long your ceremony is

  • What type of dinner you’re having (check out my post about different wedding meal types and timing considerations)


Having a detailed wedding day timeline is crucial to your wedding day flowing well. By booking a wedding planner or manager, they will create and manage a wedding day timeline that meets your needs, removing stress so you can enjoy your beautiful day.


Vendor Credits

Ricky Crystal Photo (Photos 1-2)

Captured By Leo (Photos 3-4)

Steph Coffman
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