Wedding Timeline Tips

Wedding days can get chaotic very quickly. With so many moving parts, it’s important to nail down a wedding timeline and make sure everyone knows what role they play. You don’t necessarily need a wedding coordinator to have a perfectly executed timeline. There are so many resources online for planning a timeline, and if you read on you might pick up some important tips to help your day run seamlessly. I personally make timelines for every single one of my couples to make sure we’re on the same page and set expectations on how the day will go photo-wise to make sure we have plenty of time for everything!

Brainstorm and prioritize

The first step is to sit down with your partner and decide what your priorities are. Before nailing down a timeline, you need to decide which events will be taking place. Will there be first look photos? Cocktail hour? How long will the reception be? Will there be a formal dinner provided? Will there be a first dance? How many speeches? These are all questions you and your future spouse need to think about. Once you decide what will be taking place, then you can move on to deciding when.

Have a planning meeting

It’s a good idea to sit down and have a planning meeting with your coordinator (if applicable), maid of honor, best man, parents, officiant and other important figures to nail down the timeline and who will be in charge of what. If we do a first look, do we want all our photos taken prior to the ceremony? How long will the ceremony be? What time will dinner start? These are some starting questions, but write it all down so you can plan things down to the minute. On the day of, there may be some things that throw the timeline off, so it’s important to have backup plans so that the day runs smoothly.

Communicate with your wedding party and delegate!

Once a timeline is set up, you need to communicate it with everyone who has an important role in the day. Delegate every little detail so you can simply enjoy the day. Tell your party not to make you aware of any issues, and have them make backup plans. Who will be responsible for picking up rings? Steaming the wedding dress? Making sure the ring bearer makes it down the aisle? Hiccups are bound to happen when a big event is going on, so be prepared. Have a test run if you need to! Write extremely detailed plans for your wedding party to have. There is never any harm in over preparing. Only under preparing.

Take a deep breath and enjoy it!

In the weeks prior to your big day, go over plans as many times as you need to. Check in with your people, make sure everyone is on the same page, and then put the plans away. You’ll want to be in the right mindspace the day of, so it’ll take a week of mindfulness to prepare. Go have a spa day, do some yoga and meditating, and enjoy the days prior with your partner. Let everyone else take care of the small details. If you spend your entire wedding day worrying about the details, you’ll look back and not have blissful memories. This is YOUR day, so enjoy it.