Planning Your Wedding Day Timeline
Planning your wedding day timeline is crucial for ensuring that everything runs smoothly for you and your guests, but it shouldn’t be stressful! We’ve put together a helpful guide to help you create a timeline for your big day:
discuss your priorities
Before planning out any wedding day activities, you’ll want to sit down and determine what aspects of your wedding day are most important to you and your partner. Whether it's capturing stunning sunset photos, enjoying cocktail hour with loved ones, or dancing the night away, you’ll definitely want to prioritize these elements in your timeline.
scheduling DINNER SERVICE
Yes, you heard that right - you’re going to schedule your dinner service first! Typically we see dinner service begin anywhere between 5:30 and 7 pm. Plan on doing a grand march? You can make your grand entrance into dinner service or go straight into first dances if you’re looking to take advantage of your guests’ attention prior to dinner being served!
deciding on a ceremony start time
Now that you’ve scheduled your dinner service, you’ll want to work back 1-2 hours from your dinner start time to find your perfect ceremony time. We don’t recommend having more than 2 hours between your ceremony end time and dinner service, we generally see ceremonies start anywhere between 3 and 5 pm.
when to start getting ready
Talk to your hair and makeup stylists right away to determine how much time is needed for you and your wedding party to get ready. Let them know what time you would like everyone to be ready by and ask them what start time they recommend. Need to access the building earlier than 10 am? Talk to your event manager about adding on early access!
planning for PHOTOgraphy
Your photography team should be skilled in quickly capturing key moments throughout the day. Talk with your photographer about all important wedding day details and lean on them for guidance when it comes to creating your timeline. Want golden hour photos? Look up when sunset is and build in 20-30 minutes for photos 1 hour before sunset.
cutting your cake
Doing a cake cutting? If you have a tiered cake that needs to be cut by your catering team, you’ll want to cut your cake right before dinner service so your catering team has plenty of time during dinner to cut your cake and serve it to your guests! If you only have a personal cake to cut, you can also plan for the cake cutting to happen after toasts or before first dances.
preparing for the end of the night
Handling your own take down? We suggest beginning to take down and package your décor at least 30 minutes before last call. Use the catering room to stage boxes for packaging so guests don’t see you loading. You can pull your vehicles up right to the catering door to load at the end of the evening! Remember, everything must be removed by your contracted vacate time. Want to dance til the very end and not have to worry about packing up your décor? Talk with your event manager about adding our Take Down Services!
additional questions to ask yourself when creating your timeline
are you doing a first look?
A first look is a great way to not only get rid of some pre-ceremony nerves, but also allows you to get most of your wedding photos done prior to your ceremony! Plan for your first look to take place 2 hours before your ceremony begins so you have plenty of time to get back in the bridal quarters before guests begin arriving 30 minutes before the ceremony.
are you offering a shuttle service?
If you plan on offering a shuttle service, we suggest having your shuttle begin picking up guests from hotels 1 hour before your ceremony start time and then begin picking up guests 2 hours before your building vacate time.
do you want a late night snack?
We love late night food and so will your guests! If you plan on offering a late night snack, you’ll want to account for about 50-60% of your reception guests. We recommend having the late night snack available for guests to enjoy about 2 hours prior to last call. Ordering delivery? You can set this up the week prior to your wedding! Pro Tip: Ask to pay and tip upon ordering so you don’t have to worry about any late night snack details as you’re dancing the night away!
SAMPLE TIMELINE WITHOUT A FIRST LOOK
10:00 AM - Hair + Makeup Begins
1:30 PM - Separate Bridal Party Photos
3:00 PM - Guest Arrival
3:30 PM - Ceremony
4:00 PM - Cocktail Hour, Family Formals
4:30 PM - Wedding Party Photos, Bride + Groom Portraits
5:45 PM - Grand March
6:00 PM - Dinner Service
6:45 PM - Toasts
7:15 PM - Room Flip
7:30 PM - Traditional Dances
7:45 PM - Dance Floor Opens
9:30 PM - Late Night Snack
11:30 PM - Last Call
12:00 AM - Building Vacate
SAMPLE TIMELINE WITH A FIRST LOOK
10:00 AM - Hair + Makeup Begins
1:30 PM - First Look, Bride + Groom Portraits
2:00 PM - Wedding Party Photos
3:30 PM - Guest Arrival
4:00 PM - Ceremony
4:30 PM - Cocktail Hour + Family Formal Photos
5:45 PM - Grand March
6:00 PM - Dinner Service
6:45 PM - Toasts
7:15 PM - Room Flip
7:30 PM - Traditional Dances
7:45 PM - Dance Floor Opens
9:30 PM - Late Night Snack
11:30 PM - Last Call
12:00 AM - Building Vacate
(Building vacate time is 10 pm if event is held on a Sunday or weeknight)
Stressed about wedding planning? No need, the Rustic Manor 1848 Team is here for you and is happy to answer any questions you may have during your wedding planning process! If you’re interested in learning more about our wedding packages or are ready to get the planning process started, visit the Rustic Manor 1848 website. We are excited to discuss your vision and help you plan a wedding that’s perfect for you and your partner.
