How to Make a Wedding Timeline with First Look

Do you need a wedding timeline with first look included? Want it to be seamless? You’ve got it! We have a sample to use and edit to your needs plus answers to your most-asked wedding day timeline questions. Read on and subscribe now for the latest wedding tips to your inbox!

A wedding day timeline is a vital part of planning your special day. A wedding time for the day-of will provide a guide to the proper timing of things, from when to get ready in the morning to what time the shuttle will arrive to transport guests. Your wedding timeline checklist will vary, since no two couples or weddings are exactly the same. With that being said, this sample template is a great way to get inspired to make your own and edit or add items to suit your own plans.

In this blog post, I’ll help you plan the perfect wedding timeline with first look (as one template) so you can customize it accordingly for your own needs. Along with this sample timeline, I’ll share some helpful pointers to make yours, how to display it, and a helpful tool to make yours perfectly planned to your exact needs. Your wedding day is going to be beautiful and I’ll help you nail down the flow perfectly. I got ‘ya covered!

Let’s get started!

Wedding Timeline

If you are ready to make a wedding timeline, there are some necessary tips to keep in mind so yours goes off without a hitch.

1. Figure out the ceremony length first.

As a rule of thumb, most religious ceremonies are approximately one hour in length. A non-religious ceremony will typically last 15-20 minutes long. Furthermore, if you decide to have fewer readings or songs, shorter vows, or want a very short ceremony, your ceremony timeline might fall within a 15 to 20-minute span.

How Long Does a Wedding Last?

• Wedding ceremonies are usually no shorter than 20 minutes, and no longer than 1 full hour.

• Wedding receptions are typically booked in six- or five-hour blocks.

2. Decide the length of your reception.

While most receptions last five to six hours in length, yours may be shorter or longer depending on how long you booked the space. How long is the reception in your contract? Write down this number.

3. How long is the travel time between venues?

Figure out how much time it will take for guests to travel from the ceremony to the reception. Many couples overlook this fact! If there is travel time, estimate it approximately using Google maps or similar for drive time and allow extra for the time of day, traffic, etc.

4. Decide when you want photos to be taken.

Will you do wedding photos BEFORE the ceremony and include the First Look then? Or do you prefer photos with post-ceremony vibes?

You’ll be working this plan out with your photographer, but it’s helpful to know what you and your partner want, then work with your photographer to make your vision come to life.

First Look: Your First Look only takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes maximum, as it’s pretty easy and quick to capture. This makes fitting the First Look into your timeline so easy.

Here is the best wedding day timeline with First Look included. We’re also going with an average 4:00pm ceremony start time, but this may vary with your own individual situation. You’ll want to use this as a general guideline and then adjust yours as needed.

For this example, we’re also going to plan on the photographer arriving at the ceremony for pre-wedding pictures and a First Look photo session.

8am: Brides and Bridesmaids Arrive at Bridal Suite for Hair and Makeup

You may choose to begin later or earlier, and that’s perfectly fine. This extra time makes it easy for your bridal party, moms, and any other special family members to arrive at your wedding suite or home to get ready before the wedding, give a mimosa toast, sip on water and coffee, and enjoy a little breakfast together.

*TIP: Now is a great time to give those awesomely useful bridesmaid gifts, if you haven’t given them already at the rehearsal dinner.

10am: Hair and Makeup Stylist(s) Arrive

The bride, bridesmaids, moms, flower girls, etc. get hair and makeup done now. Dresses have time to be steamed; everyone gets dressed and ready for the ceremony. At some point, a small lunch should be served before everyone heads to the ceremony.

Meanwhile, the groomsmen should meet around 10am to start getting ready. The boys may opt to do something like lunch and play pool, golf, or just hang out together. The men should start getting ready no later than 1pm.

12pm: Vendors Arrive; Florist Arrives to Distrubute Flowers

The flowers arrive! This gives everyone time to receive their bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres.

1:00pm: Photographer Arrives

Plan to have the photographer arrive around this time, at least 30 minutes before the bride is ready with hair and makeup, and has her gown on. The photographer can snap some photos at this time of accessories (shoes, invitations, rings, bridesmaids getting ready, the bridal suite, etc.)

1:30pm: First Look

Now’s the big moment: add the First Look to your wedding timeline at this time. It’s a great block of 20 minutes to see your partner before the ceremony festivities and your photographer can capture those amazing First Look snapshots. Immediately following, you’ll travel en route to the ceremony.

3:30pm: Guests and Wedding Party Arrive at Ceremony

This gives plenty of time for everyone to arrive and be on time. If your hotel is close in proximity to the ceremony, you needn’t leave so early.

Note: Your prelude music should begin now, too. It will set the tone and feel of your ceremony space.

3:45pm: Ceremony Line-Up

Everyone gets ready to line up for the procession.

4pm: Ceremony Begins

This may or may not happen on time, and that’s OK! Most ceremonies begin five to ten minutes after the actual time listed on your invitation.

If your guests are lagging behind, don’t allow the ceremony to begin until most guests arrive.

The next portion will need to be edited depending on the length of your ceremony. For this template, we’re estimating a 30-minute ceremony and allowing 15 minute travel time to the reception venue.

4:45pm: Cocktail Hour

During this time, guests will enjoy an hour-long soiree with cocktails and appetizers; meanwhile, you and your new spouse (congrats!) will take photos with the wedding party, with each other, and with your families.

