How to Create a Wedding Timeline

One of the saving graces for our wedding was creating a wedding weekend timeline. Having everything planned out meant that I didn't have to stress about ANYTHING on our wedding day. I knew exactly what time things should happen and since I did not have a wedding planner, a timeline was most helpful. Coming from someone who was a complete stress case leading up to the wedding, the timeline helped be to relax and remain calm on our wedding day.

Creating a timeline meant that not only did I know when everything should happen, but so did the other members of our wedding party. It was so incredibly nice to have the timeline to refer to and to send out to our vendors. The hardest part of planning the timeline was determining how much time we should give to each event. I used a few different websites, here and here, to help determine how to space out my wedding day. I also spent lots of time talking to all my vendors and site coordinators to get their opinions and in the end, trusted my gut and went with what I felt comfortable with, especially during the day leading up to the wedding.

As you can see, I included everything leading up to our wedding on our timeline. I mean honestly, who besides me needed to know I had a dentist appointment on Thursday? I also included addresses and telephone numbers (although I blacked those out for privacy reasons, obviously) and included notes to our parents and bridal party).

Here a few tips for creating your own Wedding Weekend Timeline:

1.

Most websites will suggest that you allow 1 hour for the bride's hair and around 45 minutes for the other bridesmaids. As you can see, I allowed much more time than that. I hate being rushed and knowing that I would have additional time to get ready and relax was super helpful. For my bridesmaids who chose up dos, I allowed an hour and a half for their hair and an hour for my bridesmaids wearing their hair down. My aunt who is a hair stylist was doing my hair. As much as I love my aunt, I know that she's incredibly slow, so I allowed just over 3 hours for my hair to be done. I also had a second stylist for all my bridesmaids' hair.

Bottom Line: When it comes to your timeline, it helps to know and discuss times with your vendors and trust them (or your gut) over the internet.

2.

If you want to have a stress free wedding day, I suggest waking up early. Even though our ceremony didn't start until 6 PM, I think I woke up around 7:30 AM on my wedding day. Part of this was because I couldn't sleep. The rest was because I wanted to enjoy every second of my wedding day. Don't rush yourself. Allow for extra time in everything leading up to your ceremony because there's nothing worse than feeling like you won't get everything done.

3.

Decide which photos are important to you and discuss with your photographer. After you've spent all day getting ready, you're going to want tons of beautiful photographs. Your photographer will have an idea of how long each session (bridal party, first look, etc.) will take. Trust their judgement! That's what you hired them for. Plan the rest of your timeline around what you vendors suggest so that you won't be rushed leading up to the photographs and ceremony.

4.

When it comes to the ceremony and reception, it definitely helps to have a timeline. But, don't be afraid to deviate from it! If your guests finish eating before your cake cutting is scheduled, it's totally fine to start it early. If you've talked to your site coordinators and vendors, everything will flow smoothly regardless of whether you stick exactly to your timeline or not.

I can't say enough how thankful I was for this timeline on our wedding day. If your wedding is completely DIY like ours was, I can't stress enough how important it is to create one! It helps so much. I was so relaxed and happy knowing that everything was already planned out for my wedding day when I woke up that morning. If you're looking to create a wedding timeline, I hope this helps!