First and foremost congratulations! You’re in one of my most favorite times when planning a wedding. Your wedding day timeline can make your day flow much easier and offer peace of mind the day of.
Putting your timeline together seems so intense! But, once I break it down- you’ll easily be a pro putting your day together easily.
First thing’s first, decide the time of your ceremony. Your ceremony is what I call the “hinge point” of your day. Majority of my couples tend to plan their ceremony for 3pm. So, let’s just use that for example.
When I am putting timeline’s together, I tend to work from the “hinge point” and go out from that point, almost working backwards in a way to figure out the start of your day and the end of your day.
There are a few questions you need to ask yourself before you can go from here.
1. Do you want to do a first look? (Where the bride and groom see one another before your ceremony)
2. Do you want to do a first look with your bridesmaids? With your dad? with a special family/friend?
3. If you do a first look, do you want to do bridal party portraits beforehand so you have more time with family and friends after your ceremony?
**Majority of my couples want to do the first look, and bridal party portraits before their ceremony.
The next step up from your ceremony would be making sure you have about 30 minutes before your ceremony to relax, retouch make-up, re-curl a stray hair or two, or just be together and calm your nerves.
The next thing you’ll need to figure out is the order of when you’d like your bridesmaids hair and make-up to happen. The biggest thing is being sure you’re second to last to go, and whoever is helping you into your dress-be the one directly before you. This way when they are done getting their hair and make-up done, they are able to get photo ready during the time you’re getting your hair and make-up finished up.
Let’s set up the first part of a mock-wedding day timeline.
10:30am- Bridal Detail Portraits
11:00am – Brides Make-up Begins
12:00pm- Brides Hair Begins
12:15pm – Groomsmen Getting Ready Portraits
1:00pm- Bride puts on her gown
1:30pm – First look
1:35pm- Mini Couples Portrait Session
2:00pm – Bridal Party Portraits
2:30pm- Tuck away (breather time)
3pm – Ceremony
See Below for examples of Bridal Detail portraits
Now that your ceremony has happened, it’s all downhill from here! A few things to keep in mind: the more family portraits you include, the less time you’ll have for couples’ portraits. You want to ensure you have enough time to capture those pictures you’ll cherish and hang on your wall. Family portraits are SO important, so don’t skip them. However, be sure to have a timeline for them so you don’t end up spending an hour on family photos and not enough time for pictures with your new spouse!
Now, you may be looking at this last part of the timeline and wondering why you’d cut your cake right after the grand march. There are a few reasons I suggest this. During your grand march, you have everyone’s attention, which ensures you’ll still have their focus during the cake cutting. Also, by doing this right away, your caterer can begin cutting and serving the cake for dessert. Once your guests finish their meals, they’ll feel more welcome to grab dessert.
The timing of your dinner can vary depending on whether it is plated or buffet-style. More commonly, I see couples opting for buffet dinners. I’ve based this mock timeline on a buffet dinner, but know that things might flow a bit differently if you have a plated dinner. During a plated dinner, speeches typically take place when guests are finishing their last bites of dinner or starting on dessert.
Many traditions have been left out of more modern weddings, particularly the bouquet toss and garter toss. However, I’ve included them in the mock timeline just in case you’re more of a traditionalist.
3:00-3:30pm- Ceremony
3:40pm- Family Formal Portraits (I usually ask my couples to try to keep it to 10 groupings total)
4:10pm-4:50pm – Couples Portraits
4:50pm – Dress Bustled
5:00pm – Grand March
5:10pm – Cake Cutting
5:25pm- Welcome Speech & Settle in for Dinner
5:30pm- Dinner Begins (your vendors typically eat when you eat so they are done when you’re done)
6:30pm- Speeches Begin
7:00pm – Special Dances begin (Bride and Groom, Daddy Daughter, Mother Son)
7:30pm – Bouquet & Garter Toss
8:30pm- Bridal Party Exit
9:00pm- Dance away the night!
“The last thing I wanted to touch on is your couples’ portraits. You may have noticed I included two times in the timeline for couples’ portraits. This is very intentional. No one can predict their wedding day or the weather. Having two places in your timeline where you have opportunities to take those special portraits is vital! These are the pictures you’ll share, post, put on your walls, and cherish for a lifetime. Don’t skimp on these!”
Planning a big wedding can feel overwhelming, and if you’re dreaming of something more intimate and adventurous, an elopement might be the perfect choice for you. Whether it’s just the two of you on a mountaintop, by the ocean, or in a quiet forest, elopements are about celebrating your love in the way that feels most true to you.
I’m thrilled to share that I’m opening up space for more elopement couples this year! If this sounds like your dream, let’s plan something magical together. Wherever your love takes you, I’ll be there to capture every raw, real, and beautiful moment.
Ready to ditch the big wedding stress and focus on what truly matters? Let’s go!
xoxo E
