We understand that you may be feeling overwhelmed with the planning of your special wedding day. We are here to put you at ease and help you with how to plan your wedding day timeline. Planning your wedding day is essential so it runs smoothly for everyone involved, including your guests, your suppliers and even us as the videographers and photographers.
Is wedding planning stressful?
We have put together a guide to planning your wedding day timeline with a 1pm ceremony as an example, to show you that wedding planning does not need to be stressful at all!
We will usually ask you to provide your itinerary; we can run through this together and give you an idea about how we can work as a team. We will always try to adapt to what you or your planners offer so you can put together the ultimate wedding planning checklist and timeline.
Whether you are looking for a North England Wedding Photographer, specifically a wedding videographer in Manchester, a wedding videographer in Scotland or a wedding videographer in Surrey, we have your back covered. We cover luxury wedding venues and locations all across the UK.
Decide and Slot in Your Key Times
Begin your wedding day timeline by jotting down all of the non-negotiable elements that you have already locked in, such as your ceremony start time, ceremony finish time, reception start time, and reception finish time. This may include what time you have the venue booked for and when everything needs to be packed down by the end of the night.
Having these key elements on your timeline will give you a framework of your day and you can work around this. You now know what time your guests can arrive for the ceremony, what time your evening guests can arrive, what time food will be served, what time the bar is open and closing and what time you can have your hair and makeup done.
As the photographer and videographer, we will make sure to revise your timeline so we can capture the key elements naturally.
So what kind of details do you need to consider when putting together your wedding day timeline?
Of course, every wedding is unique, but your wedding may flow something like this, (assuming you have a 1pm ceremony):
8am – Breakfast and showers.
9am – Photographer and Videographer arrives. Hair and makeup begins on bridesmaids.
10am – Bride starts hair and makeup. Suppliers begin to set up at the venue.
11am – Bride gets dressed.
11:45am – Bridal party photos.
12:30pm – Groom and groomsmen arrive for the ceremony and guests begin to arrive.
12:45pm – Bride and Bridal party depart with photographer.
1pm – Ceremony starts.
1:45pm – Ceremony ends, confetti shots and couple depart for photos.
2:15pm – Reception drinks begin and food.
2:30 – Couple returns from photos and group photos start.
3:45pm – Seat guests for dinner.
5pm – Speeches.
6pm – Cutting Cake. Couples depart for sunset photos – golden hour shots.
7pm – Evening guests arrive.
8pm – First dance.
8:15pm DJ/Live band starts.
10pm – Evening food
Communicate and Slot in your Wedding Suppliers
First of all, you need to understand what vendors are needed at your wedding and putting together a wedding supplier checklist will keep you organised. Even though you may think that your wedding suppliers have done this a million times, which yes they have, you need to communicate with them so they know what the agenda is as well as yourself.
You need to make sure that their availability fits in with your proposed wedding day timeline. The makeup and hairstylist will need to be with you in the morning to make sure you are ready for the photos and the ceremony and they need to slot in enough time to get you ready and all of your guests, so you should let them know the number of people too. The DJ needs to be at the venue at a certain time in the evening and they need enough time to set up, so consider this. Also remember the wedding décor suppliers, wedding flower suppliers and food suppliers.
As well as all of the other suppliers, Weddings by AR as videographers and photographers will give you helpful estimates based on your ceremony, reception times and guest numbers – we just need you to communicate with us effectively.
Add the Wedding Day Timeline Details
Once you have your wedding day timeline in place and all of your suppliers are slotted in, it is time to start adding all of the little details! Adding notes to each section to clarify exactly what is happening and who is involved. Understanding what time each supplier needs to be there, where they need to be, what they need to bring and what exactly they are responsible for.
You need to make sure that all of these small details are confirmed and noted for everyone to see. Make sure that all of your suppliers contact details are on there too in case anyone needs to contact them on the day. The more detail you provide, the smoother your day will be. Trust us on this!
Pro tip: provide your suppliers with emergency contact, be it best man or your parents. You don’t want to be monitoring your phone all day!
Distribute Your Wedding Day Timeline!
When everything on your wedding day timeline and checklist is planned and perfected, you will need to distribute it to all of your wedding suppliers and key guests, including your bridal party and anyone else assisting on the day.
Providing them with this information will put them at ease, so they know exactly what to do, when to be there and where to be. As well as putting everyone else at ease, it will comfort you knowing that things will run smoothly and everything is planned.
Our Top Tips When Putting Together Your Wedding Day Timeline
- Beauty time – once you know your transportations and photography timing, you can plan your beauty times and let your stylist know the agenda.
- Don’t forget to eat! It is so important that you remember to eat and it is easy to forget with all of the excitement and nerves, especially if you are having a drink! Make sure you prioritise scheduling in slots for food within your wedding day timeline.
- Remember to schedule in the little things. These could be moments that are special to you, that will make your day special. Such as a first look or first touch, or exchanging gifts or letters in the morning with your partner – whatever will make your day perfect.
- Be prepared for the detailed shots. Make the most out of the time with your photographer and hang out your dress and have any special heirlooms or other items that you would like photographed put aside.
- Don’t stress about it. Your wedding day in only one day, so you want to make the most of it, enjoy it and take it all in.
Now that you have your wedding day timeline and checklist ready for action, you can relax knowing that your day will be planned out to perfection ready for your big day.
At Weddings by AR we take pride in helping our couples achieve an unforgettable day, filming and photographing your day like a fairytale movie!
