Plan the Perfect Wedding Day Timeline for a 1pm Ceremony

What is a Wedding Day Timeline?

A wedding day timeline is an itemized list of events that should occur on the big day, in timeline order. Every event should have a set start time, which is often laid out hour by hour, or in some cases, a lot closer together.

A well-thought-out, thoughtful wedding timeline will improve stress levels on the day, and should help clear a lot of confusion guests may feel during celebrations. The vendors and planning team will also greatly benefit from having a wedding day play-by-play prepared for them, as it'll help them understand what everyone should be doing at all times.

If you really want everyone involved in your big day to be clued-up on timings, pop a nicely presented version of your wedding timeline in the welcome bags. You could also include it with any programs handed out at the ceremony, or simply put it on your wedding website. Guests will love having a schedule for the day, as it'll make them feel even more involved in the proceedings.

When Should a Wedding Timeline Be Put Together?

The exact date you finalize the timeline will depend on when you're able to confirm each detail of the day. Every wedding is different, and unfortunately not all of them go precisely to plan. Meaning many couples end up putting together their wedding reception timeline in the days leading up to the event. Not ideal.

The best part about using an online Wedding Itinerary Template tool such as ours, is that any scheduling issue, big or small, can be dealt with swiftly and without fuss. Leaving you free to move onto the next planning task.

You should aim to complete your wedding day timeline roughly a month before the big day. As you'll need time to share it with vendors, and give them enough opportunity to edit if necessary. In the days leading up to your celebrations, be sure to go over the schedule with each of your professionals, just to confirm everything is good with them.

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How Long Should a Wedding Day Timeline Be?

The average wedding day lasts up to 6 hours. That may seem like quite a short wedding day schedule. But in reality, if your celebrations last any longer than that, your guests will likely start to feel a little fatigued.

Make sure guests properly enjoy the entire event by keeping timings tight, and ending the evening when the moment is right. This is no truer than when planning a 1pm ceremony, as you may need to finish celebrations for the majority of guests much earlier than you would for an evening or late afternoon wedding ceremony. But, this depends on you and your crowd. If you know your wedding party will be happy to mingle, chat and party for longer than 6 hours — go for it! However, make the timings clear on the invitations, and prioritize meal times, as guests will certainly start to lose energy if they don't eat.

Adapt, Don't Copy

You probably stumbled on this post because you're considering a 1pm wedding ceremony, and you want to see how the day could be laid out. Which is great! But you don't need to copy our schedule. Use our template below, and the template you'll find on our Itinerary Builder, as inspiration. A starting point for your own wedding date.

Our template assumes that you don't have a separate reception and ceremony space. But that may not be the case for your event. Travel time between destinations will affect the timetable and potentially the length of a wedding. So do keep that in mind when browsing our timings below.

Use your Ceremony Time as a Starting Point

The time of day your ceremony is being held at will effectively map out the rest of your celebrations. For instance, this timeline is for a 1pm ceremony, which means you'll be having dinner earlier than you would be for a 5pm ceremony. And, you'll need to ensure guests are either local, or staying much more locally to your ceremony location, as there will be less time to travel than there would be with a late afternoon vows exchange.

Keep the Momentum Going

One of the key reasons for creating a wedding day timeline, is to see if there are gaps during the day that could be filled. Are there any points at which you feel guests could be waiting around, or maybe the time between the ceremony and reception feels a little long.

That's the beauty of seeing the timeline there in front of you. It's easy to anticipate those moments of boredom, or dips in energy, and do something to solve it. Perhaps bring events forward, plan some entertainment, or simply swap events around just to keep everyone on their toes!

Guests create the vibe of the day, and if they're not feeling it, you're not going to be having as good a time as you should be.

Things Will Always Over Run

We're sorry to break it to you. But no matter how meticulously you plan your wedding, everything will not run precisely on time. Events will run over, people will be late, and sometimes vendors run into issues. That's life, and there's very little you can do about it.

Don't dwell on the moments that didn't go to plan, or worry too much about parts of the day that maybe didn't even happen because the schedule overran. It's not important, and your guest will likely not have noticed. Just enjoy the celebration and embrace every moment of it.

When putting together your wedding day timeline, plan for the possibility of certain events overrunning, and add that into your schedule. Do you feel like guests will enjoy catching up a bit too much during cocktail hour, and will be unwilling to find their seats quickly for dinner? Factor that in when scheduling your own grand entrance. If you're travelling between venues on your wedding day, perhaps look at how the traffic typically is around that time of the day. Then add on 15+ minutes to allow for any issues guests may face.

