Wedding Timetable: Planning the Timings for a Perfect Day (Template & Tips)

To ensure that a wedding day runs as smoothly as possible, you need a well-planned wedding schedule. You can either enlist the help of a wedding coordinator to draw this up, or put together your own wedding schedule to ensure that all your guests have the best possible experience.

Of course, every wedding is different, but here are our top tips and key guidelines.

Enlist the help of a professional for your wedding schedule

If you, as the bride and groom, choose not to have a wedding coordinator on the day, we recommend that you enlist the help of a Toastmaster or toastmistress to manage your schedule. This will allow you, as the bride and groom, to relax more throughout the day. It is this person or these people who will ensure that you are in the right place at the right time – and that your guests are too.

Time estimates – How long does each part take?

It can be difficult to know exactly how long each part of the day will take. It all depends on how many people are in your wedding party, how long it takes to travel between different venues, and how many guests you have.

Time for speeches

So how do you avoid having to sit and listen to speeches that never seem to end? Well, you ask everyone who wants to give a speech to let the toastmistress(s) know in advance and politely inform them that they mustn’t speak for more than x number of minutes.

Of course, there’ll probably still be a few who drag things out a bit, but it makes planning so much easier if you know that ten people want to give a speech, so you can spread them out and time them well with the meal and other events taking place throughout the day.

Estimated times

Hair and make-up: 3–4 hours

Portrait photography: 2 hours

Wedding ceremony, including the reception afterwards: 1 hour

Reception & Bridal toast: 1–1.5 hours

Wedding dinner including speeches: 4–5 hours

If you, as the bride and groom, decide not to have a wedding coordinator on the day, we recommend that you include a Toastmaster in your schedule. This will allow you, as the bride and groom, to relax more throughout the day. It is this person or these people who will ensure that you are in the right place at the right time, and that your guests are too.