i'd suggest hiring a day of coordnator - less stress on you
Here are a few examples of timelines:
http://wiki.weddingbee.com/Wedding_day_timeline
I also recommend starting with your ceremony time and everything that is included in your contracts to get a skeleton of your timeline. You can also ask your vendors what they recommend because they will know how much time things will take.
Don't forget to include when things should be finished by, when vendors should arrive and depart and when the venue is open and closed.
we're having our bm lunch at 11, starting hair/makeup/nails at 12:30, leaving at 2:30 to go to the b&b with my mom and sister to get dressed, bms are meeting me at the b&b when they're done at the salon, FI meeting me at the b&b at 4 for pics, whole bridal party is meeting at the b&b at 4:30 for pics, driving to the venue at 5, having a brief meeting with the officiant and families from 5:15-5:45, ceremony at 6.
hope that helps!
I agree with the earlier posters- start with the ceremony start time and work backwards. Most likely, your photographer will want all formal pictures to be over at least 30 min prior to the ceremony (when guests will start arriving)- you'll want to ask the photographer how long they will need for each set of pictures. You also will need to account for driving form the salon--B&B--Ceremony location. Also, if you and all your bridesmaids are getting hair/make up done, you will need longer for that.
My basic time line is (mostly centered on the photography):
9:30 am: bridesmaids/bride arrive at hair salon
1:30 leave hair salon, arrive back at hotel
2:00 florist arrives to set up
2:15 photog arrives for girls "getting ready pictures"
3:00 photog arrives at ceremony location to take boys getting ready pictures and formals
3:30 caterer arrives to set up rentals
4:00 bride and bridesmaids arrive for formal pictures at ceremony location
4:30 bride/groom photos done...phographer takes candids/detail shots (plus a cushion for any pictures that took longer than we thought)
5:30 ceremony starts
5:45 cocktail hour
6:30 we are announced/first dance/dinner
7:30-9:30 open dancing
9:30 cake
9:45 garter/bouqet toss
10:00 we leave!
Hope this helps!!
Depending on what you are dropping off at the reception site, see if you can't haul it there the day before. Our very nice event coordinator has a spot for us to store boxes of favors and such, and in fact will have his staff put everything out when they set up the tables as long as we explain to him in advance what we want.
I broke down my itinerary by event...and asked my vendors (hair/makeup, officiant, caterer) how long they thought they would need. So based on their responses I created the timeline below:
*note I had 2 hair and makeup person for myself and 4 BM's. I strongly suggest that if you have more than 2 people in your bridal party to get another hair and makeup person otherwise it will take a very long time.
-8:30am-1pm Bridal Party and Bride Hair/Makeup
-11am Flowers arrive
-12:30pm Photographers/Videographer arrives (we booked them for 10 hours)
-1pm-1:30pm Groom picks up bride from room (I'm Asian so there were "games" involved here
-1:30pm-2pm Pictures with Bridal Party
-2:30pm-3:30pm Lunch for Bridal Party
-2pm-3pm Bride and Groom Portraits
-3:30pm-4pm Bridal Party set up for Tea Ceremony
-3pm-4pm Parents/immediate family arrive for pictures with Bride/Groom in wedding dress
4pm-4:30pm Lunch for Bride/Groom and Vendors
4:30pm-4:45pm Change into Qipao for tea ceremony (I had rented out two rooms in the hotel next to venue so there would be limited traveling for the guests coming to the tea ceremony)
5pm-6:15pm Tea ceremony for both sides of family (I rented out a separate conference room in the hotel for this)
6:15pm-6:45pm Change at venue into wedding dress; meet pastor to sign papers and prepare for ceremony
7pm-7:30pm Western Ceremony
7:30pm-8:30pm Cocktail Hour (we chose to mingle with our guests here and took informal pictures. We decided we did not want to take any more portraits after the western ceremony so we too would be able to enjoy the party)
-8:45pm-9pm Introductions of Head Tables, Bridal Party and First Dance
-9pm-9:15pm Toasts
-9:15pm-9:30pm Cake Cutting
-9:30pm-10pm Games to torture newlyweds
-9:50pm Main Entrees are served
-10pm-10:15pm Change into Qipao for table toasts (again, I'm Asian so this was a must for my parents)
-10:15pm-10:30pm Table toasts with parents
-10:30pm-10:45pm Presentation bouquet with Dance Off (in lieu of the traditional flower/garter toss we decided to have a dance off for all couples whether married or in a relationship since most of our guests were either married or in a commited relationship. We had our MC invite them to the dancefloor and ask those who have been together X number of years to sit down...until only one couple remained and they got the bouquet.)
