All your wedding day timeline questions answered
When is the best time to have our wedding ceremony; how long should our drinks reception be; how long does a three-course meal take; when should wedding evening guests arrive??
You’ve been asking yourself all of these questions whilst tackling your own wedding day timeline, and of course you don’t know all the answers right away. You’ve never done this before so it’s completely normal to not be 100% sure. That’s what I am here for, bringing hands on wedding day knowledge specialising in all things catering.
You’ve thought back to other weddings you may have been to, and you can remember parts of the day that you really enjoyed and other parts that either went on too long or not long enough.
For your own wedding day timeline you are looking for the perfect match between incorporating some of your favourite traditions, relaxation, epic guest experience, important social time & couple time as newlyweds. With years of experiences working out timings for couples and suggesting the best solutions for them here’s my take:
Ideal Ceremony Time:
A few things to consider here:
If you are having your ceremony at a licensed venue where the registrars are coming directly to the venue, before anything else you will need to find out from the local registry office what times they have available.
If you are having a celebrant led ceremony, then you can talk this through with your celebrant but you should have more flexibility with this option.
The most popular wedding ceremony time is mid-afternoon between 1pm – 3pm. This still gives you plenty of getting ready time during the morning surrounded by those closest to you. It is going to be a long and beautiful day so giving yourself the best start is important. A 12pm ceremony can lead to an early start and perhaps a rushed morning for you and your guests if there are quite a few people having hair and make-up.
The trick is to think backwards. If you are having professional hair and make up for you and your bridesmaids, ask your supplier how long it will take? Generally bridal hair and make-up takes about an hour and a half and bridesmaids hair takes about 30-45 minutes but it’s always best to check. Also think about how far your guests have to travel that morning.
You want to be in your dress an hour before your ceremony time and perhaps earlier if you then need to travel to your wedding venue. Trust me it takes time to strap you in, add all those personal accessories you have, put your shoes on and ensure you have the essentials packed. A moment to breathe after you’ve done all of this is also essential 😊
Ideal whole wedding day timeline:
Here are three wedding day timelines for you based on a 1pm, 2pm and 3pm ceremony time. With the sweet spots for all the other parts of the day from experience over the years. These timings keep guests entertained without waiting around, keeping things moving and flowing. Wedding flow is very important. Check our my post dedicated to this topic @paytonevents.
11am – Bridal hair and make up.
You can add in before any other members of the wedding party having hair and make up or any specific morning plans you want to make time for.
12.30pm – Start to get ready, think dress, shoes, accessories, something old, new, borrowed, blue.
1pm – Ready in your dress, pictures/first look with your biggest supporters.
If you have travel time between where you are getting ready and the ceremony venue you may want to be ready earlier.
2pm – Wedding Ceremony
2.30pm – Drinks Reception & Photos
An hour and a half is the perfect time for a drinks reception. If you are planning quite a few photos, then extending this to 2 hours may be a good idea as you will also want some time with your guests.
4pm – Call through to dinner - Allow enough time for everyone to take their seats.
4.15pm – Meal time - YOUR FAVOURITE FOOD SERVED
An hour and a half for a three-course meal for around 80 guests is about right. Over 100 guests I would allow 2 hours for the meal.
6pm – Speeches
Speeches all together after the meal is my suggestion. Your guests are relaxed, well fed and all in one place, you’ll have their full attention. Allow 30 minutes for the traditional 3 speeches and perhaps slightly longer if you are having more than 3 speeches.
6.30pm – Break / Cocktail Hour
7pm - Evening guests arrive
I would suggest a half hour buffer time from when your speeches finish to when you invite your evening guests just in case the speeches over run. Your evening guests may be awkwardly waiting outside for you to finish.
7.30pm – Cake Cutting followed by first dance
Cake cutting just before your first dance is an ideal way to bring everyone back together and kick off the evening reception. Or skip this is you are not feeling it, it is becoming more common to do a private cake cutting so you can at least get that epic photo next to your cake but without the pressure of others watching.
7.45pm – Band/DJ to kick off evening reception after first dance
9pm – Evening food
Three hours after the meal is a good time to bring out some extra goodies. Also fitting this in between your entertainments sets means it’s more likely to be enjoyed. Ask your band or DJ to announce that evening food is ready as their first set ends as it keeps the evening flowing.
Whole day timeline continued..
Try out a few options and see what you think will fit best with your vision. If you have more than 100 wedding guests and you are wanting the longer drinks reception and more time for the meal then a 1pm wedding ceremony time may work better for you. Also if your priority is dancing the night away, having an epic party and non-stop tunes then an early wedding ceremony will give you more time for this.
1pm – Wedding Ceremony
1.30pm – Drinks Reception
3.30pm – Call for dinner
3.45pm – Food served
5.45pm – Speeches
6.30pm – Break for cocktail hour
7pm – Evening guests arrive
7.30pm – Evening reception – First Dance – Entertainment to start
8.30pm – Evening food
9pm – More entertainment.
If you want more time in the morning and you don’t have a big guestlist then here’s a 3pm example:
3pm – Wedding Ceremony
3.30pm – Drinks Reception
5pm – Call for dinner
5.15pm – Food served
6.45pm/7pm – Speeches
7.30pm – Break & Evening guests Arrive
8.30pm – Cake Cutting/First Dance/Evening entertainment to start.
9.3Opm - Evening food served
10pm - Entertainment back on
Finally remember if you are travelling between your ceremony venue and reception venue to allow time for this. Of course, all of the above can be tailored to you. Have a go at writing down some options and if you need any help drop me an email. Remember those key priorities you want from your day and have these in mind when creating your own perfect wedding day timeline.
These thought-out timelines are exactly what I do for you as part of my on the day coordination service.
Always here to help
Naomi
xx