Free tool
Wedding day timeline generator
Answer a few questions and get a minute-by-minute schedule for your wedding day, from hair and makeup to the send-off. Edit any block, then print it or save a PDF. No sign-up.
Most photos are done before the ceremony, so you can join cocktail hour.
Look up sunset for your date and venue.
- 11:40 AM2:40 PM
Hair and makeup
About 45 minutes each for hair and makeup per person. Three hours covers you and a few others with two artists.
- 1:40 PM
Photographer arrives
Detail shots first: the dress, rings, shoes, invitation and flowers. Have them ready in one place.
- 2:40 PM3:10 PM
Getting dressed
Into the dress or suit, with photos of the final touches.
- 3:10 PM3:30 PM
Getting-ready portraits
Each of you with your wedding party and close family, before you leave.
- 3:30 PM4:00 PM
Touch-ups, then out of sight
Hide away before guests start arriving. Have water and a snack.
- 3:30 PM
Guests arrive
Ushers seat guests while prelude music plays.
- 4:00 PM4:30 PM
Ceremony
Religious ceremonies often run 45 to 60 minutes.
- 4:30 PM5:30 PM
Cocktail hour
Drinks and appetizers for guests while you finish photos.
- 4:30 PM
Photo-sharing QR codes on the tables
Guests scan to add their photos and videos to your shared gallery all night. Ask your DJ or MC to mention it.
- 4:30 PM4:50 PM
Family photos
Send your photographer a shot list, and ask a relative who knows everyone to round people up.
- 4:50 PM5:10 PM
Wedding party photos
Everyone together, then smaller groups.
- 5:10 PM5:30 PM
Couple portraits
Just the two of you and your photographer.
- 5:30 PM5:35 PM
Grand entrance
Your DJ or MC announces the wedding party, then the two of you.
- 5:35 PM5:40 PM
First dance
Right after the entrance, while everyone is gathered and watching.
- 5:40 PM6:55 PM
Dinner
About 75 minutes for a plated dinner. Allow 90 for a buffet or family style.
- 6:55 PM7:15 PM
Speeches and toasts
Three or four speakers at about 5 minutes each.
- 7:15 PM7:25 PM
Parent dances
Two songs, or one shared song cut to about 3 minutes.
- 7:25 PM7:35 PM
Cake cutting
Then the caterer slices and serves it while the dancing starts.
- 7:35 PM10:55 PM
Open dancing
Fills the time until your reception ends.
3 hr 20 min - 10:55 PM11:00 PM
Last dance
Gather everyone on the floor for one last song.
- 11:00 PM
Reception ends
Change any length and the rest of the day moves with it. Indented moments run alongside the main schedule. To save a PDF, pick “Save as PDF” as the printer.
Get every guest's photos from the day
Put a BridaLens QR code on your tables at cocktail hour. Guests scan it and upload photos, videos and voice messages from their phone, with no app or account, and you download everything in one zip.
Get your gallery QR codeHow to plan your wedding day timeline
- 01
Set your times
Ceremony start, ceremony length, cocktail hour and when the reception has to end.
- 02
Answer a few questions
First look or not, where you get ready, a second venue and the traditions you're keeping.
- 03
Adjust the blocks
Change any length or remove a block, and everything around it moves to fit.
- 04
Print and share
Print it, save a PDF or copy the text for your planner, photographer, DJ and wedding party.
Sample wedding day timelines
Two common days, straight from the generator. Set your own times above to make yours.
4 PM ceremony, no first look
Photos happen during cocktail hour; the reception ends at 11 PM.
- 11:40 AMHair and makeup
- 1:40 PMPhotographer arrives
- 2:40 PMGetting dressed
- 3:10 PMGetting-ready portraits
- 3:30 PMTouch-ups, then out of sight
- 3:30 PMGuests arrive
- 4:00 PMCeremony
- 4:30 PMCocktail hour
- 4:30 PMPhoto-sharing QR codes on the tables
- 4:30 PMFamily photos
- 4:50 PMWedding party photos
- 5:10 PMCouple portraits
- 5:30 PMGrand entrance
- 5:35 PMFirst dance
- 5:40 PMDinner
- 6:55 PMSpeeches and toasts
- 7:15 PMParent dances
- 7:25 PMCake cutting
- 7:35 PMOpen dancing
- 10:55 PMLast dance
- 11:00 PMReception ends
5 PM ceremony with a first look
Portraits before the ceremony, a separate reception venue and a sparkler send-off at midnight.
