How to create the perfect wedding day plan: sample step-by-step timing

How to plan your wedding day - useful tips

A wedding is an exciting event in the life of every girl. In order to properly plan the event and not miss anything during planning, you need to take into account the following nuances:

• Length of daylight hours . If the wedding takes place in the summer, then you can start getting ready later, at 9-10 o’clock, but in winter you will have to get up early (about six o’clock) so that during the festive shooting the photographer does not work in complete darkness.
• City dimensions . If the wedding is taking place in a multimillion-dollar metropolis, taking into account traffic jams, you need to spend more time (1-2 hours) on the road.
• Weather . If it’s warm outside, you can organize more events outside, but in winter it’s better to spend the vast majority of time indoors.
• Unseen circumstances . You can spend about an hour on them in your plan. This time will be needed if, for example, the bride forgets her bouquet at home, the photo shoot is delayed, God forbid the dress tears, etc.

Wedding day timing

Timing is the basis of any event. It’s a rare event that happens exactly minute by minute, and this is rather an exception to the rule. At any celebration, and especially at a wedding, something will go wrong and you must be prepared for it.

Overlaps and delays in timing will be controlled by the wedding coordinator, not you, so we recommend hiring one. A wedding is an event associated with a large number of components that must be strictly timed, as well as with the human factor. We took a look back at all the weddings we've had the pleasure of organizing and coordinating, and put together a quick guide to taming your wedding day scenario.

Let's start with the fact that the course of events of the entire special day needs to be thought out in advance and thoroughly discussed with the wedding coordinator a day or two before the event. Ill-thought timing will upset both you and your guests. No one wants to arrive in the middle of the ceremony because it started early or get bored waiting for the bride and groom from a prolonged photo shoot.

Another feature of planning is the connection between timing and weather conditions. Weather affects delays, traffic jams or even accidents. Check the weather during the week and before your wedding day. Please note that the weather in the city and the suburbs is different, and if in one place the sun is promised, then in another it may be raining like buckets. Taking into account weather conditions will help you make timely adjustments to the day’s scenario and avoid incidents.

When developing timing, create a detailed table with your wedding planner that will reflect the day's schedule, list of contacts and addresses, phone numbers of contractors and guests. Such a plan will not go amiss, even if you are working with a wedding coordinator. And for a specialist, it will become a cheat sheet and help keep information in one place.

It is worth noting a subtle nuance, like lunch for contractors. If you are working with wedding specialists who will be on site for more than 4-5 hours, we advise you to prepare a menu for them in advance and set aside an additional half hour for lunch.

Many people forget about the main thing when developing wedding timing. About the fact that this day is dedicated to the celebration of love between two people. No matter how busy the day’s program is, and no matter how much is planned, take time to be alone with your significant other and enjoy communicating with each other.

A well-thought-out wedding day script helps you enjoy the holiday and control your budget. Increasing the duration of a buffet or wedding dinner will require additional costs for the menu and contractors, and clear timing will help avoid delays and unwanted expenses.

When thinking over the schedule of the holiday with the wedding planner, do not make the timing too tight and clear, because a wedding is not an army or a spaceport, where time is scheduled minute by minute. Allow time for possible delays, delays and little things, take into account traffic jams and travel time. A large number of guests requires more attention, which means that perhaps some stage of the holiday will be delayed. Minor shifts in timing are normal and predictable. If you feel that the schedule is starting to go wrong, contact the coordinator and he will adjust the program without the guests noticing.

Don't plan to celebrate your bachelorette or bachelorette parties the day before your wedding, and don't have any major beauty treatments on the last day before your wedding. Otherwise, you risk not recognizing yourself in the mirror in the morning, and there will be no time to correct the consequences.

We offer an approximate timing of the wedding day, which will help you navigate the duration of the main stages. Every wedding day is different, so use our tips just as a cheat sheet so that the day goes by without haste and fuss.

