Your wedding day is coming… the excitement is in the air… your brain is getting frazzled with all the things you need to think about to make this wedding an absolute gorgeous success. Putting together the final timeline of the day lays ahead of you. How do you make all of these pieces fit together?
One thing that we have learned over and over is that the best gift that you can give yourselves on your wedding day is a terrific and realistic wedding day timeline. You want to enjoy your day from beginning to end and having a schedule that allows you to enjoy it without feeling rushed is absolutely massive. There are so many little things that add up and usually take more time than you may be planning and could end up putting you into a more rushed experience. Below are a few guidelines and typical “timeline killers” that we have found over our years of experience.
Girls getting ready: Make sure you leave lots of time for hair & makeup. Experience makes a world of difference. If the hair & makeup artists are professionals with lots of experience then you should be able to keep fairly close to schedule, however with someone who is not as experienced you can sometimes easily double the time you thought it would take. A relaxed morning makes for a great start to your awesome day so keep that in mind as you make decisions. You and your bridesmaids want to feel like your are at your best before leaving the house, without a mad rush to “get your glamour on”.
Guys getting ready: Number one “killer” for morning timelines with the guys is when someone forgets part of their attire… if guys are getting ready together then make sure that the guys check their attire ahead of time to make sure no one arrives on-site with something missing (typically guys forget their pants or shoes… having them check a day or two before hand that they have their entire outfit ready to go will save on headaches).
Another area to consider is the location where they guys get ready. You may be thinking of having the guys get ready at a nearby house, however if this house is going to be potentially quite messy/cramped just simply due to the fact that so much is happening then do not fret and maybe consider using a hotel where you can have a clean space and peace of mind. Totally worth the $
Ceremony…. give yourself at least one hour: Even though your invitations show the start time for your ceremony, always allow for the actual ceremony to start about 10-15 min after the time on the invite. You and your bridal party will all be in place and eager to get things going but realize that your guest are traveling from all over to attend your wedding and often some of your special guests do not get there quite on time so you likely will want to allow for guests to shuffle in and find their seats first before your big moment can happen. The average ceremony usually takes about 30-45min but we always factor in a bit of “hugs and kisses” time right after the ceremony because regardless if you have a formal receiving line or not you will be getting loved on… why not add that into the timeline!
NOTE: If you do want to do a formal receiving line right after the ceremony then you will need to give extra time for that, min of 30 min. As a preferred alternative to the formal receiving line, you can walk around to each table at the reception to greet each guest in a more relaxed way, helping to save time and also give you that personal one-on-one with your guests.
Family Formals: We like to keep the “formal” shots of the family to immediate family only whenever possible (parents, siblings and their spouses/kids as well as grandparents). Even with sticking to immediate family, these formal shots for a professional will take about 30 min on average…. which is about all your smiling cheeks can take anyway. We highly recommend doing these photos right after the wedding ceremony as everyone will be in one place and ready to go. Extra family shots (aunts, uncles, cousins, special friends) can all be done in a more informal and fun fashion throughout the reception in a more relaxed time.
Bridal Party: Depending on the size of your amazing, fun, rock’n bridal party we would suggest giving 30-45 min. These shots do not exactly happen 3 seconds after the family shots so plan on realistic transition time because you really want to have fun with this amazing party of people surrounding you for your wedding.
Just the Two of You: The most important part of the day, outside of the ceremony, is this time you finally have together…alone. Your day is an awesome whirlwind of emotions. Being able to slip away from everything for these few moments will not only allow you to savor your day and all that has happened, but it also allows you two to relax and enjoy love’n on each other without a crowd around you. We would suggest at least 45 min for just the two of you.
“Wildcard” areas: A big area that you will want to keep an eye out for “timeline killers” are with travel & transition times. Remember to book in enough time in your wedding day schedule for loading cars, traveling to different locations and any potential traffic. Even if your entire day is on-location, you will still want to factor in some transition time about 15 minutes for people to move around and get into the right locations on-site. It is also a great idea to give yourself a few minutes to “freshen up” before your big entry into the Reception.
Example Timeline:
So what does a good wedding day timeline look like? Below is a sample timeline from Ceremony time to Reception that you can use to template your own sweet day.
1:30pm – Guys at Ceremony site welcoming guests
2:00pm – Ceremony (set aside 1 hour)
3:00pm – Family Formals at Ceremony location (set aside 30 min)
3:30-45 – Travel with Bridal Party
3:45-4pm – Take a quick moment to eat something (you likely didn’t even taste your “lunch” earlier in the day and now that your nerves are settled down post-ceremony you and the bridal party will be starving. It is a great idea to have clean snacks/bottles of water in the limo)
4pm – 4:45 – Bridal Party Formals (as soon as the bridal party is done they can run ahead and enjoy some of the cocktail hour at the reception venue)
4:45-5:30 – Pictures of Just the Two of You
5:30-5:45 – Travel to Venue
5:45-6pm – Freshen-up and get ready for the party of your life!
Remember, no mater what happens with your day to consciously choose to treasure as many moments as you can. This is a once-in-a-lifetime day and the beginning of your beautiful story. Giving yourselves time to enjoy it is a gift that you will be quite thankful for during the years to follow.
We are a husband and wife team gifted with photography and capturing LOVE. We believe that everyone has a gorgeously created uniqueness that is waiting to be captured in a way that is genuine, elegant, and filled with fun. We’ve been doing this for over 10 years and there is always such a huge excitement that comes from seeing the joy in our client’s eyes as they see their photographs for the first time. We are professional photographers who give a creative, elegant, and fun style of photography for people who are simply in love. We are thrilled to work with people during the most important times in their lives and giving it that WOW factor is our joy. These are joyful times so have a look at our Wedding Photography and get in touch with us quickly to find out more. Contact us to today for professionally respected and award winning photography. – We’re Mike & Jenny. Talk to you soon! 🙂 Professional Wedding Photographers and Portrait Photographers who work throughout the Toronto, Oakville, Burlington, Niagara, and surrounding areas.
