Do guest need a timeline?

Your DJ and/or coordinator will keep the night flowing! I've seen cute signs placed around the venue where there is a general timeline of events but it's really not needed. Guests just need to know when to show up and where to be!

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Thanks! I was thinking about putting it on the back of the menu. So maybe I'll just do that! So close and I keep giving myself little projects 😂😂😂

Hi Brittany! You definitely do not need to formally give your guests a wedding timeline! As mentioned above, your DJ or DOC will be able to keep the night flowing and things moving on time! If you did want to have a formal timeline on display or on the wedding menu, you certainly can, but it's not required! The only times you need to provide to your guests are the start of your ceremony and your reception (if they are not at the same location or hours apart). Also, this gives you a little wiggle room in your actual day-of timeline!

I think that its nice to have so that people know when they should be paying attention or returning to the main room.

We put a printed schedule in our welcome boxes

I dont think its necessary to get that into detail with them. A huge must for me is when the reception starts if you are having a gap between the ceremony and reception that is the only thing i think is absolutely necessary

I say skip the guest timeline sign. It's party time, no one wants a schedule for a party. Frankly, no one will pay attention to it either. Your DOC and DJ will keep the event on track.

I don't think it's necessary at all.

Sure, the signs are cute but it's really just for photos!

We are going to have a cute sign. Something like "Ceremony 5:00 PM, Cocktail Hour 5:30 PM, Dinner 7:00 PM" just so guests know a little bit of what to expect. But nothing more specific than that since the DJ announces it.

I think announcements from the DJ totally suffice! Our wedding is out of town, so in our welcome bags, we're including a timeline of main events (i.e., welcome to town drinks, ceremony start time, after party location, brunch the next day). But I think the little details are fine coming from the DJ unless your guests need to shift locations in between events.

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This is a perfect example! Personally i am Type A and very organized, so having a program or a sign like FutureMrsKC shared is perfect for me as a guest! Both weddings i have attended i was a date of the best man / groomsman (FH) so the first wedding we went to, there was no plan and no one told him where to go or when to show up and it drove me crazy! the second wedding we went to had a bridezilla who printed a 6 page very detailed timeline of the entire day and gave it to the entire bridal party and all of the vendors. The entire BP joked all day "REFER TO YOUR ITINERARY!" "REFER TO YOUR SYLLABUS!" because the packet was obnoxiously detailed and large.

I think the signs FutureMrsKC posted are short and sweet for both guests and the bridal party to know the order of events for those that want to know, but not an itinerary or syllabus for those that don't care when things are happening.

View Quoted Comment I totally agree! I hate when I have to go to the bathroom but I dont want to miss something! I think just having a general time is nice! Plus I have been to too many weddings where the bride and groom are not at cocktail hour and we had no idea when everything was gonna get started... a simple sign would have been nice.

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This! all day long!

Ahhh! Lots of differing opinions. I made a mockup - let me know what you think.

I don't want to schedule the fun but I do think it'll be nice to have this distributed so that guest can know what is going one throughout the evening. My plan is to have one on each table and then scatter them around the bar, escort card table, cocktail reception space so people will see them

Timeline

We did an order of events on the back of the program but without times. We wanted family to be aware of family photos in one more way aside from announcements, and we wanted to make it clear to older guests when the “special” events of the evening were done. We didn’t put Times because as others have said it’s nice to have wiggle room!

I sure hope not! Announcements will have to do.

Skip the timeline - your guests will follow and be where they need to be.

It's not necessary to have a timeline for guests. Our DJ made all announcements for first dance and other dances, speeches, etc. and the night flowed perfectly and we didn't have any confused guests.

Thanks all! I have decided to skip the timeline. I'm officially passing the torch to my DOC and going to enjoy the next 16 days! I'm done planning! Woohoo!