Approximate duration of wedding day stages:

Morning preparations and boudoir photo session – 3-4 hours

If possible, do not start getting ready too early and get enough sleep. Allow at least 3 hours to prepare your wedding look and photograph the getting ready. If you are going in the company of girlfriends, then allow another 30 minutes for them to get ready. Rushing will not benefit either you or the makeup artist and photographer, so discuss the details in advance and specify the start time of the morning shoot.

Wedding photo session – 2 hours

If a wedding photo shoot is planned directly on the wedding day, then it is best to conduct it immediately after getting ready, while you are cheerful and full of energy. Often a wedding photo shoot is organized between the ceremony at the registry office and the banquet at the restaurant. In this case, we advise you to carefully monitor the time, because there is a possibility of getting carried away and being late for the banquet. .

Gathering of guests and buffet - 30-40 minutes before the start

The specified time is enough for the guests to gather at the ceremony site, get to know each other and chat in a relaxed atmosphere. The buffet includes light snacks and welcome-drinks, but you shouldn’t drag it out so that guests don’t get bored or hungry.

Outdoor ceremony – 30 minutes and 30 minutes for congratulations after and joint photos

That's it, you probably won't want to rush or rush the ceremony. If you have not rehearsed the ceremony in advance, we recommend setting aside half an hour for it. Allow 5 minutes for guests to take their seats, but if there are many elderly people and children among the guests, then the seating time should be increased. The time allotted for the ceremony includes the entrance of the groomsmen and bridesmaids, the groom's entrance, the bride's entrance, the registrar's speech, the wedding vows and the exchange of rings. The duration of the ceremony is individual, but do not stretch it out so that there is not a long gap between the ceremony itself and the start of dinner.

Wedding dinner – 2.5 – 3 hours

Think over the timing of the wedding dinner together with the host, taking into account the richness of the entertainment program. Ask the host to unobtrusively control and announce the stages of the banquet, and also not to overload the first 2 hours of the festive evening with activities. Specify the length of the toasts in advance (no more than 5 minutes), because drawn-out nostalgic and philosophical congratulations can tire or even disrupt the entire timing.

Entertainment program – 2 – 3 hours

The entertainment program is associated with a festive dinner and generally takes 2-3 hours. Do not insert too active blocks of the program into the first 2 hours of the banquet, as there is a high probability of causing inconvenience to the guests. Set aside this time for the first dance, congratulations and toasts, and an hour after serving hot dishes, begin the first activities. Divide the performances of the musical group and dances into blocks of 30-40 minutes, so it will be easier for the presenter to navigate the time and the guests will not get too tired.

End of the evening and gratitude of the couple – 1.5 hours

Depending on the program and preferences, you can end the wedding dinner with cutting the cake and fireworks or sparklers. Do not delay the beautiful finale until the very last moment, so as not to blur the impression of the evening and not to catch the already tired guests getting ready to go home. The host or wedding coordinator will suggest the right time for the ceremonial cutting of the cake and help hand over the first pieces to the parents. You can end the evening beautifully with words of gratitude to the guests and a pyrotechnic show.

In conclusion, I would like to note that in general the banquet program takes 6-8 hours, but the fun can always be extended, focusing on the wishes of the guests and the couple themselves. Organizational issues after the gala dinner are the responsibility of the wedding coordinator and are discussed with him in advance. The wedding coordinator will take care of the timely delivery of transfers for guests and the couple, delivery of the remaining food and final payment to contractors .

Examples of wedding timing

Thoughtful and comfortable timing of the wedding day is another reason to seek help from a wedding planner.

Call +7 to make an appointment and develop the perfect schedule for your wedding

What should be included in the plan: key stages

What should be included in an ideal wedding plan? Here's an example scenario:

1. Getting ready, photo shoot “morning of the bride”, ransom . All this happens in the morning, approximately 3-5 hours before registration. If the young people already live together, then the ransom can be excluded, since it will no longer be relevant.
2. The road from the house of the bride and groom to the registry office . In big cities, you need to allocate more time for this stage, otherwise there is a risk of getting stuck in a traffic jam and being late.
3. Wedding or painting . The average duration of a wedding is 1 hour, painting is 20 minutes. You can combine these two events, first registration, then marriage in church.
4. Photoshoot . It is better to leave up to 3 hours for it, also taking into account the travel time to the restaurant.
5. Banquet . Usually lasts about 5 hours.
6. Transporting guests home (optional) takes approximately 2-3 hours.