- 11:45 AMHair and makeup
- 1:45 PMPhotographer arrives
- 2:45 PMGetting dressed
- 3:15 PMFirst look
- 3:30 PMCouple portraits
- 4:00 PMWedding party photos
- 4:30 PMTouch-ups, then out of sight
- 4:30 PMGuests arrive
- 5:00 PMCeremony
- 5:30 PMTravel to the reception
- 5:30 PMFamily photos
- 5:50 PMCocktail hour
- 5:50 PMPhoto-sharing QR codes on the tables
- 6:50 PMGrand entrance
- 6:55 PMFirst dance
- 7:00 PMDinner
- 8:15 PMSpeeches and toasts
- 8:35 PMParent dances
- 8:45 PMCake cutting
- 8:55 PMOpen dancing
- 11:40 PMLast dance
- 11:45 PMSparkler send-off
- 12:00 AMReception ends
Tips for a wedding day that runs on time
- Work backward from the ceremony. Hair and makeup almost always run late, so add 15 minutes there before anywhere else.
- Get your photographer's shot list for family photos and keep it to the groups you'll frame. Each one takes 2 to 3 minutes.
- Look up sunset for your date and venue. Golden-hour portraits take 15 to 20 minutes and are often the favorites.
- Do speeches during dinner or right after it, while guests are seated and paying attention.
- Share the timeline with your planner, photographer, videographer, DJ, venue and wedding party a week before.
- Give one person (not you) the printed copy on the day, so you never have to check the time.
Planning the details? Make a photo scavenger hunt for cocktail hour or find your wedding hashtag.
Wedding timeline questions
How do I make a wedding day timeline?
Start from your ceremony time and work backward: hair and makeup, getting dressed, photos and travel, with guests arriving 30 minutes before the ceremony. Then work forward: cocktail hour, entrance, dinner, speeches, dances, cake and dancing until the reception ends. This generator does that for you from a few answers, and moves everything when you change a block.
How long should hair and makeup take on the wedding day?
Plan about 45 minutes for hair and 45 for makeup per person. With two artists, three hours covers you and three or four others. Finish at least 30 minutes before you get dressed, and schedule yourself second to last so your look is fresh for photos.
Should we do a first look?
A first look moves most portraits and wedding party photos before the ceremony, so you can join your cocktail hour and spend more time with guests. Without one, family, wedding party and couple photos happen during cocktail hour and usually need the whole hour. Turn first look on and off above to compare the two days.
How long is a typical wedding reception?
Most receptions run four to five hours including cocktail hour: about an hour of cocktails, 75 to 90 minutes for dinner, 20 minutes of speeches, the first dances and cake, then two to three hours of dancing. Set your venue's end time and open dancing fills whatever time is left.
Can I print the timeline or save it as a PDF?
Yes. Tap Print or save PDF to get a clean one-page schedule; to save a PDF, pick “Save as PDF” as the printer. You can also copy it as text to paste into an email or a shared doc. It's free, with no sign-up, and nothing you enter leaves your browser.
What if our reception goes past midnight?
Set the end time after midnight, like 1:00 AM, and the timeline carries on into the next day, marking those times. Times have no timezone: they're the local time at your venue.
When should guests share their photos?
Put QR code signs on the tables at cocktail hour, when guests start taking photos, and ask your DJ or MC to mention them. With BridaLens, guests scan the code and upload photos, videos and voice messages from their phone browser all night, no app or account, and you download everything in one zip. It's $24.99, one-time.
Add this tool to your site
Planners, photographers and wedding blogs can embed the timeline generator for their readers for free. Paste this code into your page.
Every guest's photos, in one place.
Guests scan your QR code and upload photos, videos and voice messages from their phone. No app. $24.99, one-time.