Free wedding day timeline builder

Build your wedding day timeline, hour by hour

A full wedding day is already loaded below. Change the times, stretch or shorten each block, add your own moments and catch overlaps before your vendors do. Then copy the schedule and send it. Free, no sign-up.

12Events in the starter day

12Event categories

1 tapCopy for vendors

$0No sign-up

12Events

10:00 AMDay Starts

9:15 PMDay Ends

9h 30mTotal Time

Add Event

10:00 AM120 min

Hair and Makeup Begins

10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

1:00 PM30 min

Photographer Arrives

1:00 PM to 1:30 PM

First look photos before ceremony

2:00 PM30 min

Guests Arrive

2:00 PM to 2:30 PM

2:30 PM30 min

Ceremony

2:30 PM to 3:00 PM

3:00 PM60 min

Cocktail Hour

3:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Couple does portraits during this time

4:00 PM15 min

Reception Entrance

4:00 PM to 4:15 PM

4:15 PM10 min

First Dance

4:15 PM to 4:25 PM

4:30 PM20 min

Toasts and Speeches

4:30 PM to 4:50 PM

Best man, maid of honor, parents

5:00 PM90 min

Dinner Service

5:00 PM to 6:30 PM

6:30 PM15 min

Cake Cutting

6:30 PM to 6:45 PM

6:45 PM135 min

Open Dance Floor

6:45 PM to 9:00 PM

9:00 PM15 min

Last Dance and Send-Off

9:00 PM to 9:15 PM

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01The short answer

How do you build a wedding day timeline that holds up?

Answer

Pick the ceremony time first, then plan outward. Getting ready goes before it, photos and the cocktail hour after it, then entrance, first dance, toasts, dinner, cake and dancing. Give every block a length, leave buffers at the handoffs and check sunset if you want golden hour photos. A full day usually runs 10 to 14 hours.

The 10 to 14 hour range and the 3 to 4 hours of getting ready come from Joy's hour-by-hour timeline guide. The builder above handles the arithmetic: it sorts events by time, adds up the day and flags any block that runs into the next one.

Example timelineOur wedding day10:00 AM to 9:15 PM, 12 events

2:00 PMGuests arrive

2:30 PMCeremony

3:00 PMCocktail hour

4:00 PMReception entrance

4:15 PMFirst dance

4:30 PMToasts and speeches

5:00 PMDinner service

No overlaps

Copy Send

With this builder, in four steps

1Start from the 12-event template that is already loaded above.
2Set your ceremony time first, then move every other block around it.
3Click any event to change its time, length or note. Add what is missing.
4Fix anything the overlap warning flags, then copy the schedule for your vendors.

Back to the builder

SEE IT IN ACTION

Scan. Upload.
Every hour, one album.

Watch a guest scan the QR code and add photos from the browser, no app and no account. Put the code on the tables and the bar, and every block of your timeline ends up in one place.

Emma & DanielScan to add your photos

9:41

WEDDING ALBUM

Emma & Daniel

Example album

AllCeremonyReception

Add your photosNo app needed

02The starter day, hour by hour

A 2:30 PM ceremony, from first brush to last dance

This is the exact day the builder loads. It is a sensible afternoon wedding to edit, not a rule. The bar shows how the 11 hours and 15 minutes fill up, including the open gaps the template leaves for travel and photos.

10:00 AM to 9:15 PM

Getting readyPhotosCeremonyCocktailsReceptionDancingOpen time

Hair and makeup

Cocktails

Dinner

Dancing

10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM9:15 PM

10:00 AM to 1:30 PM

Getting ready

10:00 AM to 12:00 PMHair and makeup begins120 min
1:00 PM to 1:30 PMPhotographer arrives30 min, first look photos before ceremony

