You’re engaged, congratulations!

And as excited as you are, it’s also a stressful time as this isn’t something you’ve likely done a bunch of times before. Let’s be honest planning a wedding day can be overwhelming, but I’m here to help. The first step to reducing wedding day stress is to plan out your wedding day timeline. This helps make sure that the whole day runs smoothly and on time!

The easiest way to think about your timeline is in three parts, the time before the ceremony, the ceremony itself and the time after the ceremony.

Now let’s jump into it in a little more detail.

When planning your timeline we actually start in the middle with the ceremony.

Wait what?

Well the the first question I’ll ask you is going to be “what time is the ceremony?” and it’s important because it will dictate the timings for everything else on the day. The second question I’ll ask is “what rite will the ceremony follow?” For example: will it be a Novus Ordo or Traditional Latin Mass? Why is this important? Because the length of different ceremonies will vary so it will affect the timeline. Once we have these times we can then work backwards to figure out the timings that will work best for the rest of the wedding day.

Before the Ceremony

Now let’s look at the beginning of your timeline, the before the ceremony part:

Before your ceremony you will need to include time for photos of both the bride and groom getting ready, your respective bridal parties, individual portraits, guest and bridal party arrivals at the church. Another thing to consider is if you will be doing a first look, either between the bride and groom, or the bride and her dad. Having these extra moments is wonderful but just keep in mind they will take time, and you certainly don’t want to be rushing them!

Side note *Remember to include travel times between your getting ready venue and the church, and the church and your reception venue!

After the Ceremony

Something that couples often forget to check is what time they will need to be out of the church by, especially if there are other liturgical events happening there on your wedding day. Also let guests know what time they can arrive at the church to make sure they are all seated before the ceremony starts.

After the ceremony you can decide if you want family and bridal party portraits at church or other another venue and then schedule that into your timeline. Family and bridal party portraits usually take between 15 - 30 minutes depending on how many you want and how big the bridal party is.

Side note *I will ask you for a list of the groups you want photos of before the day so it’s quick and easy to get everyone when I need them and no one gets forgotten.

Bride and groom portraits are done with the couple and the photographer and videographer (if there is one). I recommend allowing at least 30 minutes to an hour for these. It may seem like a big chunk of the day but trust me, it will be worth it! These usually take place during cocktail hour and remember we can always tweak the timeline so that you can spend as much time with your guests as possible.

The end of the timeline is your reception. Even though it’s the end of the day it is also an important part to get right as your catering will be timed so food is served hot and everyone is fed and happy. The reception may also include the cake cutting, first dances and toasts which will all be scheduled in so that guests are there when these moments happen.

Depending on the coverage you want for your day, and what time I started, as your photographer I will usually finish around 10pm. The last thing we will need to add to your timeline is your grand exit and it’s completely up to you whether you want one or not. If you want the photos but aren’t ready to leave the party just yet , we can do a posed exit!

Ideally your timeline should be structured to help the day run as effortlessly as possible and flexible enough to allow for a little wiggle room without making dinner 2 hours late!

Grab an easy to follow Catholic Wedding Timeline here

Planning your Catholic Wedding Day Timeline