Sample Wedding Timeline: 5 Tips for Super Organized Brides

1. Make a list of your vendors and contacts

Have your wedding vendors contact info noted; include cellphones and names of people who will be in charge of deliveries or set up the day of your wedding. Confirm arrival times to the venue or ceremony site and give them a point of contact in case of last minute questions. Make sure to discuss beforehand, the rules they must follow at the church and venue sites (never make assumptions!)

2. Write all milestone events (and create more than one timeline, one for you and one for each vendor).

By this I mean to include important happenings for the day, see an example below:

3. Include important notes linked to the milestone events

This information is critical! Going back to our timeline above for the First Dance, the DJ needs to know what song to play and if you will dance with your parents as well. He would also need to know the names of your bridal party and the order of entrance (and what songs to play!).

4. Provide the timeline to your vendors

A helpful piece of advice here is to give your vendors only what they need to know. Don’t give the DJ information about your ceremony; he needs to know the timeline essentials such as the big moments where he is directly involved. The photographer also needs a “high level” timeline so they know when and where they need to be at any given moment.

5. Have someone manage the timeline

If you've hired a day-of wedding planner or a day-of coordinator, you are in good hands.  Relax and have fun the entire day! A professional wedding coordinator really takes more than “a day” to learn all the details and logistics of your wedding. They usually work with you from one month to six weeks in advance to get to know your vendors, their requirements and your expectations. The best wedding coordinators will carefully listen to you and will ask the right questions (things you may be missing!). Also, they will be in charge to create the most detailed master timeline and vendor timeline (yay!). If you have decided that you will have a good friend handling the timeline, that’s completely up to you. Keep in mind that your friend may have the best intentions but no experience at doing this! Be flexible and grateful even if something does not go as expected.