2:00 PM to 3:00 PM

Ceremony

2:00 PM to 2:30 PMGuests arrive30 min
2:30 PM to 3:00 PMCeremony30 min

3:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Cocktail hour

3:00 PM to 4:00 PMCocktail hour60 min, couple does portraits during this time

4:00 PM to 9:15 PM

Reception

4:00 PM to 4:15 PMReception entrance15 min
4:15 PM to 4:25 PMFirst dance10 min
4:30 PM to 4:50 PMToasts and speeches20 min, best man, maid of honor, parents
5:00 PM to 6:30 PMDinner service90 min
6:30 PM to 6:45 PMCake cutting15 min
6:45 PM to 9:00 PMOpen dance floor135 min
9:00 PM to 9:15 PMLast dance and send-off15 min

One thing to fix for your own day: the template plans a first look at 1:00 PM and also has couple portraits during the cocktail hour. That works, but if you skip the first look, move family formals into the cocktail hour too and push the reception entrance back. Section 06 shows both versions.

03Church, outdoor, sunset

What time should the ceremony start, and how long will it run?

The ceremony is the anchor of the whole timeline, so get two numbers right first: how long your type of ceremony takes, and what the setting does to the start time.

Ceremony type	Typical length	Source
Civil, register office (UK)	About 10 to 15 minutes	Bridebook
Catholic, without Mass	About 30 to 40 minutes	WeddingWire
Traditional ceremony	Usually 45 to 60 minutes	Bridebook
Catholic, with Mass	About 45 minutes to an hour	WeddingWire
Hindu ceremony	Usually around 90 minutes	Bridebook
The builder's starter ceremony	30 minutes, edit it to match yours	Pix Wedding

Lengths checked October 2026 on Bridebook and WeddingWire. More detail by faith and type in our guide on how long a wedding ceremony lasts.

Church or house of worship

The slot the parish or venue gives you

Churches book weddings around their own services, so the start time is often set for you. Ask early, then build the rest of the day around that slot, including travel to the reception.

Outdoor, daytime

Late afternoon rather than midday

High sun means squinting guests and hard shadows. Later in the day the light gets softer, and in summer that can be quite late. Check sunset for your date in the table below.

Sunset ceremony

About an hour before sunset for a 30-minute ceremony

In our six-city table, the sun drops to 6 degrees, where golden light starts, about 30 to 50 minutes before sunset. Starting an hour early puts the vows and the walk out in that light.

Evening or indoor

Whatever suits the venue and the food

If the ceremony is inside or after dark, the sun stops setting the schedule. Do couple portraits earlier with a first look, or step out briefly before the light goes.

04Photo timing

Plan the photos around golden hour

Between June and December, sunset in Seattle moves by almost five hours. A timeline copied from a June wedding will not work in December. Look up your own date, then plan backward.

What golden hour is

The period shortly after sunrise or before sunset when daylight is redder and softer than when the sun is higher in the sky.

Wikipedia notes that it has no clearly defined length and changes with season and latitude. Photo apps like Stonekick's Sun Position count the evening golden hour from when the sun drops to 6 degrees above the horizon.

Joy's rule of thumb

“In December, golden hour may arrive at 4:30pm. In June, it is closer to 8pm.”

Joy, Wedding Day Timeline: Hour-by-Hour Schedule for Every Ceremony Time

The table below shows how far apart those two seasons are for six cities.

