Wedding day timeline, worked out backward
Tell us when the ceremony is and whether you want a first look. We work the whole day back to the moment hair and makeup starts, and forward to the send-off, with a version for your photographer, DJ, bridal party and venue.
- Hair & makeup starts
- 8:55 am
- Photographer arrives
- 1:55 pm
- Ceremony
- 4:00 pm
- Cocktail hour
- 4:35 pm
- Dinner
- 6:00 pm
- Send-off
- 9:25 pm
- Ceremony 4:00 pm, reception ends 9:35 pm.
- 5 h
Hair & makeup starts
5 people, 1 hair and 1 makeup artist. The person marrying finishes last. Full chair schedule on the Bridal party tab.
- 15 min
Photographer arrives: detail and getting-ready photos
Rings, dress, shoes, invitations, flowers and candid moments while the last hair and makeup is finished. Hand over the details bag on arrival.
- 30 min
Getting dressed
Dress or suit, jewelry, veil. A helper has the buttons and the emergency kit.
- 30 min
Ceremony space check
Chairs, aisle, programs, sound and the sign-in table are ready; the officiant has arrived.
- 30 min
Last looks, gifts and buffer
Exchange gifts or letters, sip some water, check the bag, take a breath. This buffer absorbs a late start.
- 30 min
DJ/MC arrives and sound check
Microphones for the officiant and readers, processional and recessional cues tested.
- 20 min
Travel to the ceremony
Everyone leaves together. Confirm the driver and the address the day before.
- 15 min
Arrive at the ceremony venue
The partner who stays hidden arrives by 3:30 pm, the other by 3:45 pm at the latest. Wait in a private room.
- 30 min
Guests arrive and are seated
Ushers ready. Prelude music. Family and honored guests seated last.
- 15 min
Couple out of sight; wedding party lines up
Line-up order on paper. The coordinator or a friend gives the two-minute signal.
- 30 min
Ceremony
Processional, vows and exchange of rings, recessional.
- 5 min
Recessional and congratulations
Hugs on the way out. Guests head to cocktail hour.
- 20 min
Family formals
About 5 family groupings. Give the photographer a written list and ask one relative per side to gather people.
- 1 h
Cocktail hour
Guests mingle while the couple takes photos. Make sure there is water and something to eat for the couple.
- 20 min
Wedding party photos
Whole group, then pairs and small groups.
- 30 min
Reception room final check
Place cards, candles, centerpieces and sound are ready; doors open on time.
- 20 min
Couple portraits
Quiet portraits close to the venue.
- 10 min
Guests find their seats
100 guests: 10 min plus 5 for every 50 guests over 100. Doors open, escort cards, music down, wedding party lines up for the entrance.
- 5 min
Grand entrance
The MC introduces the wedding party, then the couple.
- 5 min
First dance
One song or an edited cut of a favorite.
- 5 min
Welcome and blessing
A short welcome from a host or parent and a blessing or grace before the meal.
- 1 h
Dinner service
100 guests: 60 min. The couple is usually served first. For a buffet, release tables one at a time and allow extra time.
- 15 min
Toasts and speeches (3 x 4 min)
Total 12 min plus 2 min of microphone hand-offs, rounded up to 5. Tell speakers their limit in advance.
- 10 min
Cake cutting
Photographer in position before the knife comes out.
- 10 min
Parent dances
Two short songs, one for each side, then the dance floor opens.
- 1 h 45 min
Open dancing
The DJ opens the floor. A good moment for the bouquet or garter toss, if you do them.
- 5 min
Last dance
The MC announces the last song so nobody misses the send-off.
- 10 min
Send-off
Sparklers, bubbles or simply a cheer. The car is waiting and the photographer is in place.
You have edited this timeline. Changing the answers on the left replaces your edits with a new suggestion.
Why these times?
Working backward from the ceremony
- Guests arrive and ushers are ready 30 min before the ceremony (3:30 pm).
- Without a first look the couple is out of sight 15 min before the ceremony (3:45 pm). The partner who stays hidden arrives 30 min before the ceremony, the other 15 min before at the latest.
- Departure is the arrival time minus the travel time (20 min): the group leaves at 3:10 pm.
- Getting dressed (30 min) ends 30 min before departure, at 2:40 pm. That buffer is for last looks and for a late start.
Photos
- Without a first look, the whole 1 h photo block (family formals 20 min, wedding party 20 min, couple portraits 20 min) happens after the ceremony, starting 5 min after it ends (4:35 pm).
- Family formals are a minimum of 20 min, plus 5 min for every further 5 groupings. They run during cocktail hour; if they run longer, the plan warns you that the couple will miss their entrance.
- The photographer arrives 45 min before dressing ends, at 1:55 pm, which is 2 h 5 min before the ceremony.
Hair and makeup
- Everyone gets hair, then makeup, unless marked otherwise. Hair takes 45 min and makeup 45 min for guests; 1 h and 1 h for the person marrying.
