Planning your dream wedding includes many elements, from food to floral arrangements. While the list can seem daunting, one of the best ways to alleviate any stress and make your perfect wedding a reality is to create a wedding timeline that includes all the small details. At Griffin’s Floral Design, there is nothing our experts haven’t seen, and we understand that some of the seamless weddings revolve around detailed scheduling from morning to night.
When scheduling an itinerary that accommodates your wedding party, family, friends, guests, and vendors, everything relies on a timeline that keeps your wedding day on track. When organizing your timeline, no detail is too small. This includes the who, what, where, and when during every part of the celebration. When factoring in yourself, your sole focus should be on enjoying the day, so consider hiring a wedding planner to run the show and make sure everything falls in the right place at the right time.
The difference between having a stress-free wedding day and a stressful wedding day hinges on a wedding day timeline. Not only does it provide clarity to your day, but it takes away any possible confusion and keeps everything aligned to make it the best day. From sunrise to sunset, your wedding timeline is imperative to help everyone—from wedding guests to caterers— know where they need to be and when.
Best Practices for Crafting Your Perfect Timeline
Since many elements go into your wedding day, it’s good practice to finalize your wedding day timeline about a month before your wedding date. This is especially important when working with a planner to ensure everyone is on the same page. Speaking of pages, to help start the process, create an Excel wedding template early in your wedding planning process. Then, go back through to fill in the details as they arise. Another tip for mapping out your wedding day itinerary is to factor in travel times and eating times for you and your wedding party.
Getting Ready — 4 Hours
To ensure you and your wedding party have time to get ready, don’t underestimate. Instead, overestimate and allocate about four hours so you can hang out and eat while you get ready. Think: arriving at the bridal suite at 9 am will give you enough time for hair, makeup, getting dressed, and any photo sessions you have planned before your afternoon ceremony. As you plan your prep time, think about the elements to make it fun. Will there be champagne or an excellent food spread for you and your party to enjoy? Time-wise, try to finish your hair and makeup before the photographer arrives so you can take some adorable “getting ready” photos. For grooms, while four hours might seem like a long time to prepare for your wedding, time can be dedicated to getting a quick hair touch-up or shave. This time can also be reserved for reviewing vows, ensuring all vendors have everything they need, and even exchanging letters with your soon-to-be spouses.
Photos — 2.5 Hours
Figuring out the time needed for photos before your wedding depends on what kinds of photos you’re taking. As you plan with your photographer, make sure you list out what you want them to document. Will they be capturing “getting ready” photos? Will they be taking photos of just the bride or groom for portraits? The entire wedding party? A first look? Family photos? Make a list of all the sessions and estimate the time you and your photographer think it will take to accommodate them. Then, work backward from the wedding ceremony start time to schedule the best arrival time for your photographer. On the day of, everyone must be ready to go before the photographer arrives.
Ceremony — 1.5 Hours
The beauty of your wedding ceremony is that it can take any shape, form, and length as you see fit. While modern ceremonies take between 20 and 30 minutes, it’s often best practice to schedule extra time beforehand for guests to arrive, which can be 15 to 30 minutes before the ceremony. To ensure people can find their seats efficiently, it’s good to have at least two ushers to help out. After the “I do’s” have been exchanged, add some time for guests to mingle before making their way to the cocktail hour.
1 Hour — Cocktail Hour
The cocktail hour is a wonderful time for guests and families to meet each other, yet it’s also a time to make sure everything stays on track. Make sure you have enough bartenders to serve the size of your guest list and enough space to do their job comfortably. If you plan to work with a wedding planner, one of their responsibilities could be to usher the guests into the reception area 15 to 20 minutes before the reception so they have ample time to finish their conversation and find their assigned seating.
1 Hour — Reception Entrances, First Dance, Parent Dances, Speeches
When mapping out your wedding day timeline, ensure that even your formalities are listed in detail so that your venue, wedding planner, and caterer can all be on the same page. It’s also recommended to keep your DJ or band in the loop if you’re planning on a unique entrance with your wedding party. After that, you can transition to the first dances with your partner and your parents. Some couples invite all of their guests to join in on the dance floor during the last minute of their dance to amp up the celebration.
After the dances finish, this is a time when people take turns giving (sometimes embarrassing) toasts, which can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. We recommend checking in with people giving toasts to make sure you’ve planned accordingly in your schedule and for everyone to be aligned with their allotted time. Before the speeches begin, ask your caterer to serve a salad or the first course as well as a glass of champagne for the toasts.
3 Hours — Dinner, Dancing, & Cake
Toasts have been shared, and tears have been shed; it’s now time for dancing! Before cutting a rug on the dance floor, consider cutting the cake while you still have everyone’s attention. Typically, couples give guests plenty of time to let loose, add family time, and honor cultural traditions at the reception. Then, before it’s time for guests to say goodbye, send them off with a heartfelt “last song” or plan a stunning “grand exit” for you and your partner.
After months of planning and bringing your vision to life, a well-thought-out and put-together timeline will allow you to enjoy your wedding day to its fullest. Reflect on what you’d like your big day to look like and start writing out all the elements you can think of to make sure you can relax, have fun, and celebrate your love. For more wedding planning tips or to create a stress-free wedding design, connect with the experts at Griffin’s Floral Design.