City	Sat 20 Jun 2026	Sat 19 Sep 2026	Sat 17 Oct 2026	Sat 19 Dec 2026
New York	Sunset 8:31 pmGolden light from 7:49 pm	Sunset 7:00 pmGolden light from 6:24 pm	Sunset 6:14 pmGolden light from 5:37 pm	Sunset 4:31 pmGolden light from 3:48 pm
Chicago	Sunset 8:29 pmGolden light from 7:47 pm	Sunset 6:55 pmGolden light from 6:18 pm	Sunset 6:08 pmGolden light from 5:30 pm	Sunset 4:22 pmGolden light from 3:37 pm
Dallas	Sunset 8:38 pmGolden light from 8:02 pm	Sunset 7:29 pmGolden light from 6:57 pm	Sunset 6:53 pmGolden light from 6:20 pm	Sunset 5:25 pmGolden light from 4:47 pm
Los Angeles	Sunset 8:08 pmGolden light from 7:31 pm	Sunset 6:55 pmGolden light from 6:22 pm	Sunset 6:18 pmGolden light from 5:44 pm	Sunset 4:47 pmGolden light from 4:09 pm
Seattle	Sunset 9:11 pmGolden light from 8:22 pm	Sunset 7:15 pmGolden light from 6:35 pm	Sunset 6:19 pmGolden light from 5:37 pm	Sunset 4:20 pmGolden light from 3:27 pm
Miami	Sunset 8:15 pmGolden light from 7:41 pm	Sunset 7:22 pmGolden light from 6:51 pm	Sunset 6:52 pmGolden light from 6:21 pm	Sunset 5:34 pmGolden light from 5:00 pm

Computed for each city center with the NOAA solar equations, local clock time with daylight saving where it applies, flat horizon. “Golden light from” is when the sun reaches 6 degrees. Hills, trees and buildings bring the shade earlier. Check your venue and date in the NOAA Solar Calculator, which NOAA says is accurate to within a minute between 72 degrees north and south.

Worked example, illustrative

Plan backward from sunset, no first look

6:14 PM
SunsetSaturday 17 October 2026 in New York.
5:37 PM
Sun at 6 degreesGolden light starts. Couple portraits run from about 5:35 to 6:05.
5:05 PM
Wedding party photosAbout 20 minutes, then a 10-minute buffer to walk to the portrait spot.
4:30 PM
Family formalsTen groups at 3 to 4 minutes each is roughly 35 minutes.
4:00 PM
Ceremony startsA 30-minute ceremony. Guests seated from about 3:35.

So a 4:00 PM ceremony fits that October Saturday, a little over two hours before sunset. On 20 June the same plan would start the ceremony around 6:15 PM. Family formal timing is from Joy; the rest is an example to adapt, not a rule.

05Block by block

How long each part of the day really takes

Use these ranges to sanity check every block in your timeline. The third column shows what the builder starts you with, so you can see where to stretch or trim.

10 to 14 h

A full wedding day, from getting ready to the send-off.

Source: Joy

3 to 4 min

Per group for family formal photos. Ten groups is close to 40 minutes.

Source: Joy

2 weeks

How far ahead every vendor should have the final timeline, at the latest.

Source: Joy

Block	Typical time	In the builder	Source
Whole wedding day	10 to 14 hours	10:00 AM to 9:15 PM	Joy
Getting ready	3 to 4 hours, longer with a big wedding party	Hair and makeup, 120 min	Joy
Hair and makeup per attendant	About 45 minutes per slot	Lengthen the block per person	Zola
Hair and makeup, the bride	About an hour for hair and an hour for makeup	Included in the 120 min block	Zola
Portraits across the day	2 to 3 hours in total	Photographer arrives 1:00 PM	Joy
Family formals	3 to 4 minutes per group	Add as its own event	Joy
Seating guests	At least 20 minutes before the start	Guests arrive, 30 min	Zola
Ceremony	20 to 60 minutes	Ceremony, 30 min	Joy
Speeches	30 to 45 minutes in total	Toasts and speeches, 20 min	Zola
Dinner	Around an hour	Dinner service, 90 min	Zola
Reception	4 to 5 hours	4:00 PM to 9:15 PM	Joy
Buffers	30 minutes at key transitions	Leave gaps between blocks	Joy

Checked October 2026: Joy, hour-by-hour wedding day timeline (July 2026) and Zola, How to Master Your Wedding Day Timeline.

Speeches run long

The starter day gives toasts 20 minutes. Zola suggests 30 to 45. With four or more speakers, stretch the block and tell each one their time limit.

Order of speeches

Cocktail hour is a buffer too

It covers the room flip and your photos. If photos need more than an hour, the cocktail hour grows with them, so plan food and drinks for that.

