Wedding day timeline
Enter the ceremony time and see the whole day hour by hour, from hair and makeup to the send-off. Choose a first look or not, set how long the cocktail hour and dinner take, add your own moments, then print it for the vendors. Free, with no sign-up.
Change anything and the day works itself out again. It stays on this device.
Your wedding day
- 12:30 PMGetting ready
Hair and makeup starts · until 2:00 PM
4 people, about 45 minutes each with two artists. Eat something first.
- 1:45 PMPhotos
Photographer arrives: the rings, the invitation, the dress · until 2:15 PM
- 2:15 PMGetting ready
Get dressed · until 2:45 PM
Photographer captures the last details: buttons, cufflinks, the shoes.
- 2:45 PMPhotos
Photos of each of you with your side of the wedding party · until 3:20 PM
Apart, so you don’t see each other before the aisle.
- 3:20 PMGetting ready
Out of sight; a drink of water and touch-ups · until 4:00 PM
- 3:30 PMCeremony
Guests arrive; ushers seat them · until 4:00 PM
- 4:00 PMCeremony
Ceremony · until 4:30 PM
- 4:30 PMCeremony
Recessional; guests congratulate you on the way out
- 4:40 PMCocktail hour
Cocktail hour · until 5:40 PM
Drinks and canapés for the guests.
- 4:40 PMPhotos
Family photos · until 5:00 PM
Close family only; give the photographer the list of groups.
- 5:00 PMPhotos
Wedding party photos · until 5:15 PM
- 5:15 PMPhotos
Couple portraits · until 5:35 PM
- 5:40 PMReception
Grand entrance
- 5:45 PMReception
First dance
Some couples save it for the start of the dancing instead.
- 5:50 PMReception
Welcome and a toast or blessing
- 5:55 PMReception
Dinner is served · until 7:10 PM
- 7:10 PMReception
Toasts: the best man, the maid of honor, a parent · until 7:30 PM
Three to five minutes each.
- 7:30 PMReception
Parent dances
- 7:40 PMReception
Cake cutting
- 7:50 PMReception
The dance floor opens · until 10:45 PM
- 10:45 PMReception
Last dance
- 10:50 PMReception
Send-off
Sparklers, bubbles or petals: check what the venue allows.
- 11:00 PMReception
The end of the night; vendors pack up
Give your guests the times that are theirs
Guests need the ceremony at 4:00 PM, the reception at 4:40 PM and where to go between. A wedding website puts them on one page with the map, the dress code and the RSVP, and reminds the guests who haven’t answered. Free to make and publish; these times fill in for you.
Make a wedding websiteHow long each part takes
| Hair and makeup | About 45 minutes a person |
|---|---|
| Getting dressed | 30 minutes |
| First look and couple portraits | 45 to 60 minutes |
| Ceremony | 20 to 45 minutes |
| Family photos | 20 to 30 minutes |
| Cocktail hour | 1 hour |
| Dinner | 1 hour (buffet) to 1¼ hours (plated) |
| Toasts | 3 to 5 minutes each |
| Dancing | 2 to 3 hours |
Add 15 minutes of slack before the ceremony: something always runs late, and the photographer will thank you. If you want photos at sunset, look up the sunset time for your date and put the couple portraits 20 minutes before it.
Planning the months before? The wedding checklist has every task from a year out. Then set the budget, seat the guests and make a free wedding website with RSVP.
Questions
What is a typical wedding day timeline?
For a 4 PM ceremony: hair and makeup from about 12:30, the photographer at 1:45, dressed by 2:45, guests arriving at 3:30, the ceremony at 4, the cocktail hour (and the family photos) from 4:40, the grand entrance at 5:40, dinner just before 6, toasts at about 7:10, the cake at 7:40, dancing from 7:50 and a send-off before 11. Move the ceremony and the rest moves with it.
How long before the ceremony should hair and makeup start?
Allow about 45 minutes a person, finishing an hour or more before the ceremony so there is time to get dressed and for photos. With four or more people most stylists bring a second artist. The person getting married usually goes last, so their makeup is freshest.
Should we do a first look?
A first look means seeing each other privately before the ceremony. It lets you take the couple and wedding party photos early, so you can join your guests for the cocktail hour. Without one, those photos happen during the cocktail hour, which needs a full hour. Neither is wrong: it’s a choice between the moment at the aisle and time with your guests.
How long is a wedding reception?
Usually four to five hours, cocktail hour included. Dinner takes about an hour for a buffet and an hour and a quarter for a plated meal, the toasts about twenty minutes, and the rest is dancing. Check when the venue needs you out and when the band or DJ’s hours end, since overtime is charged by the hour.
When do the toasts and the first dance happen?
A common order is the grand entrance, the first dance straight away (it gets everyone’s attention while they’re seated), a welcome, dinner, then the toasts as dinner ends. Some couples save the first dance to open the dancing instead. Keep each toast to three to five minutes.
Who needs a copy of the timeline?
Everyone working on the day: the planner or coordinator, the venue, the caterer, the photographer and videographer, the band or DJ, the hair and makeup artists, and the wedding party. Send it a week or two before. Guests only need the times that are theirs, on the invitation or the wedding website.
Is it free? Do I need an account?
It’s free and needs no account. The timeline stays in your browser and isn’t sent anywhere; this browser keeps it for next time. Print it or copy it as text for the vendors.