Right On Time: Part Two

As promised, here’s the second half of our wedding day timeline, complete with notes explaining why things are organized in just this way. Still working out your schedule? I hope ours will help give you some ideas!

Post-Ceremony & Cocktail Hour

4:00 PM
Ceremony concludes, and post-ceremony photos begin at church

4:20 PM
Guests begin arriving at reception site for cocktail hour

4:30 PM
Bride, groom and wedding party arrive at reception site for more photos

5:00 PM
Bride and groom join guests for cocktail hour on patio

(It’s very important to us that we get to mingle during the second half of our cocktail hour, and luckily, it should be no problem, since we’ll be taking a good number of our photos pre-ceremony.)

Reception

5:30 PM
Guests invited to be seated in ballroom

5:40 PM
Grand entrance

5:50 PM
First dance, followed by a second group dance for all guests

(To help get everyone in a party mood, and to take advantage of the excitement created by the grand entrance, our DJ will invite everyone the gather around the floor for our first dance, which will be immediately followed by a high-energy dance song for everyone to enjoy. Also, since we’ll have already done our first dance, guests can feel more than welcome to hit the floor during dinner, if they wish.)

6:00 PM
Buffet opens, with tables released one at a time

(Our day-of coordinator will monitor the line and release tables one-by-one to avoid a huge backup. Stephen and I will be served our meals first, so that we’re then free to visit guest tables throughout the rest of the dinner hour.)

6:55 PM

Toasts by best man and maid of honor

7:00 PM
Slideshow presented by bridesmaids

7:30 PM
Sunset pictures of bride and groom on the golf course

(I’m super excited about these shots!)

8:00 PM
Thank you speech by bride and groom, followed by cake cutting

8:10 PM
Anniversary dance

(Doing this right after the cake cutting will give the venue staff time to plate and serve the cake while the guests dance and watch the accompanying slideshow.)

8:30 PM
Bouquet and garter tosses

9:30 PM

Bar closes for alcohol

(A smart move at any party…)

9:45 PM
Last two dances of the night

10:00 PM
Grand exit

And there you have it! What do you think? Of course, our version of the timeline is much more detailed, complete with notes, song selections, announcements, and so on.

How do you plan to time your cocktail hour and reception?

(Photo Credits: Los Robles Greens & Wedding Aces)

Right On Time: Part One

Call me a geeky bride, but as a self-proclaimed lover of checklists, to-do-lists, and, well, lists in general, creating our wedding day timeline has been one of my favorite tasks throughout the entire process! Of course, I haven’t done it all on my own, and have worked closely with our DJ, hair and makeup stylist, and day-of coordinator to ensure the perfect timing throughout the day.

Here, our current timeline, which I’ll share in two parts, along with some notes about why we made the choices we did. Enjoy!

Pre-Ceremony

8:15 AM
Hair and makeup styling begins

(We’re starting early to accommodate a large bridal party, but my stylist will be on hand right until we leave in order to provide touch-ups as needed.)

11:30 AM
“Getting ready” photos begin

1:00 PM
Wedding party heads to “first look” location

1:30 PM
Photographer and videographer arrive at “first look” site for the big reveal

(As I’ve mentioned before, we’ll do a “first look” to ensure that the majority of our photos are taken while my hair and makeup styles are fresh, and so that we can share a special private moment before the ceremony.)

2:30 PM

Church available to vendors

2:30 PM
Reception site available to vendors

(The two above items are extremely important to your vendors, since they'll need to know when they can begin setting up and how much time is available. Don’t forget to ask the coordinator at your venue!)

2:45 PM
Bride, groom and wedding party arrive at church for more preliminary photos

3:00 PM
Guests begin to arrive, and are greeted by the groom and groomsmen

3:15 PM
Prelude music begins

3:30 PM
Time to walk down the aisle!

Have you worked out your pre-ceremony timeline yet? What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced in trying to put it together?

(Photo Credit: Gardens of the World)