How long cocktail hour lasts

Dances need a plan

First dance, parent dances and the open floor all live in the reception. Decide the order before the DJ asks, then add each one as its own event.

Order of dances

06Two versions of the same day

First look or no first look: what it does to your timeline

This one decision moves more of the day than anything else. Here is the same October Saturday in New York planned both ways. Both are illustrative examples.

4:00 PM ceremony

No first look

1:00 PMPhotographer arrives, getting ready and detail shots
3:35 PMGuests take their seats
4:00 PMCeremony, the first time you see each other
4:30 PMFamily formals, then wedding party photos
5:35 PMCouple portraits in golden light
6:15 PMReception entrance. You missed most of cocktail hour

4:30 PM ceremony

With a first look

1:45 PMFirst look, then couple portraits
2:45 PMWedding party photos, then family formals
3:45 PMTuck away and reset, buffer
4:30 PMCeremony
5:00 PMYou join your own cocktail hour
5:35 PMA short golden hour walk, 15 to 20 minutes

Pros of a first look

Most photos are done before the ceremony, so you get to your own cocktail hour.
A calm, private moment before the crowd.
The ceremony can start later and closer to sunset.

Cons of a first look

You give up the first sight at the aisle, which some couples care about more than anything.
Getting ready has to finish earlier, so hair and makeup starts earlier.
Family has to be dressed and on site before the ceremony for formals.

To try it in the builder: move the photographer earlier, add a “First look” event in the Photos category, then push the ceremony back and watch the overlap warning. The wedding photo shot list helps you count the family groups before you set the formals block.

07Where timelines break

Buffers to add and mistakes to skip

Most wedding days run late in the same places: the hair chair, the walk from ceremony to photos, and the photos themselves. Plan the slack in, and the reception still starts on time.

Do

Add a 30-minute buffer at the big handoffs: after getting ready, between ceremony and reception, around golden hour.
Add 30 minutes to the hair and makeup estimate. Joy's advice is to always do this.
Put travel time between venues in as its own event, with the car or shuttle on it.
Write the family photo list with names and groups, so the photographer is not guessing.
Name one point person per block, so nobody has to find the couple to ask what is next.

Don't

List only start times. Every block needs a length, or nobody can see the squeeze.
Plan couple portraits at noon in full sun if you can move them to the evening.
Stack toasts, first dance and dinner with zero gaps. Five minutes between them is fine.
Assume the reception starts on time when the photos run long. Build that slack in.
Send a different version to every vendor. One master timeline, one source of truth.

The overlap warning

When one event ends after the next one starts, the builder flags both and shows a warning above the list. Fix it before you send anything.

Total time, not span

Total Time adds up every block's length. If it is much shorter than Day Starts to Day Ends, the difference is your open time and buffers.

Swap, don't retype

The arrows and drag and drop swap the start times of two events. Use them to try a different order without retyping times.

Buffer advice from Joy, checked October 2026. For a full day with the late-morning cascade worked out, see a wedding day timeline by the minute.

Every block on the timeline

Every moment of the day, in one album

Your photographer follows the schedule. Your guests catch everything in between. They scan one QR code and add photos and videos from the phone browser, no app and no account.

Point your camera

Scan to join the album

No app, no account

9:41

UPLOADING

Saving your moment

9:41

THE ALBUM

Emma & Daniel

June 21, 2026

647 photos · 95 guests

AllMomentsMine

★

Add photosShare your moments

08Send it out

Who gets the timeline, and what they need from it

Everyone works from one master timeline. Each person just reads different lines of it. Send the final version at least two weeks before the wedding, as Joy recommends, to every vendor and not only the coordinator.