- The chairs are simulated: 1 hair and 1 makeup artist, wedding party ordered by Johnson's rule (shortest first stage first), the person marrying last so they finish last and look freshest.
- Everything must finish 15 min before dressing starts (1:55 pm). The total of 5 h puts the first chair at 8:55 am.
- A warning appears if the start is before 7:00 am, with the effect of one more artist.
Cocktail hour and reception
- Cocktail hour starts 5 min after the ceremony ends and lasts 1 h, until 5:35 pm.
- Seating the guests takes 10 min: 10 min plus 5 for every 50 guests over 100 (100 guests).
- Entrance 5 min, first dance 5 min, welcome and blessing 5 min, then dinner service 1 h (60 min, plus 15 over 150 guests, plus 15 more over 250).
- Speeches: 3 x 4 min plus 2 min of transitions, rounded up to 5 = 15 min, placed after the main course.
- Cake cutting 10 min, parent dances 8 min (rounded to 10), open dancing until the last dance (5 min) and the send-off (10 min), which ends the reception at 9:35 pm.
- Sunset: not entered, so no golden-hour slot.
- Every start time and duration is rounded to 5 minutes.
How the day is worked out
A wedding day timeline starts at the ceremony and counts backward, because that is the one time nobody can move. For a 4:00 pm ceremony the generator puts guests in their seats at 3:30 pm, the couple out of sight by 3:45 pm, and the group in the car at 3:10 pm. Getting dressed takes 30 min and finishes 30 min before that, and hair and makeup has to be done 15 min before dressing starts. Add up the chair time for your group and you get the first appointment: 8:55 am for five people with one hair and one makeup artist.
With a first look the same day starts earlier, because portraits and wedding party photos move before the ceremony. The table shows both versions side by side.
| Moment | No first look | First look |
|---|---|---|
| Hair & makeup starts | 8:55 am | 7:45 am |
| Photographer arrives | 1:55 pm | 12:30 pm |
| Getting dressed ends | 2:40 pm | 1:30 pm |
| Group leaves for the ceremony | 3:10 pm | 2:00 pm |
| Ceremony starts | 4:00 pm | 4:00 pm |
| Cocktail hour starts | 4:35 pm | 4:35 pm |
| Couple joins cocktail hour | 5:35 pm | 4:55 pm |
| Grand entrance | 5:45 pm | 5:45 pm |
| Dinner service starts | 6:00 pm | 6:00 pm |
| Send-off | 9:25 pm | 9:25 pm |
- Set the ceremony time and length. Everything is worked backward from it: guests arrive 30 minutes before, the couple is out of sight 15 to 20 minutes before.
- Choose a first look or not. It decides whether portraits and wedding party photos happen before or after the ceremony.
- Add photo time, the hair and makeup group, travel, cocktail hour and guest count. Open More details for artists, speeches, a receiving line and the sunset time.
- Read the timeline and the warnings. Edit any row, add your own, and watch the overlap check flag anything that collides.
- Open each role tab and share the sheet. Print the free master timeline, or reserve the Vendor PDF Set for one PDF per person.
A wedding day timeline template that fits your day
Most wedding day timeline templates are a fixed list of times, so they only fit one kind of wedding. This one is a generator: change the ceremony time, the guest count or the number of artists and every later time moves. Think of it as a wedding day schedule you can edit, print and hand to your vendors, rather than a blank page to fill in.
The usual shape of the day is the same everywhere: getting ready (hair, makeup, dressing, details photos), the ceremony, cocktail hour with photos, the reception (entrance, first dance, dinner, speeches, cake, dancing) and a send-off. What differs is the length of each block, and those lengths are the inputs above. Every figure is a typical value with a reason, listed under Why these times?; none of it is a rule, so change anything that does not fit your day.
One schedule, five views
Your photographer does not need the DJ’s cues and the venue does not need the hair and makeup chairs. Each tab filters the same rows for one person and adds the notes they need:
- Photographer: arrival time, where the portraits fall, the family formals length and any golden-hour slot.
- DJ/MC: sound check, entrance, speeches, the last dance and the end time.
- Bridal party: per-person hair and makeup chair times, when to be dressed, line-up and photos.
- Venue/coordinator: ceremony and reception room timings, dinner service and the send-off.
All views are free to read on screen. A separate PDF for each role is part of the Vendor PDF Set; see pricing.
Also on this site
- Bridal party timeline: hair and makeup order and chair times for your group.
- Wedding seating chart maker: paste your guests, set the tables, print the escort list.
- Wedding day emergency kit checklist: printable, with tick boxes.
Questions
Can you make a wedding day timeline for a 4 pm ceremony with a first look and 100 guests?
Yes. This is the timeline the generator produces with its defaults: a 4:00 pm ceremony with a first look, 100 guests, a 30-minute ceremony, 60 minutes of photos, 20 minutes of travel, a 60-minute cocktail hour, a 4-hour reception after it and three 4-minute speeches.
