Wedding Day Timeline
The whole day, hour by hour, built around your ceremony time — move the ceremony and everything moves with it. Mark golden hour for photos, spot the clashes, and print a schedule for your suppliers.
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How the times are kept
Every moment is stored as minutes before or after the start of the ceremony, not as a clock time. That is why moving the ceremony moves the whole day, and why the running order still makes sense if the date changes.
Golden hour is shown as the hour before the sunset time you enter — a simple rule; the soft light starts and ends a little differently with season and latitude, and your photographer will know. Add to a calendar downloads a file with each moment on your wedding date, in local time, for any calendar app.
Build the day backwards from the ceremony
The ceremony time is the one fixed point: the venue, the officiant and your guests' invitations all hang off it. Work backwards for getting ready — hair and makeup take longer than anyone expects, so add half an hour — and forwards for photos, food and the party.
Then share it. Every supplier should have the same schedule a week before, and one person who is not either of you should hold it on the day and answer the questions.
Where timelines usually slip
Getting ready, which runs late almost every time. Family photos, when people wander off to the bar — give the photographer a written list of groups and a helper who knows the family. Moving guests from ceremony to reception. And speeches, which grow: ask each speaker for five minutes and plan for eight.
Related
The planner reminds you to send this to your suppliers in the last month. The drinks calculator uses the hours of the reception, and the seating chart is ready for when guests sit down to eat. The wedding planning guide covers the rest of the year.
Questions people actually ask
How long should the ceremony be?
Most last twenty to forty minutes; a religious service can be an hour or more. Ask your officiant and put their answer in.
How long does hair and makeup take?
Roughly forty-five minutes to an hour per person for hair and makeup together, longer for the person getting married. Multiply by everyone in the chair and ask your stylist — the classic day starts it five hours before the ceremony for that reason.
When is golden hour?
Roughly the last hour before sunset, when the light is soft and warm. Enter the sunset time for your date and place and the timeline shows which moments fall inside it.
Can I print it?
Yes — Print for suppliers prints just the running order, with who is responsible for what.