Who	Lines they care about
Photographer and videographer	Arrival, first look, family formal list, golden hour window, sparkler or exit time
Officiant	Ceremony start, rehearsal time, processional order, when the license gets signed
Venue or day-of coordinator	The whole timeline, plus vendor load-in and load-out times
Caterer	Cocktail hour start, dinner service, cake cutting, when vendors eat
DJ or band	Entrance, first dance, toasts with speaker names, last dance, send-off
Hair and makeup	Start time, chair order, who needs to be ready by when
Transport	Pickup times, addresses, how long each leg takes
Wedding party and parents	Their own call times, photo groups they are in, any speech slot

What Copy Timeline gives you

WEDDING DAY TIMELINE
====================

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM  |  Hair and Makeup Begins (120 min)
1:00 PM - 1:30 PM  |  Photographer Arrives (30 min)
    Note: First look photos before ceremony
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM  |  Guests Arrive (30 min)
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM  |  Ceremony (30 min)
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM  |  Cocktail Hour (60 min)
    Note: Couple does portraits during this time
...
9:00 PM - 9:15 PM  |  Last Dance and Send-Off (15 min)

DAY OVERVIEW: 10:00 AM to 9:15 PM (9h 30m total)
TOTAL EVENTS: 12

The copy is plain text, so it pastes cleanly into an email, a shared document or a group chat. Notes ride along under each event, so put the phone number of the point person there. Add the emergency kit list to the same message for whoever runs the day.

First dance

You guys!!

Your timeline covers the day. Your guests cover the moments.

The photographer follows the schedule. Guests catch the getting-ready laughs, the table toasts and the last song. Give them one QR code and every photo lands in one shared album.

Start the album

From Mom

Point your camera

Scan to join the album

No app, no account

9:41

UPLOADING

Saving your moment

9:41

THE ALBUM

Emma & Daniel

June 21, 2026

647 photos · 95 guests

AllMomentsMine

★

Add photosShare your moments

SCAN TO TRY

pix.wedding/
your-wedding

09Watch a planner build one

A wedding day timeline, built step by step

Jamie Wolfer on YouTube

Build the best wedding day timeline

Wedding planner Jamie Wolfer walks through how she builds a wedding day timeline. Watch it with the builder open in another tab and put each block in as she covers it.

Watch on YouTube (15 min)

10More timeline help

Templates, methods and real examples

The builder is for making your own schedule. These guides cover the rest: finished templates to copy, the planning method and full worked days.

Wedding day timeline templates

Six finished schedules to copy: brunch, afternoon first look, evening, church plus venue, dusk and a full weekend.

How to plan a wedding timeline

The method behind a schedule: work backward from sunset, order your vendors, set the buffer rules.

A wedding day by the minute

One 4 pm ceremony from 6 am to 1 am, with what happens when the morning runs late.

Timelines by guest count

Schedules for 40, 117 and 200 guests, and the minutes each extra table adds.

The day before the wedding

Rehearsal, rehearsal dinner and an early night, mapped hour by hour.

Ceremony length Cocktail hour length Order of speeches Order of dances Photo shot list Wedding checklist Wedding countdown Wedding planning apps Wedding photo sharing

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Couple reviews

Rated 4.9 by couples who used Pix Wedding

4.9

out of 5 · Based on 289 reviews

Got married at a vineyard upstate. What surprised me most was how many videos we got. Our photographer doesn't even shoot video so now we have hours of our wedding to relive

Connor B. · Hudson Valley, NYVerified couple · September 2025

Did exactly what it said it would. no complaints

Sam O. · Providence, RIVerified couple · July 2025

Works great, no issues on the day. Only thing i'd change is i wish i could reorder the sub-albums after the fact without redoing them. Small thing. Would still recommend to anyone

Ethan P. · Madison, WIVerified couple · September 2025

Read all reviews

Timeline Help

Wedding Day Timeline FAQ

What couples ask while they build the schedule: ceremony times, sunset, buffers, first looks and how the builder works.

Start with the ceremony time, then work outward. Put getting ready before it, photos and the cocktail hour after it, then the reception blocks: entrance, first dance, toasts, dinner, cake and dancing. Give every block a length, add buffers at the handoffs and check sunset if you want golden hour photos. The free builder on this page starts you with a 12-event day that you can edit, reorder and copy.