- 7:45 am Hair & makeup starts (5 h)
- 12:30 pm Photographer arrives: detail and getting-ready photos (30 min)
- 1:00 pm Getting dressed (30 min)
- 1:30 pm Last looks, gifts and buffer (30 min)
- 2:00 pm Travel to the first-look location (20 min)
- 2:20 pm Arrive and settle at the first-look spot (15 min)
- 2:30 pm Ceremony space check (30 min)
- 2:35 pm First look (15 min)
- 2:50 pm Couple portraits (20 min)
- 3:00 pm DJ/MC arrives and sound check (30 min)
- 3:10 pm Wedding party photos (20 min)
- 3:30 pm Touch-up and water (10 min)
- 3:30 pm Guests arrive and are seated (30 min)
- 3:40 pm Couple out of sight; wedding party lines up (20 min)
- 4:00 pm Ceremony (30 min)
- 4:30 pm Recessional and congratulations (5 min)
- 4:35 pm Family formals (20 min)
- 4:35 pm Cocktail hour (1 h)
- 4:55 pm Couple joins cocktail hour (40 min)
- 5:05 pm Reception room final check (30 min)
- 5:35 pm Guests find their seats (10 min)
- 5:45 pm Grand entrance (5 min)
- 5:50 pm First dance (5 min)
- 5:55 pm Welcome and blessing (5 min)
- 6:00 pm Dinner service (1 h)
- 7:00 pm Toasts and speeches (3 x 4 min) (15 min)
- 7:15 pm Cake cutting (10 min)
- 7:25 pm Parent dances (10 min)
- 7:35 pm Open dancing (1 h 45 min)
- 9:20 pm Last dance (5 min)
- 9:25 pm Send-off (10 min)
Change any answer in the generator and the whole day moves with it.
What time should the photographer arrive on the wedding day?
With a first look and a 4:00 pm ceremony, the photographer typically arrives at 12:30 pm, about 3 h 30 min before the ceremony. Without a first look, 1:55 pm, about 2 h 5 min before. Both come from the same rule: the photographer arrives 1 h (first look) or 45 min (no first look) before the person marrying finishes getting dressed, so there is time for the dress, rings and invitations, plus the getting-ready moments.
The first look adds most of the extra time because the couple portraits and wedding party photos happen before the ceremony, so everything upstream starts earlier. Photographers usually quote coverage in hours, so ask for coverage from arrival until the send-off, about 9.1 hours with a first look and 7.7 without.
What is a typical wedding day schedule for bridesmaids’ hair and makeup?
For five people (the person marrying plus four bridesmaids) with one hair artist and one makeup artist, hair and makeup typically starts at 8:55 am and takes 5 h for a 4:00 pm ceremony without a first look, or at 7:45 am with a first look. The bridesmaids go first, hair then makeup, 45 minutes each; the person marrying goes last (60 minutes each) so their look is freshest, and everyone finishes 15 min before getting dressed (1:55 pm without a first look).
- Wedding party 1: 8:55 am to 10:25 am
- Wedding party 2: 9:40 am to 11:10 am
- Wedding party 3: 10:25 am to 11:55 am
- Wedding party 4: 11:10 am to 12:40 pm
- Person marrying: 11:55 am to 1:55 pm
The bridal party timeline page works this out for your own group size and number of artists.
How long should cocktail hour be?
Typically 60 minutes, and at least as long as the photos you plan to take during it. Without a first look the family formals (20 min), wedding party photos and couple portraits happen after the ceremony, usually 1 h in total, so a 60-minute cocktail hour just fits. With a first look only the 20 min of family formals stay, so the couple joins cocktail hour at 4:55 pm and 45 minutes is enough. If photos run past cocktail hour the generator warns you that the couple will miss their entrance.
Should we do a first look?
It is a trade-off, not a rule. A first look moves most of the photos before the ceremony, so you join cocktail hour (4:55 pm instead of the end of it), the light and makeup are fresh and the day is calmer after the ceremony. The cost is a longer morning: with a 4:00 pm ceremony hair and makeup starts at 7:45 am instead of 8:55 am, and the photographer arrives 12:30 pm instead of 1:55 pm. Without one, you keep the traditional reveal at the ceremony, but photos fill cocktail hour. Switch the option in the generator and compare both days.
Is this wedding day timeline template free?
Yes. The on-screen timeline, editing, the role views (photographer, DJ/MC, bridal party, venue/coordinator), one printable master timeline and a one-page PDF of it are free, with a small credit line in the footer. A separate PDF for each role, a combined booklet and the hair and makeup chair chart are planned as the Vendor PDF Set ($7, one time). It is not on sale yet; the pricing page lets you reserve it with your email, and nothing is charged.
Does it work if the ceremony and reception are at the same place?
Yes. Set travel to 0 and the departure and travel rows disappear. Everything else works the same, and the reception room check keeps the venue team in the picture.
Is what I type saved or sent anywhere?
Your answers, edits and names stay in your browser (local storage on this device). Only anonymous, coarse usage events (for example “timeline generated, first look yes”) are sent; never names, notes, contact details or exact times. See the privacy page.