-10:45pm Photographers leave (I was lucky they stayed until the end of my timeline for them even though it was 15 mins over when they should have left. They did not charge me OT, so I completely lucked out!)
-10:45pm-12:30am PARTY!!!!!
I guess the bottom line is you have to expect things will go wrong so some cushioning in the timeline is def recommended. We lucked out and everything went smoothly because my maitre d and bridal assistant were awesome and made sure everything on the timeline happened as I wanted it. Even though there was another 200 person wedding going on in another room, they were able to make sure my guests were served their food in the timeline that I had given them which I thought was above and beyond what any bride and groom could ask for. So bottom line, enjoy your day and don't let the little things like " being on time" bother you because at the end of the day, you only get to experience this once!
Ok, here is my early rough timeline:
7:00 Tee time for the men. Photographer will show up towards the end
9:00 - Salon for hair and makeup for me and 1 BM and flowergirl (the rest will be getting their hair done somewhere else. Photographer will arrive while we are here (we have 2 photographers)
11:00 Men must be finished golfing and heading back to hotel room to get ready
11:15 - Babysitter shows up and takes 3 year old FG for ride in car to put her to sleep
12:00 All bridesmaids meet at my house. Hopefully the flowers will be here by now (need to check with florist)
1:00 Wake up baby (takes time when its a 3 year old and you don't want her to be cranky and she is my daughter so I have to take time out to do it myself)
1:15 Groom arrives at house to take pictures with bride
2:00 We all leave house for cememony
2:30 ceremony
3:15 Ceremony is over, do greeting line
3:30 Photos in church with bridal party +
4:00 Appitizers and drinks start at reception hall.
4:00 Photos with bride and groom
5:00 Bride and groom are introduced at reception
5:00 - 7:00 food is served at stations, drinks never stop!!!
5:30-7:00 or greet everyone at tables, Toasts, first dance, fathers dance, Cake cutting, dollar dance, garter/ bouquet throw
8:00-9:00 Dancing!!!
Wow, we need more hours in a day!!!!
I would start by talking with your photographer. I had no idea what time pictures would start, and by extension, couldn't schedule my hair/makeup until I knew that. Our timeline looks something like this:
10 am - Hair for bride, 1 BM, and MOG
12 pm - Make-up/lunch for Bride, 2 BMs, MOB, and MOG
2 pm - Groom pictures with GMs and Grooms' family
3 pm - Bride pictures with BMs and Brides' family
4 pm - Bride and Groom pictures
4:30 pm - go to church
5 pm - waiting period
5:30 pm - ceremony starts
6:30 pm - post-ceremony pictures
7 pm - Leave ceremony location for reception
7:15 pm - enter reception hall, have first dance followed by dinner, toasts, etc.
8 pm - Father/daughter dance, Mother/son dance
8:15 pm - cut cake
8:30 pm - cut a rug
10:30/11 (unsure) - grand exit
It is also worth mentioning that our pictures will be taken very close to wear I am getting dressed. Our reception site and ceremony are less than a mile away from each other. Depending on distance, you might need to factor in travel time.
I have postponed the ceremony start time by 15 minutes as from our experience people are still arriving. I have decided to do the cake cutting fairly early that way the reception site can cut the cake without any hurry and serve it when it's time do be served. We have been to a few weddings where people started to leave by the time the couple was cutting the cake. They did not want to wait until the cake was being cut (which does take some time) and so the couples were left with a lot of cake wasted.