There is no single right time. A church usually gives you a slot. For an outdoor ceremony, late afternoon gives softer light than midday. For a sunset ceremony, start about an hour before sunset if it runs 30 minutes, so the vows land in golden light. For an evening or indoor ceremony the sun stops mattering, so pick what suits the venue and dinner.

Count back from sunset. In our six-city table the sun reaches 6 degrees, where golden light starts, about 30 to 50 minutes before sunset. Without a first look you still need family formals and wedding party photos after the ceremony, so the ceremony usually starts around two hours before sunset. With a first look most photos are done earlier and it can start later. Check the exact sunset for your venue in the NOAA Solar Calculator.

Joy puts a full wedding day at 10 to 14 hours: 3 to 4 hours getting ready, 2 to 3 hours of portraits spread across the day, a 20 to 60 minute ceremony and a 4 to 5 hour reception. The builder's starter day runs from 10:00 AM to 9:15 PM.

It depends on the type. A UK register office ceremony takes about 10 to 15 minutes (Bridebook). A Catholic ceremony runs about 30 to 40 minutes without Mass and 45 minutes to an hour with Mass (WeddingWire). A Hindu ceremony usually takes around 90 minutes (Bridebook). The builder's starter ceremony is 30 minutes, and you can change it.

Joy recommends 30-minute buffers at key transitions and adding 30 minutes to the hair and makeup estimate. The risky handoffs are the end of getting ready, the move from ceremony to reception, and golden hour portraits. Leave a few minutes between reception moments like the first dance and toasts too.

At least two weeks before the wedding, according to Joy, and to every vendor, not only the coordinator. Send one master version so the photographer, caterer, DJ and officiant all work from the same times.

No. It runs in your browser and does not save between visits, so copy the timeline to your clipboard before you close the tab and paste it somewhere safe. Reset to Default Template brings back the 12-event starter day at any time.

It means one event ends after the next one starts. Both events get flagged in the list so you can see the clash. Move a start time or shorten a block until the warning goes away.

If you want to be at your own cocktail hour and get relaxed couple portraits, a first look makes the timeline easier because most photos happen before the ceremony. If seeing each other for the first time at the aisle matters more, skip it and plan for family formals and portraits right after the ceremony. Both work on paper. Section 06 on this page shows both days side by side.

Build your wedding day timeline, hour by hour

Add Event

Email me my wedding day timeline

How do you build a wedding day timeline that holds up?

Scan. Upload.Every hour, one album.

Emma & Daniel

A 2:30 PM ceremony, from first brush to last dance

Getting ready

Ceremony

Cocktail hour

Reception

What time should the ceremony start, and how long will it run?

Church or house of worship

Outdoor, daytime

Sunset ceremony

Evening or indoor

Plan the photos around golden hour

Plan backward from sunset, no first look

How long each part of the day really takes

Speeches run long

Cocktail hour is a buffer too

Dances need a plan

First look or no first look: what it does to your timeline

No first look

With a first look

Pros of a first look

Cons of a first look

Buffers to add and mistakes to skip

Do

Don't

The overlap warning

Total time, not span

Swap, don't retype

Every moment of the day, in one album

Saving your moment

Emma & Daniel

Who gets the timeline, and what they need from it

Your timeline covers the day. Your guests cover the moments.

Saving your moment

Emma & Daniel

A wedding day timeline, built step by step

Build the best wedding day timeline

Templates, methods and real examples

Wedding day timeline templates

How to plan a wedding timeline

A wedding day by the minute

Timelines by guest count

The day before the wedding

Explore more free wedding tools

Seating Chart Planner

Guest List Manager

Budget Allocator

Venues by State

Countdown Timer

Wedding Checklist

Bachelorette Party Games

Alternative to Wedding Guest Book

Rated 4.9 by couples who used Pix Wedding

Wedding Day Timeline FAQ

Scan. Upload.
Every hour, one album.