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Your Sample Wedding Timeline Template for a 1pm Ceremony

Armed with our wedding day timeline tool, it's more than possible to dive straight into putting together your own schedule. However, we believe, before you start, it's helpful to go through each event that needs planning, just so we can give you a few pointers.

A little sample wedding day that'll help you better plan proceedings, no matter the ceremony time, or day you're getting hitched. With that in mind, the ceremony time for our schedule is 1pm, and the timeline assumes that the reception will be following the ceremony within the same venue. With a cocktail hour in between.

Your ceremony start time may be different from ours, and you could be tying the knot in an entirely different location to the reception. But, this sample wedding day timeline will still serve as a great basis for your own big day.

• 9am — Breakfast
• 9:30 — Getting Ready 
• 10am — Hair and Makeup Team Arrives
• 10:30am — Wedding Photographer Arrives
• 11:30 — Bride Puts on Bridal Outfit
• 12:15pm — Guests, Groom & Groomsmen Arrive at Ceremony Venue
• 12:30 — First Look Shots & Wedding Party Portraits
• 12:45 — Bride Arrives at the Ceremony
• 1pm — Wedding Ceremony
• 1:30pm — Ceremony Exit & Post-Ceremony Wedding Photography
• 2pm — Cocktail Hour
• 2:30pm — Portraits with Bride and Groom
• 3pm — Guests Seated for Dinner
• 3:20 — Grand Entrance of the Happy Couple
• 3:30-4pm — Dinner is Served
• 5-6pm — DJ Invites Guests to the Dance floor
• 8pm — Evening Snacks
• 10/10:30pm — Last Dance & Reception Finish

9am — Breakfast

You may not feel like eating right now, but you'll regret not lining your stomach with something when the nerves really start to hit and the Prosecco begins flowing. Try to keep things healthy, but not if that means eating nothing whatsoever.

9:30 — Getting Ready 

Those first few wedding morning moments are certainly a highlight of the day for most couples. Cherish this time and enjoy getting ready with your loved ones. Plan a playlist, get some snacks and maybe even pop the Champagne a little earlier than you should!

If this start time feels a little late to you, and you'd rather have more time to ready yourself — move things forward a couple of hours. The last thing you should feel when getting ready is rushed. Give yourself the time you deserve, and enjoy this special part of the day with your gang.

The time you start will also depend on how many bridesmaids you have, and whether they're having their looks put together professionally. If you only have one professional looking after all of you, for instance, then it would certainly be wise to get everyone up a little earlier, or stagger getting ready times.

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10am — Hair and Makeup Team Arrives

Whether it's only the bride receiving a professional beauty service, or the whole bridal party, it's good to get the vendors in early. That way, everyone will feel more comfortable by the time the wedding photographer arrives, and you'll help keep the entire wedding timeline running smoothly.

10:30am — Wedding Photographer Arrives

The photographer will usually arrive at a similar time as the other vendors who need to make early preparations. So while your hair and make moments are being captured by the photographer, typically the catering team, decor suppliers and venue staff will be setting up both the ceremony and reception.

11:30 — Bride Puts on Bridal Outfit

The moment you slip on your outfit for the day, with professional hair and makeup done, and see yourself in the mirror for the first time, is a truly special one.

If your gown needs to be tied up, or you require some form of assistance, make sure someone has been assigned to the job long before the wedding day. Bring them along to one of your fittings, and ask whoever is looking after you to go through how it's done. Encourage your friend or family member to take notes, and maybe make a video too. Just in case they forget everything they learned in the heat of the moment.

12:15pm — Guests, Groom & Groomsmen Arrive at Ceremony Venue

It's always a good idea to request that guests arrive at the ceremony location earlier than they should, as that typically stops latecomers arriving mid-vows! But not too early, otherwise they'll start to get bored. 10 to 15 minutes should be about right.

12:30 — First Look Shots & Wedding Party Portraits

Those following traditional wedding superstitions can forgo the first look shot, but it is a good idea to schedule in portraits with the bridal party and family pre-ceremony. As that'll free up time later on, and eliminate the need for loved ones to be pulled away from events further on in the day.

If you are in favor of having a first look shot, be sure to discuss it in advance with your photographer. With a little bit of planning, you'd be surprised how quickly a series of shots can be captured in. But only if you think ahead.

If you're on the fence about having a 'first look', we'd recommend going for it! The images of you seeing each other for the first time, all made up, are a great opportunity to capture you both when you're looking your very best. Plus, you get to steal a moment away together. Something pretty precious during all the hectic activities of a typical wedding.

