Ahhh the timeline. Probably the most important aspect of your wedding day. Also the most complicated to organize… unless you have done this countless times, of course. I’m sure you’ve all read the magazines and received suggested timelines from vendors here and there. All great I’m sure. The problem with that though is that other vendors don’t always know how a WHOLE day actually goes. Mainly because they know only from what people have told them… not from actually experiencing it. The only person that has seen a wedding day from the early morning to the last drink is the photographer. Allow me to explain how it usually goes.

Now, the day-of timeline should only really be done a month or two before your wedding. If you aren’t there yet, don’t worry too much about it. Read on just as an FYI and come find this email when it’s time to really sit down and organize it. 

Having an awesome timeline will dictate the difference between you having a successful wedding… or you running around like a chicken without a head. I think it’s clear to imagine which one is the best option. Hopefully, with this post, you’ll be able to get a better idea of how to organize yours and actually have the time to take in your day rather than constantly try to fix everything. The easiest way to determine when everything will be happening is by setting your starting point at your ceremony. Chances are, it’s one of the first thing you booked and one of the few things that you can’t change. Receptions always start around 6:30/7pm so, there’s not much to plan there. They can be a little flexible though.

In this FAKE timeline, I placed the ceremony at 4pm. In our opinion, that’s the ideal time to get married to have a stress-free wedding day (I’ll explain why later)

Let’s determine how much time everything needs.

GETTING READY

While getting ready, there are a few things you will need to plan for.  Hair, Makeup and getting dressed. In the middle of that, there’s eating, drinking lots of water, making sure everyone has time to get ready too, taking family photos (only if your photographer does that – personally I do this after the ceremony only) and having your father see you for the first time and putting on his boutonniere. All as important … but fit in between the three major points.

Hair typically will take 1h for the bride and 30 min for each bridesmaid. If you have more than 3 people getting their hair done, I would suggest asking your hairstylist to bring some extra hands so that you don’t need to get up at 8am. I really really suggest not having to get up SUPER early to start your hair and makeup. This is your wedding day. You need to enjoy it. Take advantage of the morning to hang out with your bridesmaids, have a fancy brunch and take it easy before everything starts rolling. It’s important. It will be a long day. If you have a hairstylist (or makeup artist) who suggests starting 5-6 hours before your ceremony time, consider asking them to bring someone with them instead, so that you can start later.

Makeup should take 45min to 1h for the bride and 30 minutes for everyone else. The bride always takes longer to allow time for changes in case you don’t feel comfortable with something. Make sure to let your makeup artist (and hairstylist) know EXACTLY how many people need to be “done” and don’t allow family and friends to decide the day of. This could cause major changes to your timeline … and you don’t want that considering how much time each person takes. Note that the bride should ALWAYS be LAST in terms of makeup. This allows you to schedule the photographer to show up when the bride gets started. The later the photographer starts, the later they can stay in the evening. The bridesmaids get their makeup done first so that they can get dressed while the bride is in the chair. Another thing the photographer can capture (since she is already there!)

It all makes sense!

Having your hair done in a salon? Why? I STRONGLY recommend having them come to your house to avoid traffic issues or bridesmaids getting lost. This will also allow you to start LATER. If you absolutely must have your hair/makeup done at the salon though… do not forget to count your TRAVEL TIME in your timeline and always add 50% more time than you THINK you need. Example: 30 minutes to get home? Put 45 minutes in your timeline.

When does the photographer/cinematographer show up? I like to come over 1.5 to 2 hours before the ceremony starts and just as the bride gets in the makeup chair. Why? Well because we don’t like to capture photos of people being rushed… and photos of getting your hair done are boring since you can’t move. They are not fun to look at.  We want a relaxed bunch of people having fun, getting ready, drinking champagne and taking their time. Chances are, we also want to photograph all your little details (like dresses and shoes) so they can’t be on you … right? If it all works out as planned, the photographer can capture the bride getting her makeup done, the bridesmaids chatting and getting dressed with the parents and all the important details. All in 1 hour. Quick and easy.

What about the groom?  The groom getting ready is also a very important aspect of the day… however, it’s not as “complicated”. Grooms (and groomsmen) generally take 20/30 minutes to get ready. Of course, they can always have more time. After the shower though, they usually jump in their suits and they are ready to go out the door. Isn’t fun being a man? Talk to your photographer about how they work with grooms. I love photographing the groom myself so I usually go take photos of him as the bride is getting her hair done. I photograph him for 30 minutes and then drive to the bride’s house to take photos of her. DON’T FORGET TO CONSIDER TRAVEL TIME between the two locations for the photographer.

Tip: Want to save time? Get ready in the same location i.e be in the same hotel. Or a few streets away from each other. Traffic is awful in the summer.  This will allow your photographer to have more time between the bride and groom.

