Wedding timeline?

At weddings I've attended, cake cutting is always after dinner (either soon after, or mid-way through dancing, depending on the time/length of the reception). However, when I toured semi-inclusive venues with daughter, there were two that pretty much insisted on cake cutting right after the grand entrance. I guess to give their staff more time to cut and serve the cake later? (Those venues included the cake as part of the package so it was baked on-site -- and they only had one option, carrot cake.) That was one of several things daughter did not like about those venues so she cut them from her list.

For us we're doing

First look

Ceremony

Small appetizers being served while mingling with guests in a room just off to the ballroom (ballroom needs to be prepared for reception during this time)

Guests go into reception room

We enter reception room (grand entrance)

Welcome speech/Introducing Wedding Party

First dance

Dinner

Toasts

Cake cutting

Dancing the night away

End of reception (Although we're not going to just leave, we'll be helping to put away some things)

And that's for the most part our timeline w/ some minor tweaking to be done if need be!!

I've never seen cake cutting before dinner until joining WW, and even on here it still isn't common. We did introductions, a welcome speech, dinner, speeches, spotlight dances, cake cutting, then open dance floor. I've seen some weddings with 45 minutes to an hour of open dance floor, then cake cutting, then back to open dance floor. We wanted all of our "events" at the beginning of the reception because 1.) we knew older guests would wait for the cake cutting to leave and 2.) we didn't want to take away from the dancing once it began.

I think your timeline looks great!

Ours is going to be ceremony 3:30 for by 4. Cocktail hour starts 5 minutes down the road at 4:30 for guests while we are getting family and bridal party photos done. Announced at 5:30, cake cutting, prayer and then dinner starting at 6. I think I have speeches, traditional dances and shoe game starting at 7 until probably 8 and then open dance floor. My photographer made the timeline for me. She told me it runs pretty smooth if cake cutting is before dinner and then it’s ready for when we want it later.

I have seen it both ways where the couple is introduced, goes into the first dance, and then seated for dinner vs. the couple is introduced, is seated for dinner and the dancing is later, but I have personally never seen the cake cut before dinner is served!

Our post-ceremony timeline went like this:

- Ceremony

- Cocktail hour for guests

- During cocktail hour: family portraits (10 min), wedding party photos (20 min), couple photos (30 min)

- Couple introduced, give quick "thank you to guests"

- Dinner is served

- Cake cutting

- Toasts

- First dance, Bride-Dad dance, Groom-mom dance

- Open dance floor

Your order looks good to me! We did our cake cutting at the end of the reception though... like our reception started at 2, lunch was served at 2:30, and we cut the cake at 4:15. Then cake was served at 4:30 and reception ended at 5.



Honestly I hadn’t been to many weddings before my own so I didn’t even realize that anyone even did the “cake cutting” early on in the reception, and then served it hours later 😂 but the way we did it worked fine. So does doing it earlier. It’s really just whatever you prefer, however you imagine the day flowing best!

Cake cutting should be after dinner.

I would think cake cutting would be after dinner right before dessert is served - especially if cake is part of your dessert.

View Quoted Comment Cake is my main dessert.

Ceremony - 3:30

Pictures/Cocktail Hour - 4

Grand Entrance - 5

First Dance - 5:10

Father/Daughter Dance - 5:15

Cake Cutting - 5:20

Dinner 5:30

Toasts 6:15

Mingling

Bouquet Toss/Garter Toss 7:30

Mingling

Last Song 9:45

Times are estimates. We don't have a tight schedule.

Our DJ suggested doing the dances and cake cutting before dinner. His thoughts were that you dance first so your dress and makeup don't get messed up from sitting and eating. His thoughts on cutting the cake before dinner was that people can immediately grab cake for dessert after they eat their dinner. We're just doing cupcakes for guests, so I thought this was a reasonable idea.

For us so far

5:00 ceremony

5:30 cocktail hour

6:15 entrance

6:20 first dance

6:25 toast

6:30 dinner

7:15 Cake

7:30 parent dances

7:40 open dance floor