You needn’t miss the entire cocktail hour, though! If you want fewer photos, indicate this with your photographer to figure out a timeline that works with you both and ensures you get the photos you want, while also joining in on cocktail hour with your guests OR spending time with your spouse or wedding party before the festivities begin.

Guests will then head to the dining area and find their seats with your escort cards or seating chart near the entrance.

5:45pm: Reception Entrance and Cake Cutting

The DJ will announce your entrance into the reception at this time. Then, you’ll move right to the cake-cutting for photos to be captured immediately.

6pm: Welcome Toast

The Father of the Bride is the first to give a short toast. Other parents may give a toast, too. P.S. The bridal party toasts do not take place yet. (Read: Who Gives Speeches at a Wedding?)

6:10pm: Dinner Begins

Time to eat!

While dinner is being served, now is the time for wedding party toasts to happen. The Best Man will do a toast first, followed by the Maid of Honor. This is usually no longer than 5 minutes each. Keep it short and sweet!

Dinner music will continue now through the duration of your enjoyable meal.

7:25pm: The First Dance and Parent Dances

Once dinner is complete, take the First Dance opportunity with your spouse. The DJ will announce this, which will lead to the parent dances next (Father/Daughter, Mother/Son, or however you plan to do it).

7:40pm: Anniversary Dance

Invite couples to dance based on years married. How does this work? It’s easy! The DJ will invite all married couples to now join you on the dance floor. After a few minutes of dancing, the DJ will announce for couples married less than 2 or 5 years to leave the dance floor. The other couples remain. They will then announce 10 years or less to leave the dance floor. This continues until the longest-married couple(s) are left dancing with the newlyweds until the song ends. What a lovely tradition!

7:50pm: Bouquet Toss and Garter Toss (Optional)

If you’re planning to do the bouquet toss or garter toss, this is the time to do it!

8pm: Dancing Begins

The dance floor is now open for everyone to dance the night away!

10:45pm: Last Song

The DJ will announce it’s time for the last song to play ahead of your sparkler exit.

10:50pm: Sparkler Exit

If you’re doing a wedding sparkler exit, this is a great time to have it planned. Read: How to Do a Sparkler Grand Exit

11pm: Reception Ends

Time for a fun getaway car photo! Say goodbye to guests and have a spectacular exit from the reception venue.

And there you have it!

This is a terrific example of a template to use for your wedding, but you’ll have many additional variables — or need to remove some of these specifics to make your wedding timeline. Use the timeline above as a guide. But if you’re finding many scheduling conflicts and you’re feeling overwhelmed, there’s an easier way to make your timeline come to life.

How Do I Create a Wedding Timeline?

This tool will create your timeline seamlessly from start to finish, filling in all the blanks of things you haven’t even considered yet.

Most couples use a document maker or Spreadsheet to create a timeline, but I personally find it overwhelming and daunting; you have to continually go in and edit the document to change the times, then update each byline. Furthermore, you have to send the new updates to vendors and hope they see the notes! Instead, I use this intuitive wedding timeline maker. It’s the best money you’ll ever spend on your wedding. Promise.

And yep, you can even print out or digitally send the updates of specific vendor timelines to the vendors directly. Boom.

How Do I Create a Wedding Timeline Easily?

You answer a few simple questions here and add variables (like religious or non-religious ceremony? same venue or different? how many people are getting hair and makeup done? etc.) Then, hit the button and, like magic, you’ll have a detailed and comprehensive wedding timeline with First Look (or without, depending on your needs).

Make Changes to Your Timeline Instantly

Planning your wedding comes with changes, even up until the last minute. Without a beat, you can edit your timeline here seamlessly: just drag and drop to make changes to the timeline. Almost magically, the timeline will update to reflect the changes and edit each time slot accordingly to put the change in effect.

And yes, you can access it from your Smartphone device and not have to print out dozens of copies! ;)

♦ BestWeddingTimeline.com is very helpful and I cannot recommend it highly enough! You can get it here.

This is one easy-to-use tool you can get here and start using immediately:

Now, let’s discuss some frequently asked questions.

Here are some commonly asked questions regarding the wedding timeline.

How long should the “getting ready” with bridal party attendants take?

Give yourself plenty of time, at least 2 hours.

This number may increase if you have a very large wedding party, if the makeup artist or hair stylist has/doesn’t have an assistant and other variables.

How long does it take for getting dressed (as the bride)?

There are many parts of getting dressed on your wedding day! From the undergarments to hosiery, your gown, and shoes… you’ll want to give yourself a full 20 minutes on the wedding day timeline.

How many minutes does a bridal portrait session usually take?

For a traditional bridal portrait session, allow at least 30 minutes.

How long does a First Look take?

The First Look will use approximately 15 to 20 minutes on your wedding timeline. It’s pretty quick, really!

How long do wedding photos usually take?

Wedding portraits with your wedding party, parents on both sides, flower girl, and ring bearer, will take at least 45 minutes to 1 hour.

How much time does it take for family photos?

Allow at least one full hour for large family photos; allow 30 minutes for smaller groups.

How long is cocktail hour?

Just as its name suggests, you should plan for an hour-long cocktail time.

How long does dinner last at a wedding reception?

Allow at least one hour and fifteen minutes for a reception dinner on your wedding day timeline.

How long do wedding party speeches take?

Estimate no longer than 5 minutes of a speech for each person to make. For a traditional wedding, a Maid of Honor and Best Man will each do a 5-minute speech, totaling only 10 minutes on the wedding timeline.

I hope it helps! If I missed anything, let me know in the comment box below.

Happy Planning!

xo
Emma