Wedding Day Timeline example to have your day flowing flawlessly.
Timing and arrangement is everything when it comes to weddings and, really, any event. A well thought out order of events will have your guests entertained and activities in motion to make sure your event flows flawlessly. Obviously every wedding will look different depending on the venue’s rules on setup and what activities are planned, but we have put together a general timeline to show about how long things should take in order for things not to linger as well as the ability to fit everything into your big day.
What Should You Plan Around
Every event has things that do not go as planned. Good news! Timelines can be altered and adjusted. This is where a day-of-coordinator comes in handy because they know how to adjust without a hitch. However, there are three main things you should plan your big day around and everything else will find a place.
Ceremony – This is obviously the most important item on your timeline as it is the main event and it lets people know when to arrive. All set-up needs to be done prior to the ceremony.
Dinner – The caterers need to know what time to have food ready to start service. There is not really an option to move it forward or postpone dinner once the time is set because the caterers will have staffing ready for a certain time as well as food prep.
End Time – All venues will have a strict end time. Even if you are doing a DIY wedding, the DJ, caterers, or any other staff will still be contracted until a certain time.
Order of Events
This is an example timeline of a ceremony start-time of 5:00. Timeline will adjust based on how long the venue is contracted or whatever your needs may be.
3:30 – Vendors / Wedding party arrive at venue
3:30-4:30 – Pre-Ceremony Pictures
5:00 – Ceremony
5:30 – Marriage License Signing, First Drinks
5:30-6:30 – Cocktail Hour
6:20 – Seat Guests
6:40 – Announcement of Couple and Bridal Party into the Reception Hall
6:45 – Welcome Speech / Blessing over Food
6:45-7:30 – Dinner Service
7:30 – Toasts
8:00 – Cake Cutting
8:10 – First Dances
9:00 – Bouquet Toss
9:05 – Garter Toss
9:30 – Last Call for the Bar
10:00 – Bar Closes
10:00 – Send Off
10:00-11:00 Vendor Clean up and Tear Down
Things to Keep in Mind
Pictures – Some couples like to get most pictures out of the way before the ceremony and some like to wait to see each other during the ceremony and save the pictures for during cocktail hour. This will adjust the timeline whatever is decided, but both are doable for a smooth day.
Seating Guests – This takes longer than you think. Make sure you multitask here to allow time for guests to end their conversations during cocktail hour, find their names on the seating chart and find a seat. This is a great time to line up the bridal party for announcements as well as make sure the bride’s dress is bustled.
Grouping agenda items together – For a smooth flow, toasts, cake cutting, and first dances should be grouped together so as to not try to gather your guests attention multiple times throughout the night. Some couples like to get the first dance out of the way during the announcement into the reception hall, but the first dance is also a nice segway into dancing for the rest of the night.
Planning the flow of the party can be tricky, but remember that the flow is the most important thing and not necessarily the exact time things are done. If dinner service is moving fast and the couple wants to get toasts started, by all means get the night moving so that the dancefloor can open earlier. Reading the crowd is important when creating a good flow for an event. If you are planning with an all-inclusive venue, they will have a timeline that works best for their space ready to go and be approved by you. Check out Church Ranch Event Center, winner of the Best of Mile High, Best Event Center in Denver as an example of how all-inclusives can be helpful in planning the perfect event. Hopefully this gives a good picture of a general order of events for a wedding. Happy planning.
