Beyond Evermore
The Wedding Day Timeline Builder
Enter your ceremony time and a few choices to get an hour-by-hour schedule for the day, from hair and makeup to the last dance.
Your Wedding Day Schedule
Change any answer and the timeline updates right away.
Your Timeline
From The Complete Collection
Keep your day-of schedule in your Notion planner
The timeline above is a starting draft. The Complete Collection includes a Day-Of Timeline in the Notion planning hub: a table sorted by time, with columns for duration, location, owner and notes, and a sample run-of-show you can edit into your own. It also includes editable invitation, signage and table-number templates in Canva, the QR Kit and the rest of the planning hub. It runs on the free plans of Canva and Notion. $129 once, no subscription.
How It Works
How the wedding day timeline builder works
A wedding day schedule is easiest to plan by starting with the one time that cannot move, your ceremony, and counting backward and forward from it. This builder takes your ceremony start time and a handful of choices, then lays out a sample day you can print, paste into a message to your wedding party, or hand to your planner and photographer.
The assumptions
Every number below is a planning estimate, not a rule. Your venue, vendors and family will know better than any calculator, so treat the result as a starting draft.
- Getting ready: the window you choose is counted back from when you plan to be dressed. Without a first look, that is one hour before the ceremony. With a first look, it is two and a half hours before, so there is room for photos.
- First look photos: 15 minutes for the first look, then 30 minutes each for couple portraits, wedding party photos and family formals.
- Guest arrival: guests start arriving 30 minutes before the ceremony.
- Without a first look: about 30 minutes of family formals and 30 minutes of couple and wedding party portraits are planned for the cocktail hour. The builder warns you if your cocktail hour is shorter than that.
- Different venues: 30 minutes of travel are added between the ceremony and the cocktail hour. Check the real drive time for your two locations.
- Reception: a 15-minute entrance and first dance, a 10-minute welcome toast, dinner, 20 minutes of toasts, a 10-minute cake cutting, then open dancing until the last 15 minutes, which are kept for a last dance and send-off.
Common questions
How long should a wedding ceremony be?
The builder offers 20, 30, 45 or 60 minutes. A short ceremony with vows and a ring exchange often fits in 20 to 30 minutes, while a ceremony with readings, music or a religious service can run longer. Ask your officiant for their typical length.
Should we do a first look?
It is a personal choice. A first look moves most photos before the ceremony, which frees up the cocktail hour so you can spend it with your guests. Skipping it keeps the first moment for the aisle but means photos happen after the ceremony. Try both settings above and compare the two schedules.
How long should the cocktail hour be?
The builder offers 45, 60 or 90 minutes. If you are not doing a first look, a longer cocktail hour leaves room for the photos you still need.
What if my schedule shows a warning?
A warning means the choices do not fit together, for example an end time that leaves little or no time for dancing. The message tells you what to change, such as an earlier ceremony, a shorter dinner or a later end time.
Is my information saved?
No. The timeline is calculated in your browser and nothing you enter is sent to us.
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