Next…

So, makeup is done and your bridesmaids are all ready. Yay! Mom and dad should also be dressed at this point. The groom should be on his way to your ceremony location. Time to get dressed for the bride!!

Time needed? pfffttt 8 minutes. Seriously. Putting on the dress is complicated in theory… but in reality… it’s a joke. Just open the dress on the floor, step into it and zip. Not sure? practice it with your people BEFORE THE WEDDING DAY. Unless I’m your photographer. If so, you are fine. I know how to lace up any dress in a few minutes.

You should, however, get dressed approx. 30 minutes before leaving for the ceremony. You need time to: Get dressed, get your accessories on, take a few portraits with your photographer, have your dad see you for the first time (ahhhhh emotionsss) and putting on people’s boutonnieres – If you feel like doing that.

So, let’s recap. 
Hair: 1h (photographer is with the groom 30 minutes during that time) 
Makeup: 1h (Photographer shows up)
Getting dressed: 30 minutes
Total getting ready time: 2.5 hours

Are you seeing each other before the ceremony to take photos so that you can spend time with your guests at the Cocktail hour?  If yes… AMAZING. Let’s move on to the first look.

FIRST LOOK

If you are planning to see each other before the ceremony, this is called a first look. First looks are AMAZING because your photographer can plan exactly how your groom will see you for the first time and be able to capture every emotion on camera. Between the first look and the creative portraits, this period should take about 1h30 (ideally)

The first look itself can take about 10-15 minutes. This will give you time to get to the location, walk up to the groom, see each other and get a little emotional. I like to give them a few minutes so that the bride and groom can “have a moment”.

After the first look, we can do the bridal party portraits and then, the bride/groom portraits. Ideally, in that same location. Try to avoid traveling too much during your day as it causes a lot of unnecessary stress.

let’s recap. 
First look: 1.5 hours
Total time before the ceremony: 4 hours
Which means your official start time was noon

THE CEREMONY

If you recall at the beginning of this article, the ceremony should be the starting point of your timeline. Once you set a time for your ceremony… and you know how long everything takes, it’s very easy to make a timeline. The reason I set my ceremony to 4pm is that I feel that it’s the IDEAL time so that you have a fun/easy-going day. Once everything starts, everything can be one after the other – without having huge pauses for your guests… which can be super annoying. By having a traditional “noon” ceremony… you are forcing your guests to stand around doing nothing for 4 hours before cocktail hour. Not always fun when you are in a suit and it’s +30 Celsius outside. Plus, at 4pm… the sun is not straight above your head (or depending on the season… almost sunset) which make photos nicer and its a little cooler for your guests.

I don’t recommend taking photos after the ceremony if you are at 4pm. The main reason being that the photos will suffer (I’m so selfish). If you do still allow 1.5 hours for the photos after the ceremony, your guests will have to wait around. Consider doing the ceremony at 3pm in that case and having a two hour cocktail with food and drink to entertain your people. No matter if your photos are before or after the ceremony, I recommend keeping your family photos after. We’ll talk about that next…

The ideal length for a ceremony is 30 minutes. This gives enough time for the ceremony to be romantic with vows and rings and short enough not to annoy your guests. Hey. I’m just being honest here… for your benefit, 1 hour tends to be a little long in a hot church (or outdoors) and 15 minutes is way too fast and ups your chances for your photographer to miss an important moment.

let’s recap. 
Ceremony: 30 minutes

THE PORTRAITS

After the ceremony, expect to have all your family photos done. Even if you have a first look. The reason being that it’s the one time when you KNOW your family members will ALL be present… and dressed.  The family photos are the traditional portraits that Mom and Grandma LOVE to have on their mantel. They are the most tedious of the day but man…  are they important? Depending on how BIG your family is, expect about 20 minutes to get this done. I say usually 2 minutes per portraits. But ONLY if you have a list ready (which you should have prepared WEEKS before your day) you do NOT want to shoot these portraits on a whim. If you are a photographer and are reading this article… PLEASE SEND A LIST TO YOUR BRIDE AND GROOMS TO FILL OUT WHAT PHOTOS THEY WANT TO DO and WITH WHO. You will thank me later. The last thing you want is to forget that photo with Grandpapa and… he passes away two weeks later. It sucks. Trust me. It happened to me on my FIRST EVER wedding. If you are a bride-to-be and are reading this, ask your photographer if they will send you something to fill out, if they say no… hire another photographer. Just kidding. Kinda. But take matters into your own hands and make a portrait list for them. The wedding day is way too hectic to think about thinking of people to photograph. You WILL FORGET SOMEONE. You’re welcome. In case you didn’t get my joke… I do send lists to fill out to my own brides.