Of course, the bride and groom can add any details to the routine as they wish.

Between each stage you need to leave time (approximately 40-60 minutes) that will be spent on the road. If you do not take this parameter into account in advance, the event will begin to shift, forcing the newlyweds to be late and worry.

To avoid having to worry too much about lack of time on a holiday, you need to choose close locations. For example, the registry office should be located closer to the bride’s house, and the site for the photo shoot should be located near the restaurant.

Before you make a plan, you need to choose the right wedding date. Here are tips on how to do this, taking into account the opinions of astrologers, various signs, the work of registry offices and other nuances.

And now about the wedding planning itself. It says here what needs to be done depending on the time remaining before the celebration. You will learn where to start and what to do next.

A wedding requires a huge list of things. Read here what exactly. You will learn what needs to be prepared for redemption, what should be taken into account when choosing a menu, who serves the on-site registration, etc.

Since there is a lot of work to be done, make sure to take time off for the wedding in advance. We carefully studied the labor code and gave a comprehensive answer to this question in another article.

Here's what the wedding planner advises:

How long does the banquet last?

A wedding banquet, filled with a varied program, usually lasts 5-6 hours and is divided into several blocks. Guests can sit quietly at the tables, eat and chat for 30-40 minutes - just remember how long lessons lasted at school. Then they already want to get up and warm up, dance: it’s time for a performance by a cover band and artists, as well as interactive hosts.

Nadezhda Trubnikova, Russian Wedding Group:

“This division allows us to make the evening varied: in each block, guests will experience different impressions and emotions. Moreover, this structure should be perceived as a natural and logical development of the evening. Therefore, it is very important that the host knows how to improvise and change the timing on the fly depending on the circumstances and the mood of the guests. The main thing is that they have the feeling that they managed to do everything: dance, eat, relax, communicate with the couple and have a lot of fun.”

Sample wedding day plan with registration at two o'clock

Usually the bride makes this schedule on her own, but often she needs tips and basic help. What will the plan look like if the painting in the registry office occurs at two o'clock in the afternoon?

1. 8:00 – the bride wakes up, showers and time for breakfast. The girl must try on the dress. For the groom, getting up may be a little later, since he will not have to get ready for so long. The rise can be postponed to 9:00.
2. 9:00-11:00 – work of a makeup artist and hairdresser. While the bride is putting on her beauty, the groom is having breakfast, and his friends come to him, decorate the cars and prepare money for the ransom (if it takes place).
3. 11:00 -11:30 – dressing the bride, short photo session. The groom does the same.
4. 11:30-12:00 – arrival of guests.
5. 11:30-12:30 – bride price and festive buffet (optional). If you exclude this stage from the plan, you will have one extra hour in reserve. You can move the program forward. The ransom should not be too long: a maximum of half an hour and 5-6 competitions. After this, the bride and groom invite guests to a short buffet, and they take pictures with everyone.
6. 12:30-13:30 – road to the registry office, arrival at the institution.
7. 13:30 – short photo session in front of the registry office and inside.
8. 14:00-14:30 – marriage registration. We wrote about how it goes in another article.
9. 14:30-15:00 – road to the photography location.
10. 15:00-18:00 – photo session. The bride and groom should prepare the props for the shoot in advance, and if they plan to visit several places for a photo shoot, they should make a travel plan taking into account travel time (on average half an hour for each place).
11. 18:00-19:00 – road to the banquet hall.
12. 19:00-23:00 – banquet.

Here you can highlight your stages:

Wedding day scheme

Is it possible to abandon the standard scheme?

