Creating your wedding day timeline is crucial to your wedding day. Having a good timeline helps make your day run smoothly and keeps things a little stress-free. It makes a WORLD of a difference, so let me help ya out on logistics!

GETTING READY

Where will you and your groom be getting ready? In the venues bride and groom suites or maybe a cute AirBnb? If you are getting ready on the venue’s property, this will help with travel time! However, if not, make sure to include enough padding time from location to location and plan for traffic and construction.

PRECEREMONY EVENTS

What do you want to include in your preceremony time? Opening letters, robe photos with your bridesmaids, toasts, a dress reveal with the bridesmaids, etc. Also how much time does it take to get into your dress? I like to give at least 15 minutes just in case anything were to happen while getting into your dress!

CEREMONY START TIME

What is the BEST time for YOU to start your ceremony? Do you want an early start to your morning so you can party earlier or do you want a later ceremony so you have plenty of preceremony time? If you are getting married outside, keep ceremony lighting in mind! Here is a more detailed post on ceremony lighting: The Importance of Light on your Wedding Day.

FIRST LOOK

Are you wanting to share a first look? This event alone can change the timeline ENTIRELY! You can get more portrait time but if you opt out, portrait time may feel a little rushed! (Keep this in mind!) If you are feeling stuck on the first look, here are some benefits!

PORTRAIT TIME

If portraits are important to you, make sure to give yourself time in between the ceremony and reception. (Especially if you aren’t sharing a First Look). Depending on where both locations are, an hour to an hour and a half should be plenty of time. Just make sure to serve appetizers for your guests during cocktail hour so they aren’t on an empty belly waiting for the reception to start.

Also, are there any other places that you will want portraits that include travel times from location to location if not on your venue?

RECEPTION EVENTS

How many events are you wanting to do during your reception? Intros, First Dances, Cake Cutting, Toasts, etc. Are you wanting to do a sparkler exit? Most of the time, the exit isn’t real, it’s just a way a formal way to let your guests know that all of the important events are over and open dancing is about to begin.

As you’re creating your timeline, please make sure you are giving yourself some padding and not rushing every event. You want to enjoy your wedding day, not rush through it. If you still need some more tips on crafting your wedding day timeline, head over to this post: A Guide to the perfect wedding day timeline.

 

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