IMPORTANT TIP: MAKE SURE YOU TELL YOUR FAMILY THAT FAMILY PORTRAITS ARE HAPPENING RIGHT AFTER THE CEREMONY. Usually, people try to get out of there fast to avoid traffic and the worse thing that can happen to your timeline is having to run after family members for photos. Do not take this tip for granted. Tell them before the wedding day and remind them a few days later. If you aren’t sure you have told them… tell them again. and then again. 

If you did NOT do the first look, you will take the time after the family portraits to do your fun/creative portraits with your photographer. Typically 1 hour. Please don’t schedule less than that. You will not like your photos if you feel rushed the entire time. Your photographer will also feel your stress and won’t be able to get into “creative mode” and give you those beautiful photos that you hired them for. The extra time also helps in the off-chance that it rains on your wedding day. More time to find a good place for photos.

let’s recap. 
20-30minutes for traditional portraits
1h for creative photos (if they aren’t already done)

COCKTAIL HOUR

Cocktail hour is usually 1 hour.

This is basically to let your guests arrive at your location before you do your official “entrance” to the reception venue. If you did your first look, you get to enjoy the cocktail hour with your guests. If you didn’t, this is the time you would use for your fun/creative portraits. Don’t want to see your guests? Understandable. Use this hour to relax and enjoy a little quiet time with your new hubby, away from your photographer. This time is PERFECT for the photographer to go capture alllll your details in your reception room before your guests enter it. Another great reason to do the first look. Otherwise, your photographer DOES NOT have time to get this done.

and finally,

RECEPTION

Reception starts at 6h30/7h pretty much… anywhere. This is also where your DJs timeline generally takes over. So talk to them about how the night will be organized (generally done 3 months before your wedding day)

A few things to consider :

1. Do you have a receiving line? Keep in mind that for 100 guests or less, it takes about 20 minutes. For 100-150 guests, it takes 45 minutes and for more than 150 guests, I would really consider skipping it and going to see guests at their tables during the night … because it takes FOREVER. This will cost you MAJOR in your timeline if you do it.
2. How long do you still have your photographer for, once you enter the reception? Be sure to let your DJ know along with WHICH MOMENTS you want to be photographed. He can make sure that it happens. But this should be done in the 3 months before your day. Don’t surprise him with a “p.s my photographer ends at 8 o’clock” the day of. He will not like you very much.
3. It’s really hard for photographers to take photos of guests at EVERY TABLE given that everyone moves all the time. If this is important to you, let the photographer know ASAP so that they can start fast. If it’s “so-so” important… consider skipping it. Your photographer will probably end up taking at least 1 photo of your attending guests… unless you have 350+.
4. Make sure the speeches aren’t too long. 5 minutes (max) is the standard. Tell your people.
5. Are there surprises or special performances? TELL ALL YOUR VENDORS so that they are ready.
6. Keep in mind that your cake can be pretty much cut at any time. Just let the kitchen know and they’ll take it out.
7. I always recommend having important dances (first dance and parent dances) as soon as you enter. That way you are sure that they get photographed. The courses often take longer than expected to come out.
8. Want Gather/bouquet photographed? Consider your coverage time with your photographer. This is a dying trend though.
9. Please feed your vendors. Unrelated… but still important.

So, let’s recap. With a ceremony starting at 4 o’clock and no traveling time (ish) Your timeline should look something like this:

Morning – Fun time with girls
12:00 Hair (1h) – Photographer at grooms
1:00 Makeup (1h) – Photographer arrives at brides, girls get ready
1:30 Bride gets dressed – dad sees the bride in dress – we all cry
2:00 traveling to photos (15 minutes)
2:15 First look/Creative photos (1h 15 minutes)
3:30 Travel to the ceremony (15 minutes)
4:00 ceremony  (30 minutes)
4:30 Family portraits (20 minutes)
4:50 Travel to the cocktail (20 minutes)
5:10 Cocktail (1h) – You have fun – Photographer takes photos of empty room and details
6:30 People get into the reception room
7:00 Official entrance – First dance + Parent’s dances (10 minutes)
7:30 First course
8:00 Speech (as the second course comes out)
8:30 another speech
9:00 More food + Cake cutting photo (5 minutes)
9:30 Dance floor opens – photographer ends
Rest of evening + Dancing and Drinking

A nice and compact wedding timeline. Everything is done within 10 hours and no rushing. That’s it. Now it’s up to you. Keep in mind that this is a typical wedding. If you have specific traditions that need to be done during your day, make sure to change up the timeline accordingly and never… ever… FORGET TO CALCULATE MORE TRAVEL TIME THAN NEEDED 🙂