Want in on a little secret? Your entire wedding day will most likely revolve around timing. Think about it – you’ll want to feel comfortably ready at a certain time, and you want your guests to arrive at a certain time. You’ll have time allotted to spend time with your friends and family, for you to get great photos together, for vendors to arrive and set up, and of course, time for you to finally get married! In the background, a smooth wedding day is always following a well-planned timeline. To ensure your day is as effortless as possible, it’s crucial to have a strong (but flexible) plan so there are no surprises along the way.
A personalized day-of timeline is an essential piece to a relaxed wedding experience. Not only does it keep the bridal party and vendors on schedule and organized, but it also outlines everyone’s responsibilities and timing commitments. A well-planned timeline can help to avoid delays and wedding day issues, and takes the pressure off of you and your family. At the end of the day, that’s what is most important: that all of you can let loose and truly enjoy the moments throughout your wedding, not feel overwhelmed by countless moving parts.
Have you ever wondered how everything just seems to come together at the best weddings you’ve seen? That’s the magic of a good timeline. It’s important that anyone involved in your day, in big or small ways, has access to this masterplan to ensure everyone is on board with the same mission. Think of it this way: vendors, family members, bridal parties, delivery runners – they all have a time and place to be on your day and you want to communicate that with them as effectively as possible. And for my type A’s out there, it’s an essential tool to manage your own sanity 🙂
So, we know they are important – but what exactly goes into a timeline?
Your timeline will be a framework for your day from start to finish – including arrival and departure times, event start and end times, important details and moments, sunset time, vendor details, and any information people may need along the way. But rather than telling you how to build a timeline following the ideas above, I’ve already done the hard work for you.
Below, you’ll find a link to my free timeline samples. Download these timelines to get an idea of how to plan your day, or even use these with your vendors to create your own custom timeline for your wedding.
Click here to download your free timeline samples!
Remember this is your wedding day – one of the most important days of your life. I know it can feel overwhelming to imagine all of these small details and still enjoy your engagement in between the planning sessions. Especially when it comes to getting photographs to document your love, it shouldn’t have to feel that way.
As your wedding photographer, I work one on with one with each of my couples to help them build a fully customized wedding timeline. Whether you’re planning a 3-day elopement in Iceland or a 4-hour backyard wedding, I’m here to help you build a great plan, so you feel confident knowing your time will be relaxed and genuine. All you two need to do is show up and just do the dang thing 😎
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