08:30 GIRLS GETTING READY
11:00 BRIDE AND GROOM GETTING READY
12:00 PHOTOGRAPHER ARRIVES GET-READY PART
01:00 GROOMSMEN GETTING READY
01:30 FLORIST ARRIVES FOR SET-UP
01:30 QUICK LUNCH AND LEAVING FOR PICS
01:30 PARENTS AND SISTER GETTING READY
02:00 NATALIE TO ARRIVE FOR OVERVIEW (DOC)
02:30-03:45 PICTURE TIME
03:30 MUSICIANS ARRIVE AND SET-UP
03:45 GREETING PEOPLE AND GETTING READY FOR CEREMONY
04:15 CEREMONY STARTS
04:30 DJ ARRIVES - SET-UP
04:45 CEREMONY ENDS; COCKTAIL HOUR STARTS
04:45-05:45 COCKTAIL HOUR / PICTURE TIME
05:45-06:00 RECEPTION ANNOUNCMENT; GUESTS ARE SEATED
06:00 DJ TO ANNOUNCE BRIDAL PARTY AND COUPLE
06:15 MOH TOAST AND THEN MOM SPEECH THANK YOU'S
06:30 SALAD SERVING
06:45 FIRST DANCE ANNOUNCEMENT
06:50 CAKE CUTTING
07:00 ENTREE IS SERVED; COUPLE TO VISIT TABLES
07:45 TRADITIONAL DANCE
08:00 PAE BAEK
08:15 CAKE SERVING
08:30 GAME
08:45-10:00 BOUQUET AND GARTER TOSS, DANCING, MINGLE
Camille- I was thinking last night about delaying the ceremony 15 minutes like you said because at first I thought it was a very good idea.
But then I remembered being at a wedding where I was on time. i.e. 10 minutes early. I sat in that pew for 25 minutes! Not fun. We kept looking at our watch wondering what was holding them up. And that wedding, like my wedding was Catholic. So we were in that church for 1 1/2 hours. Too long! (BTW, I have a quick priest, my wedding will be about 45 minutes)
Just a thought.
May I suggest that when you put together a timeline, that you include the contact name and number for each thing (i.e. 10 am- FLORIST ARRIVES: Bill Smith, (222) 333-4444. That way, if you have a coordinator or anyone else helping to keep you on schedule, if a vendor doesn't show up on time, they'll know immediately who to call.
All of these ideas are great, but since we are getting married in a Catholic Church, our ceremony has to start at 2:00 and we have to be out by 3:45, but our reception doesn't start until 6:00. My fear is not enough time in the morning, then too much time in between (although we do need a little travel time in between locations). We have unlimited time with our photographer, so any thoughts?
I wish I had more time in between my church wedding and my reception. Use that time to take awesome photos. Do the standard line-up then take some private time with your new husband. Everyone I talk to says thier wedding day went so fast, they wish they had more time to enjoy their new husband!
My sister wanted me to do something like that, but what would I do with the guests? Most of them live at least an hour away from the reception so it's not worth going home. They would just be idle. It's too late for me to change my plans now, but what do you think your guests will do for that time?
Well we are not fixed at starting exactly at 4:15 we can start also at 4:00 if we feel comfortable that most people have arrived. We have already our musicians playing music and we are also offering drinks. Plus as we will mostly have relatives from out of state coming it would the perfect occasion to mingle a bit before the ceremony starts.
I have a spreadsheet prepared for my DOC and I have the wedding timeline as well as the vendors arrival time together with their contact details in it. That way she can follow-up with late vendors in case of need.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a morning wedding? I plan on taking everything listed above and scale it back a few hours, but is there anything that you did (or wished you did) the day before instead? I've already accepted that I'll be up at 3am to start my day 
Ok, I just showed my mother and my MOH my itinerary and they think I am crazy and way overthinking things. That just pissed me off. they are telling me to throw away my schedule. I want to tell them to throw themselves away. aaaarrrrrggggghhhh.
there are so many events that make up a wedding day, and i found our schedule to be absolutely essential.
best of luck everyone!
