How to Build Your Wedding Day Timeline
Step 1:
What time is sunset?
Go to sunrisesunset.com to find out exactly what time sunset is, then start to build your timeline around that [especially if you know you want sunset photos!]
Step 2:
How long will everything take?
Find out how long each portion of your day is supposed to last and write it down [you’ll likely need to ask each vendor what their estimate is for each event]. Then add a 15-30 minute bumper between events in case things don’t go as planned.
Step 3:
Will there be any traveling between locations?
If you’re planning on driving between the ceremony site and the reception, or if you want to go off-site for wedding party photos, make sure to look up how long it takes on a bad day to get to each location.
Step 4:
Start a rough draft & build it around the time the sun sets.
[Stay with me here, I promise there’s a method to this madness!]
The sun sets at 8pm, so start sunset photos at 7:30pm. First dances need to start by 7pm then, which means dinner needs to be served at 5:15pm. If dinner starts at 5:15 and you want 2 hours for family/wedding party/couples portraits after the ceremony, and your ceremony is estimated to be 30 minutes, that means your ceremony should start at 2:45pm.
*Special note!*
If you’re getting married when the sun starts to set earlier in the day [like around 4:30pm], your family portraits, wedding party portraits, and couples portraits time slot will take slightly longer. You’ll need an additional 15 minutes for the couples portraits section as we’ll be doing your 1st set of portraits and sunset photos back to back.
Step 5:
Start finalizing your timeline.
Verify with each vendor how long they think x, y, z will last and confirm that your timeline is accurate.
Typical Length of Events
Getting ready [depends on wedding party size] - 1 to 5 hours
First Looks - 5 to 10 minutes each
Ceremony [depends on religious affiliation] - 15 minutes to 1.5 hours
Receiving Line [depends on number of guests] - 15 to 30 minutes
Family, Wedding Party, 1st set of couples portraits - 1.5 to 2 hours
Grand March - 3 to 5 minutes
Cake Cutting - 2 to 5 minutes
Dinner - Around 1.5 hours
Speeches - 10 to 15 minutes
Sunset Photos - 15 to 20 minutes
First Dances - Around 10 minutes
Nighttime Photos - 15 to 20 minutes
A Final Bit of Advice
Hopefully this blog post was helpful to get you on the right track with planning your big day! Creating your timeline can be stressful, especially if you feel worried about things not working out. After working in the industry for over 17 years, I’ve learned a thing or two, so here’s a bit of advice:
1. Don’t sweat the small stuff! Some hiccups are bound to happen, so when they do, brush it off and focus on your end goal (aka, getting married to the love of your life!)
2. Plan for the plan to not plan out. Sometimes people are late, or aunties and uncles wander off during family portraits, which cause a bit of a snag in your timeline plan. If you’re prepared for it to not go as planned, you’ll feel a whole lot less stressed.
3. Finally - make sure you plan for a little alone time. At some point during your wedding day, you’re likely to start feeling a little overwhelmed. Add a 15-30 timeframe for just the two of you to be together without your friends, family and vendors all up in your business. It’ll help you both feel more connected, and a whole lot less stressed.
I hope your wedding day is everything you dreamed it would be and more! Happy planning!
-Taber Lacie
