The creation of the all important "Wedding Timeline" is an integral part of a wedding day coordinator's duties. A professional wedding coordinator's timeline includes not only details of the entire day such as bride's arrival time to the ceremony site, ceremony start time, the time the dinner service begins and ends, but will also have the contact name and numbers of all the wedding vendors involved.
Timelines will differ from wedding coordinator to wedding coordinator. The trick is to make it clear and easy to read for you and any wedding vendors and assistants involved.
I like to start from the date of the bride and groom's arrival into Las Vegas since the majority of my clients come from out of town. On each separate day, I'll include the date the couple goes to the marriage bureau to obtain their marriage license, spa appointments, rehearsal time and location, etc. These items are not crucial on a timeline but it is my personal preference.
Below is a list of some important items to include on your timeline:
On the top or as a cover sheet:
- Name of Bride & Name of Groom
- Day & Date of Wedding (Saturday, June 6, 2009) - I ALWAYS put the day of the week
- Start time of the ceremony
- Start time of the reception
- Ceremony Venue - with address
- Reception Venue - with address
- Names of the bridal party members (at least 1 phone number from each side - Best Man and Maid of Honor)
- Vendors' Names and Cell phone numbers and arrival times
- Main Point of Contact (Usually independent wedding coordinator or someone you've designated as your point of contact)
- The hotel that the bride and groom will be staying at the day prior to the wedding and the night of the wedding with phone numbers to the hotel(s).
Actual Timeline:
Wedding Day: Every item should have a time, task details, and location
X:XX am Green Orchid Events arrives: Las Vegas Hotel room #
Hair & Makeup Room # ____________
- List all girls getting hair and make up done and note the different times. The bride should ideally go last.
X:XX am/pm Name-of-photographer arrives to begin photography coverage
X:XX am/pm Linens set on tables and chairs
X:XX am/pm Floral arrives for ceremony & reception floral/décor setup
X:XX am/pm Bakery delivers wedding cake
X:XX am/pm Bridal party leaves bridal suite and heads to ceremony site
X:XX am/pm Guests begin arriving (about 30 minutes early)
X:XX am/pm Ceremony begins
- Bridal party processional order & name of song
- Bride & escort & name of song
- Recessional order & name of song
X:XX am/pm Ceremony ends
X:XX am/pm Cocktail hour begins - name of room
X:XX am/pm Guests start to move into reception room for (seated or buffet) dinner - name of room
X:XX am/pm Grand Entrance
- Family/Bridal party entrance order (if applicable) Song: ____ by ____
- Bride & Groom - Introduce as Mr. & Mrs. XX Song: ____ by ____
X:XX am/pm First Dance - Song: ____ by ____
X:XX am/pm Dinner service begins
- 1st course served - note time
- 2nd course served - note time
- 3rd course served - note time
- Vendor meals - note times and number of meals
X:XX am/pm Champagne Toast
- Best Man – Name of Best Man
- Maid of Honor – Name of Maid of Honor
X:XX am/pm Cake Cutting - Song: ____ by ____
X:XX am/pm Bouquet Toss - Song: ____ by ____
X:XX am/pm Open dancing
X:XX am/pm Dinner reception concludes
X:XX am/pm Green Orchid Events coordination service concludes
Screenshot of a sample timeline!
Please note: this is a sample and your wedding doesn't necessarily need to be in this order but these are important items to keep in your timeline.
Wedding professionals - What are some crucial items on your own timeline?
It's time to escape Las Vegas for a few days. I'm going to my hometown of San Francisco for some comfort food, to visit friends, ride the cable car, people watch in Union Square, and to do some walking on the hills. See you all next week!
