A worked day timeline
This is a 2pm ceremony with a 5pm meal, which is the most common shape in the UK. Shift every row by the same amount if your ceremony is earlier or later — the gaps between them are what matter, not the clock times.
| Time | What happens | Who needs to know |
|---|---|---|
| 08:00 | Hair and makeup begins | Stylists, the getting-ready party |
| 09:00 | Photographer arrives for preparation shots | Photographer, whoever is in the room |
| 11:00 | Florist delivers and dresses the ceremony space | Florist, venue |
| 12:30 | Suits and attire on | Best man |
| 13:00 | Ushers in place, orders of service out | Ushers |
| 13:20 | Guests begin arriving | Ushers, venue |
| 13:50 | Guests seated | Ushers |
| 14:00 | Ceremony begins | Everyone |
| 14:30 | Ceremony ends, confetti | Photographer, venue |
| 14:45 | Drinks reception, group photographs | Photographer, whoever is on the group photo list |
| 16:30 | Guests called through, couple photographs | Venue, photographer |
| 17:00 | Wedding breakfast | Caterer |
| 18:45 | Speeches | Speakers, photographer, caterer |
| 19:30 | Room turnaround, cake cut | Venue, band |
| 20:00 | Evening guests arrive, band first set | Band, ushers |
| 20:15 | First dance | Band, photographer |
| 21:30 | Evening food | Caterer |
| 23:30 | Last orders | Venue |
| 00:00 | Carriages, clear-down begins | The clear-down crew |
The four places timelines break
Group photographs. Allow three minutes per group and no more than ten groups. Twelve groups is 40 minutes of your drinks reception and a photographer shouting names across a lawn. Write the list in advance and give it to someone who knows the families by sight.
The gap between ceremony and meal. Two hours is right. Ninety minutes feels rushed if you want group photographs; three hours and guests get bored and drunk in that order.
Speeches after the meal, not before. Before, the speakers cannot eat and the food waits. After, everyone is fed and the room is warm. If a speaker is very nervous, move theirs to between courses rather than moving all of them.
The turnaround. If the room has to change from meal to dancing, that is 30–45 minutes with your guests somewhere else. Plan where they go, or it happens in a corridor.
Build it backwards
Start from the ceremony time, because it is fixed. Work forwards to the meal and backwards to hair and makeup. Then send the draft to your photographer before anyone else — they have seen several hundred wedding days and will tell you in one email which part of yours is not going to work.
Share one version with everyone
Suppliers working from three different drafts is how a timeline fails.
Common questions
What is a typical wedding day timeline?
For a 2pm ceremony: hair and makeup from 8am, photographer at 9am, guests arriving from 1:20pm, ceremony at 2pm, drinks and group photographs from 2:45pm, wedding breakfast at 5pm, speeches at 6:45pm, evening guests and first dance around 8pm, and carriages at midnight.
How long should the gap between the ceremony and the meal be?
About two hours. Ninety minutes is tight if you want group photographs, and three hours leaves guests bored and over-served.
Should speeches be before or after the meal?
After, in almost every case. Speakers can eat, the food is not held, and the room is warmer. Move a single nervous speaker to between courses rather than moving all of them.
How long do wedding group photographs take?
About three minutes per group. Keep the list to ten groups or fewer and give it to someone who can recognise the families by sight — otherwise it eats the drinks reception.