HOW TO CREATE THE ULTIMATE WEDDING TIMELINE
FEATURING
A great wedding timeline will allow you to really make the most of the day, without worrying and without feeling rushed.
Our top tips for creating the ultimate wedding timeline
“Time flies when you’re having fun”
A cliche, but like all good cliches it’s true. And never more true than on your wedding day. It really does go by in a flash.
A great wedding timeline will allow you to really make the most of the day, without worrying and without feeling rushed. Making every second count (oh hello, another frequently used cliche!)
As wedding suppliers ourselves we really do love a good timeline. It makes the day flow much more seamlessly and helps us navigate what’s happening and when.
With all that in mind we’ve put together some of our top tips for creating the ultimate wedding timeline. Drawing on our years of experience this will help you put together a workable timeline that will keep everyone (guests and suppliers alike) happy.
USE THE CEREMONY TIME AS YOUR STARTING POINT
Start with the main event itself, your ceremony – this will help determine the rest of the days timings. Once agreed and set in stone it makes the perfect anchor point to plan the rest of your day around.
GETTING READY
However long you think it will take you to get ready… add more time on. Trust us.
You don’t want that final hour or so of prep to be memorable for the wrong reasons – feeling stressed and rushing is not what you want before saying “I do.”
MOVING YOUR GUESTS
Ever heard the phrase “herding cats”? Well, it applies to guests on a wedding day!
Whether you’re moving between different locations, or within the same venue, guests are slower to move than you think.
If you’re travelling between locations then it’s not just the travel time itself you need to think about. Add on extra time for getting on and off coaches, or waiting around for parking spots. And remember to factor in traffic too.
Oh, and keep in mind, the more guests you have the longer all this takes.
SPEECHES
You’ll find most wedding timelines allow up to 30 minutes for speeches. That’s based on a more traditional three speech set up.
Things have changed over the years and that’s not always relevant anymore. We’ve seen weddings with joint speeches, quizzes in place of speeches, slideshows and even songs. Anything goes! Which is great, just remember to allow plenty of time in your wedding timeline.
With the best will in the world, speeches always overrun. People find it very hard to judge the length of their speech, or forget to add in pauses for audience reactions. Give people a time limit and tell them to practice in front of someone so they can time it and make sure it’s not way over.
If you’re planning on speeches before the meal then you really do want to try and nail those timings down. You’ll want your food served while it’s at its best and so will your caterer!
A question we hear a lot – when is the best time to have those speeches? Before the meal always gets our vote. Less alcohol has been drunk at this point, making it easier to stick to timings.
Spreading the speeches out between courses just doesn’t work – trust us, don’t do it!. The food is kept waiting as speeches will overrun, guests will wander off to the bathroom or to smoke/vape or just to get some fresh air and dirty cutlery and empty plates just doesn’t look good in photographs.
After the meal can work too, a bit more alcohol might give you some more raucous guest reactions to speeches. But it does mean everyone is in party mode and just wants to hit the dance floor!
TALK TO YOUR SUPPLIERS
This is key! Share your plans with your suppliers. They’ll be able to help with any timeline questions you’ve got and offer their own advice. Take advantage of their combined experience!
The majority of weddings tend to follow a similar template, so if you’re doing things differently your suppliers need to know, just so they know what to expect. You want to make sure everyone is kept in the loop. That way, on the day, things can run smoothly and you can relax and enjoy yourselves.
Want more advice on how to make your wedding day awesome? You can check out our past wedding tip blogs here.
