Wedding timelines - help

Here was my timeline and it flowed really nicely: 8-1 hair and make up, 1-3 getting dressed and some getting ready pics, 3:00 ceremony, 3:30-4:30 cocktail hour, family, wedding party, and couples photos. 4:30 entrance, special dances. 4:45-5:30 buffet dinner. 5:30 group shot and dancing, 6:45 cake cutting, 7:50 last song and sparkler send off

If you have the venue for the full day it should make things a little bit easier as far as setup and breakdown. But generally you want to give yourself at least 30 min to have hair and makeup done and any pre wedding pics like getting dressed and all that (if you aren’t traveling from a hotel/ house to the venue.


Definitely work with your venue and any vendors you have and give them your draft. They should be able to help you tweak anything if needed.

Here's mine:


9-10a hair1030-11:30a brunch12-1p get ready (some of them did their make up first instead of hair since they didn't want their hair done and some did both beforehand so this was mostly changing and fix ups)1:30-3p photos with first look330-5p set up since we had to decorate and set up our own ceremony5-6p is ceremony and social hour 6-11p was reception

View Quoted Comment Thank you!!! We will be getting ready at a hotel down the street. Just because the bridal suite you can't spray hairspray or perfumes in it. But, I'm getting ready to order our invitations and can't figure out what time to put as a start time. Thank you for your help!

View Quoted Comment Thank you!!!!! This is extremely helpful!

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much!!

Our ceremony start time is at 3 and we're doing pre-ceremony pictures from about 1:15-2:15. These will basically be any pictures we can get that don't involve FH and I seeing each other (bride and bridesmaids, bride with family, groom and groomsmen, groom with family, maybe a "first touch"). Ceremony end by 3:30 (probably sooner), cocktail hour and post-ceremony photos from 3:30-4:30, introduction/first dance/welcome/prayer from 4:30-5, dinner 5-6 (toasts in the last 10 ish minutes), 6-7:45 dancing/cake cutting/bouquet toss, 7:50 last dance, 8:00 sparkler send off

No first look for us. here is our timeline:

6:00-7:00-Cocktail hour 7:00-7:10-Guests enter Ballroom to sit 7:05-7:15- Servers take food order 7:15- Grand Entrance 7:20-First Dance & Parent Dances 7:40-Toasts, Servers French Bread 7:50-Salad Served 8:20-8:30-Dinner Served 9:45-Cut Cake 11:00-Event Ends

We aren’t doing a first look either!


Here’s ours:

8am-1pm: getting ready/lunch

1:30-2:30: bride picture with family and bridesmaids

3:00-4:00: groom pictures with family and groomsman

4:30: ceremony

We are having a cocktail hour from 5-6. That is when we will be doing pictures with both of us and bridal party together. I want to get a picture of both of us with each family, too during that time.

View Quoted Comment Thank you!!!! Its helpful seeing everyone's timelines!

View Quoted Comment Yes! I want photos with all the family together too! Thank you!

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much!

Start with a list of all the things you want/need to happen. For example:

Breakfast

Bridesmaids Hair/Make-Up

Bridesmaids Get Dress

Bride Get Dress

Groomsmen Get Ready

Bridal Party Pictures

Groom/Groomsmen Pictures

Travel to Venue

Doors Open For Ceremony

Ceremony

Cocktail Hour/Pictures

Guest Seated for Dinner

Grand Entrance

Dinner Start

Toast

Cake Cutting

First Dance

Father Daughter Dance

Mother Son Dance

General Dancing

Late Night Snacks

Last Call

Last Song

Send Off

Clean-Up

Once you have a list of everything you want, then put them in order, then assign time starting with the Ceremony Start time and work forward or backwards for the rest.

View Quoted Comment

What do the bride/bridesmaids do from 2:30 to 4:30?

View Quoted Comment We will probably just be hanging out, haha. It’s just a rough draft and not set in stone but that’s how I would like the structure to be.


But thanks for pointing that out! I definitely don’t want to sit in my dress for 2 hours doing nothing. Lol!