A wedding is a happy day for you and your guests, and not an international conference where each speaker is given 15 minutes and not a second more to speak. You can do whatever you really want: a long morning get-together with the groom or girlfriends, a buffet and dancing instead of a long banquet, a ceremony in the evening, under the light of the stars, and so on. Just remember that all non-standard solutions also require preparation and proper management of time.

Nadezhda Trubnikova, Russian Wedding Group:

“Having outlined the main points, we begin to discuss the individual wishes of the couple. Do they want, for example, to have a photo shoot together before the ceremony (we always recommend this option), or vice versa - to see each other for the first time only at the time of the ceremony? Will there be a ceremony at all or will they just get together with friends for a party? Do they want to sign at the registry office on the same day or visit some places that are significant to them? So, gradually, the overall picture of the day is formed.”

Wedding day plan with on-site registration

Unlike a wedding with registration at the registry office, here you can move everything around and not rush anywhere.

Exciting morning

Before submitting an application to the registry office, determining the time of painting or planning the time of the outdoor ceremony, you need to carefully think through the entire future day. If possible, start your morning not too early and note that on average, 3-4 hours are spent preparing the bride’s image and photographing her getting ready. Discuss the start time of shooting with the photographer so that he has time to shoot all the important details: dress, shoes, rings, take shots with parents, portraits while the makeup is still fresh, and also catch the preparation itself.

A stylized morning for the bride is very popular now: in a hotel, studio or outdoors. Here you can show your imagination and organize a morning bachelorette party over a cup of tea with your girlfriends or do a boudoir-style shoot. An interesting solution for couples who have been living together for a long time would be to get together for a romantic breakfast. How touching it is: the groom fastening the buttons on the bride’s wedding dress and the bride tying the bow tie for the groom.

Be sure to get enough sleep the night before! Such simple advice is of great importance - this way you and your groom can look good in the morning and enjoy all the pleasant moments of your important day.

If the preparations took place separately from the groom, then ahead is the most exciting moment of the whole morning - the meeting: reverent glances, tenderness and admiration on the groom’s face and joy in the eyes of the bride.

Correct timing

Timing is a kind of table, without which it is impossible to properly organize a wedding. All stages of the celebration, all its key moments are described here, taking into account the time required for each contractor. So, what are the secrets to creating timing? Here's an example of what you can do:

1. It must be compiled clearly, in the form of a table or diagram.
2. It’s better to start planning 1-2 months in advance, checking in advance with stylists, artists and banquet organizers about the time required for their work.
3. In your table you must indicate: the name of the contractor and his functions, the start time of his work, his address, telephone number for contact.
4. The document must indicate the time of even small events - taking out the cake, fireworks, serving first and second courses.
5. It is important to leave time in your plan for unforeseen situations (traffic jams, loss of some details of the celebration, illness of the master, and so on).
6. Before the wedding day, you should call all contractors and check their readiness; an appropriate note should be made in the timing.

The more detailed the timing is and the more comments it contains, the lower the risk of disruption of the wedding.

The day before the wedding

Under no circumstances leave your bachelor and bachelorette parties to the last minute - this can lead to not only poor health, but also poor appearance on your wedding day. That is why it is better to celebrate the last days of bachelorhood and unmarried life in advance, for example a week before the important day.

The day before the wedding, do not plan any cosmetic procedures, avoid any masks and products that can cause an allergic reaction, as well as redness and swelling of the skin. Make the most of your day:

• go to the cinema with your future husband
• treat yourself to a whole day of “doing nothing” and watching movies
• visit an exhibition, gallery or other cultural event in the city
• take a short walk through your favorite park
• have a date in your favorite romantic place in the city

Wedding day coordination

If the bride understands that she cannot cope on her own, she should invite an organizer who will think through the plan, help in drawing up a schedule and take upon herself the coordination of all movements. The coordinator himself will need the following information:

• registration time, from which the rise of the bride and groom will be counted;
• a list of all ongoing events (photo shoot, ransom, etc.);
• the names of each and every contractor and their telephone numbers;
• addresses and names of places where the celebration will be held.

The services of such an organizer cost an average of 10 thousand rubles for the entire work.

Sample wedding day plan