12:45 — Bride Arrives at the Ceremony

We know tradition states that the bride is always late, but that doesn't mean you need to be! Save yourself, and others, undue stress, by getting to the ceremony on time. It'll ensure your wedding day starts in a more relaxed mood, and it'll put you in a calmer frame of mind for the vows.

1pm — Wedding Ceremony

The length of your ceremony will depend on what type of ceremony you've opted for. But if you're looking for an average to help the timeline for your big day, western wedding ceremonies typically last 30 minutes.

1:30pm — Ceremony Exit & Post-Ceremony Wedding Photography

It's official — you're married! And you're both going to be on cloud nine as you exit the ceremony space. Be sure to capture that moment, and involve your wedding party members by planning a confetti shot with your photographer outside the venue. Before snapping some emotional family portraits with loved ones.

2pm — Cocktail Hour

No matter what kind of wedding you're planning, it's a good idea to serve more than just drinks during cocktail hour. As guests will be peckish after a couple of glasses of whatever you're serving. When it comes to 1pm ceremonies, you should increase the amount of food being served during cocktail hour.

It's unlikely guests will have eaten since breakfast. Therefore, it's important to provide everyone with something they can eat, as it could be two to three hours before dinner is served.

2:30pm — Portraits with Bride and Groom

While the entire wedding party sips, nibbles and mingles during cocktail hour, it's a good idea to slip away and capture your portraits. Try to keep the session 'snappy', around 20 minutes.

3pm — Guests Seated for Dinner

Once the guests have been called in for dinner, and seated, the rest of the reception timeline can be swapped around to suit your style of celebration. If you have a professional wedding planner, ask for their advice. Find out when they would schedule the first dance, should it come before the toasts? Or just after your big entrance? Your DJ may also be able to offer some good advice.

Below are the major reception events you'll need to plan the timings of:

• Toasts
• First Dance with the married couple
• Family Dances with the father of the bride and mother of the son
• Cake Cutting
• Bouquet toss and any other traditions

3:20 — Grand Entrance of the Happy Couple

For us, the ultimate wedding day timeline would have the first dance follow the grand entrance. As it really capitalizes on momentum, helps to keep energy going, and avoids the dancers overthinking their big moment during dinner. However, on the flip side, you may feel that the first dance is the perfect way to get the party started! And therefore, the songs after the first dance should be real floor-fillers! It's completely up to you, it's your wedding night.

3:30-4pm — Dinner is Served

The actual timing of dinner service will depend on the events we mentioned above, and your wedding venue. But we would suggest not leaving guests waiting too long for food. Once seated, they should start to see food within 30 minutes.

The length of your dinner will depend on the style of service you've chosen. A buffet dinner, for example, will take up to 45 minutes to complete. Whereas, a three-course meal could last up to 3 hours. Which style do you feel better suits your celebration? Is the food itself important to you, or does it just fuel more partying?! Either way, consider the time it takes for each type of service, alongside the style of occasion it produces.

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5-6pm — DJ Invites Guests to the Dance floor

Wedding receptions typically last around 4-5 hours. Which, when hosting a 1pm ceremony, is probably about right. There will always be guests who want to continue the party past curfew, and you already know who they are...! But in the main, considering the earliness of the ceremony, it's good to officially wrap things up by about 10/10:30pm.

That length of time should allow for the DJ, or live band to really entertain the crowd. And give everyone the chance to catch up properly.

8pm — Evening Snacks

Guests love a late-night snack in between dance sessions, and it really helps to keep the energy the flowing.

10/10:30pm — Last Dance & Reception Finish

And just like that, it's all over! We promise it'll all go so quick. One moment you'll be exchanging vows, and the next you'll be under the spotlight performing your last dance. It's a wild ride.

If you do want to keep the party going with a selection of guests, be sure to find somewhere suitable beforehand, either within the venue or maybe where you're staying. Then let your chosen VIPs know that you'd like them to join you for a few nightcaps! 

Conclusion

In crafting the ultimate wedding day timeline for a 1pm ceremony, it's essential to draw inspiration from sample wedding day timelines while tailoring it to fit your unique celebration. These examples serve as a foundation, guiding you to allocate sufficient time for each significant moment, from the early morning preparations to the final farewell. By considering various samples, you can create a timeline that not only ensures a smooth flow for your special day but also resonates with your personal style and vision. Ultimately, a thoughtfully planned timeline is a key to a relaxed, enjoyable, and unforgettable wedding experience.