Creating a Wedding Timeline

So you need help to create a great wedding timeline? Have you ever been to a wedding that was completely disorganized? Have you been in a wedding party and didn’t know what was happening next?

You may have also been at a wedding that seemed pretty seamless. It was probably more enjoyable for you because you didn’t feel the stress from the bride and groom or from family members.

Everyone has a better time when you have a wedding timeline. Timeline’s take SO MUCH STRESS AWAY from you on your wedding day. The beg decisions are already made, it’s all written out, and your vendors and family members will be thankful to have something to go off of for the day.

There are lots of different things to consider when making a timeline. If you have a wedding coordinator they usually are very helpful in this department. It’s important to take a lot of different things into account when deciding what your wedding day is going to look like. Here are my BIGGEST tips on how to make your wedding day less stressful.

Mock timeline

1. Sunset time
   1. You can literally go to google, put in your wedding date and find out what time sunset will be! This is important when choosing the ceremony time. For example, if 6pm is the time of sunset and you start your ceremony at 5pm you will have VERY LITTLE time for photos before it’s complete darkness outside. However, if you went with a 3pm ceremony your timeline may look like this:
      1. 3pm – Ceremony
      2. 3:30pm – Cocktail hour begins / Family photos / Bridal party photos
      3. 4:30pm – Reception begins – Introductions / First dance
      4. 5:00pm – Dinner is served
      5. 5:15pm – Sneak away for golden hour photos (I’ll talk more about that in a minute)
      6. 5:30pm – Toasts
   2. All of your photos would be done before the sunsets and you have time for the best time of day GOLDEN HOUR!
      1. Golden hour is that magical time, about an hour before the sunset, where everything is golden and glowing. This is a great time to plan into your timeline to sneak away with your photographer and get those glowing, romantic photos. They are easily my favorite photos from the whole day.

2. Buffer time

1. Whatever your timeline looks like it’s important to include buffer time. If you don’t allow for extra time for certain things then you may end up running late and that adds so much stress to your day. This is a great thing to talk to your wedding coordinator about or another experienced vendor, like your photographer. Things like getting ready tend to take longer than we anticipate and it’s good to have extra time allotted for it so you don’t have to be completely rushed when heading to the altar.

3. How much time do you hire a vendor for?

1. Some vendors are by the hour, while others provide full day packages. Everybody is looking for something different for their day so coming up with a basic timeline as early as possible is a great way to figure out how much time you need your vendors to be there. It may seem strange to plan out your timeline a year or more in advance, but once you’ve booked your venue and have a vendor you can consult with about timeline you SHOULD. It helps make everything fall into place as you plan out the rest of your wedding. Obviously, the timeline can change if you need it to and you may have other things added that you didn’t know about a year before your wedding, but it at least gives you a good idea of how to plan your day.

I hope this helps in your wedding planning journey! I am always happy to give advice about timeline and I give you mock timelines to help you plan out your day.