To those that can afford the time and money...I think one of the best things I did for my husband and I was to book a full 4 hour spa treatment the day before the wedding. That gave us ample time to relax and truly enjoy the wedding day. So for those that can, even if it's just a one hour massage, I strongly suggest it! =)
Thanks, Camille. We do plan to take our time doing pictures in between. The country club where our reception is being held allows us to go out on the golf course to take pictures which will be great. Part of the reason that we have so much time is that we have a good amount of people coming in from out of town, so we thought this would be a good time for them to check into the hotel (which is right down the street from the reception, but not so close to the church). Then there is a bar in the hotel and one in another part of the country club. Another idea is for someone who lives at a convenient location to volunteer to have some people back to their house. This is good for someone close to you but who isn't in the wedding party.
Our wedding is at 2:00pm.
I recommend having more than one person doing hair and makeup and recruiting lots of people to be responsible for things. Each of my bridesmaids are responsible for being contacts for the cake lady, caterer, photographer, also for guest book, gifts, favors, and candy buffet!
9:00: Picking up bouquets from florist (literally less than 1/4 mi from my house)
9:30: Meet at Salon for brides hair/makeup, all girls getting makeup done. We will be done by 11:30. All girls will have on button down shirts. We are dropping off the dresses at the church the night before at the rehersal dinner.
11:30: Guys arrive at church already mostly dressed and will have already had late breakfast/early lunch.
12:00: Girls arrive at church for lunch before getting dressed. Guys will start taking pictures at 12:15ish. Families at church at 12:00.
12:45: Everyone get dressed
1:00: Start pictures with girls and families. Done by 1:30.
1:30: Once we are done, seating for early birds
2:00: Ceremony begins, over by 2:45.
3:00: Guests arrive at reception. Our goal is to be at the reception by 4:00.
5:00: Cake Cutting
5:45: Bouquet Toss/Garter
6:30: Leaving
6:30-7:00 We will be taking some pictures of just the two of us! :)
Off to our honeymoon! :)
Good luck everyone! :)
My pre-ceremony timeline (for the ladies) is as follows:
10:00-Rise and shine! Shower and gather belongings to take to site.
11:15-Head to Boulder to commence pampering.
12:00-Bridesmaids Brunch at a Teahouse(also includes my Mother (MOB) and Future Mother-in-Law (MIL). We have to special order tea service for 10, so it will be all ready when we arrive.
1:30-4:30-Nails (manis and pedis) and hair for all 7 BMs, MOB and MIL as well as hair, nails and makeup for the bride. The makeup artist and hair stylists (2) will come to the nail salon (which has leather couches, endless MnMs and Diet Coke, and a projection screen that plays Sex and the City nonstop).
4:30-5:00-Travel to venue (Bridal Party and Groom's Party). I am trying to work out the logistics so that my Dad can drive me and the BMs/MIL/MOB can travel together in the 15 passenger van we have rented.
5:00-5:30-Dress at venue/Take getting ready photographs (Men and women will each have their own photographer).
5:30-6:30-Pictures of bridal party and groomsmen with bride and groom (We will not see one another until the ceremony).
6:45-String trio begins to play/Guests arrive by shuttle bus.
7:00-Ceremony begins.
I have another timeline from there, of course, one for the ceremony and another for the reception. In the interest of brevity, I did not include them, but would happily send them along to anyone who is interested!
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I'm an uber-organized bride and am attempting to create an itinerary/schedule for the actual wedding day. However, I have NO idea what time I should schedule hair appointments, final drop-offs at reception site, etc. I've only been in one other wedding so I'm not sure what the usual routine is.
Our ceremony is at 4:00pm. I'd prefer to get dressed at the B&B where I am staying with my family before the wedding rather than at the church, and have pictures taken at the B&B with the bridesmaids. (The bridesmaids are against this idea). What time should I plan for hair appt? Getting dressed? Having the photographer show up? And arrive at the church??
Any help or suggestions would be fabulous! Thanks, girls!