The day of your wedding will seemingly fly by in a haze of taffeta and cake, but that beautiful day will take months of planning and scheduling to accomplish. There are vendors to book, details to design, and a wedding party to gather together. Every couple wants their wedding day to go without a hitch, but some struggle to coordinate. Avoid the stress and develop a timeline to keep all on track.

The most common excuse for not preparing a timeline is the couple’s desire to enjoy the day, worry-free. As my Project Manager sister would say, if you’re not willing to plan the day, it must not be that important. Neglecting a timeline and just “letting things happen” will undoubtedly create unnecessary stress. There are several moving parts on the day of your wedding (vendors, wedding party, guests, etc.). Help everyone know what is expected of them, and what they can expect.

Here are three reasons to have a wedding timeline.

One – Respect your guests.

We’ve all been the guest at a wedding, wondering when the bridal party will arrive so we can eat. There are a lot of pictures that need to be taken before the Ceremony and before the Reception. By organizing and timing out these pictures you respect your guests time in not having them wait too long for you. Twenty minutes will often feel like an hour when the end is not in sight.

Two – Avoid difficult scenarios.

Your vendors are ideally well-seasoned and have worked at many, many weddings. If they see a timeline beforehand, they can give you a warning if it looks like you forgot something or allotted too much time to a task that would better fit another way. Use the experience and expertise of your vendors to find an efficient, friction-less timeline.

Three – Capture all those dreamy moments.

Having a timeline makes sure that no moments are missed on the day you worked tirelessly to create. It never fails that if things run late it is the Bride and Groom Pictures (the most important ones) that will get cut in half. Those are the pictures you will want for Thank You Cards, Wall Art, Album Covers, and more. Take the time to plan ahead and ensure that those moments make the album.

 

Thank you to Stephanie from Duffy Design Co for the sample timeline featured in the first image. Thank you also to Beth from The First Year for the bottom image.