The wedding day timeline is the document everyone — vendors, wedding party, families, your point person — should be working from. When something goes sideways on the day, it almost always traces back to one person who didn't have the timeline. This template is the starting point. Adapt every block to your specifics, then share the final version with everyone involved.
A few things before you start filling this in
Work backwards from your ceremony start time. That's the fixed point everything else builds around. Getting-ready time is almost always underestimated — add 30 minutes to whatever you think you need. Buffer time between locations is not optional. Things run late. Build the buffer in deliberately so that when something slips, it slips into the buffer, not into the ceremony.
Share the final version with every vendor, your wedding party, your families, and your point person. Everyone should have the same document. Surprises on the day almost always trace back to someone who didn't have the timeline.
The morning — getting ready
- Wake up. Eat a real breakfast. Drink water. This sounds obvious and most couples skip it.
- Hair and makeup begin. Confirm the order with your artist in advance — typically attendants first, then the wedding party, then you last so you're freshest for photos. Factor in how many people are getting ready and how long each person takes.
- Hair and makeup artist arrives (confirm this time with them the week before).
- Photographer arrives to capture getting-ready details — dress, shoes, jewelry, flowers, candid moments with your people.
- Videographer arrives if applicable.
- Wedding party fully dressed and ready.
- First look with partner (if applicable) — this typically happens before the ceremony and allows for couple portraits without the time pressure of cocktail hour.
- Couple portraits.
- Transportation departs for ceremony venue (if different from getting-ready location) — add more time than you think you need, especially in traffic.
Ceremony
- Ceremony venue opens for guests. Ushers in position.
- Immediate family and VIP guests seated.
- Musician or DJ begins prelude music.
- Wedding party begins lining up.
- Parents or family members processed in.
- Wedding party processional begins.
- Your processional.
- Ceremony begins.
- Readings (note who is reading and in what order).
- Vows.
- Ring exchange.
- Pronouncement and first kiss.
- Recessional.
- Ceremony ends. Guests directed to cocktail hour.
Allow 20–30 minutes for a civil ceremony, 45–60 minutes for a religious or longer ceremony. Religious ceremonies with specific rituals will vary — confirm the expected duration with your officiant.
Post-ceremony
- Receiving line (if applicable). Allow 1–2 minutes per guest — longer than most couples budget for.
- Couple portraits and wedding party photos (if first look was not done beforehand — allow 45–60 minutes minimum).
- Family formal portraits. Prepare a shot list in advance and give it to your photographer. Designate someone to round up family members so this doesn't run long.
- Couple has a private moment — 10–15 minutes alone before joining the reception. Optional but most couples who do it are glad they did.
- Couple joins cocktail hour.
Cocktail hour
- Cocktail hour begins.
- Passed appetizers service begins.
- Bar opens.
- Lawn games, photo booth, or other guest activities available.
- Guests begin moving to reception room.
- Cocktail hour ends.
Cocktail hour typically runs 60 minutes. If you're doing extensive portraits this can stretch to 90 — confirm with your caterer that they can accommodate the timing.
Reception
- Guests seated in reception room.
- Wedding party introduced and enters.
- Couple introduced and enters.
- First dance.
- Parent dances (whichever combination is relevant for your families).
- Welcome remarks or blessing — note who is speaking and for how long. Brief them in advance on the expected length.
- Dinner service begins.
- Toasts begin. Note the order and who is speaking. Brief every speaker on the expected length — five minutes per speaker is a reasonable ceiling. Longer toasts rarely land better.
- Toasts end.
- Cake cutting.
- Open dancing begins.
- Any additional events — bouquet toss, garter toss, special dances, sparkler exit — note the time and who's coordinating each one.
- Last song played.
- Reception ends.
- Send-off or exit (sparklers, petals, bubbles — confirm with venue what's permitted and who's coordinating guests outside).
- Venue must be cleared by (confirm hard out time with venue — overtime fees can be significant).
Vendor arrival and departure times
List every vendor's expected arrival time, the location they're arriving at, and expected departure time. Share this with your point person so they know who to expect and when.
- Photographer — arrival time and location, departure time.
- Videographer — arrival time and location, departure time.
- Hair and makeup — arrival time and location, departure time.
- Florist — arrival time and location for setup, departure time.
- Band or DJ — arrival time and location for load-in and soundcheck, departure time.
- Catering — arrival time and location for setup.
- Cake — delivery time and location.
- Transportation — pick-up time and location, plus any additional runs.
- Officiant — arrival time and location.
- Coordinator or planner — arrival time and location.
- Any other vendors — note individually.
Logistics notes
- Where are vendor payments being held and who is distributing them?
- Where are the marriage license documents?
- Who is taking the top tier of the wedding cake if you're preserving it?
- Who is responsible for gathering gifts and cards at the end of the night?
- Who is returning rental items and by when?
- Who has the keys to the getting-ready suite or venue?
- Where does the wedding party go if they arrive early and the venue isn't open yet?
A note on timing
Every wedding runs slightly differently than the timeline says it will. The couples who stay relaxed on the day are the ones who built buffer into the timeline deliberately — not the ones who scheduled every minute perfectly and hoped nothing slipped.
Add 15 minutes of buffer after portraits. Add 10 minutes of buffer before the ceremony start. Don't schedule the cake cutting immediately after dinner service ends — give guests a few minutes to breathe. If your timeline has no slack in it, the first thing that runs long will cause a cascade.
The goal isn't a perfect timeline. It's a realistic one that keeps everyone calm and leaves room for the moments you didn't plan.
Eydn's day-of binder pulls your vendor contacts, timeline, guest list, and seating chart into one exportable document — formatted and ready to hand to your coordinator, your point person, or anyone helping you on the day. Start free at eydn.app.
