Timing Help please!

Our timings are (roughly) to be as follows:

11:30-11:45 guests and groom to arrive at church

12noon Bride to arrive/ceremony begin.

1pm Churh photos (we're only going to have a few here as the reception venue is a little more asthetically pleasing!!)

1:30-2pm travel from church to reception

2:15pm bride/groom arrive at reception

2:15-3:30pm welcome drinks and photos

3:30pm Wedding breakfast/speeches

7pm evening guests to arrive

Church ceremonies can vary depending on the type of church!! You'd be best to ask the minister or whoever is conducting your ceremony for a rough estimate.

We're getting married in a methodist church and their ceremonies are not nearly as long as a catholic church for example.

When I spoke to our minister he said around 45min to an hour depending on whether we choose to have hymns and how long they are.

Some people have already said that 12noon seems a little early for a wedding but I don't want it to be squashed up and the meal run into the evening etc as we have family with young children who won't want to be there too late!! But we're also getting married in October and it will be dark early and I want some photos in daylight!!

But I'd suggest you work out your timings before you send your invites you don't want to have to send everyone a note with different times etc further down the line!!

Hope that helps

Heli x

Our timing is:

2:30 - 3:15 - Ceremony

3:15 - 3:45 - Church/group photos

3:45 - 5:30 - Bridal party photos / guests on tour around city

5:30 - 6:30 - Cocktails/arrival

6:30 - 9:00 - Dinner and speeches

9:00 - 9:30 - Fireworks

9:30 - 10:00 - Dessert/Cake

10:00 - 11:30 - Dancing

Contact the vicar and ask how long the service is. You need to sit down with him and work out what you want and that will dictate how long it will take.

Then you'll want to have some photos at the church i guess and allow for travel to the venue. the other ladies have given some helpful advice on how long things take.

I think usually the timetable is dictated by the ceremony. It's nice that they're trying to be helpful and leave it to you,b ut i'm not sure how helpful that actually is. Make sure you speak to them.

I'd aim for a 1pm or 2pm service, but that's personal preference

These are our timings:

12:30 Church Ceremony (ceremony is 45 mins long and drive to venue is 30 mins)

2:15 - arrive at venue, welcome drinks and wedding party photos

4pm - breakfast and speeches

7:30 - evening guests arrive

8pm - cut the cake

8:15 - first dance

9pm - buffet

midnight - hometime!

Hope this helps! xx

The best person to speak to about this is your wedding photographer. They will be able to help you work out what is right for your day.

A church wedding is usually about 45 minutes, so phone the vicar and ask because he will know the length. Then phone the photographer and get them to go through it all with you. They will work out how much time is needed at the church for photos etc.

These are our times at the moment:

12:00 wedding photographer arrives

13:30 Groom arrives ready for ceremony

14:00 Ceremony

14:30 Welcome drinks reception

16:00 seated dinner in the forum

17:30 Speeches

19:30 Evening guest arrive

19:30 Evening entertainment

20:00 first dance & Cutting of the Cake

20:30 Evening Buffet

24:30 disco finish

24:30 Carriages

Hi Snowflake92,

Good timing plan would depend on a few different factors. Talking from a few years of experience as a wedding photographer I have seen many different waddings at different times and with various schedules.

If you reception and church say, they'll work around you, that's great. I believe they have organised many weddings in the past and I am sure they are more than happy to advise, just ask.

Personally I don't think it is a good idea to just copy somebody's timing. It is your big day and make it yours. Make it work for you and your guests.

Careful planning beforehand will let you enjoy your wedding day without stressing and rushing about.

It's just an advise not a guide ?:

Ceremony will start at 1pm. Good time as it's not too early and not too late. Guests may grab a quick lunch before they come, then they won't go grumpy waiting for a wedding breakfast. The Church ceremony usually takes about an hour, as it could differ from church to church, worth asking the vicar. Number of readings and how chatty the vicar is would probably affect the service time. The shortest wedding service I photographed was 45 minutes, the longest 1hour 10minutes.

You can plan your morning going backwards from the ceremony. You haven't mentioned in your post where you'r going to get ready. If it is the hotel then:

1.00pm-Ceremony

12.40pm-Leaving for church (It is usually best for the bride to arrive right on time or even 5 minutes late as often guests still arrive at a ceremony time. Don't be late too long, vicar may go mad ?). Also, consider the route and possible traffic problems.

12.15pm-Dad comes to see you for the first time on the day( great moment, often very emotional)

12.00pm-Getting into the dress (some dresses are not that easy to put on so it may take a few minutes ?)

11.00am-Flowers delivered

10.00am-Hair and make-up people to arrive (This would depend on your hair and make-up style and how long it will take, also number of bridesmaids and people to get ready with you in the morning. Hair and make-up people can easily confirm it for you, just ask them)

From groom's side:

12.30pm-Arriving at church with the boys (Vicar would like to speak to the groom before the ceremony. Also, it is nice for the arriving guests to be greeted by the groom and best men)

11.30am-Quite often groom, the boys and some guests go to a local pub for a cheeky pint or two before the ceremony. Not mandatory, but happens at most weddings ?

10.30am-Chilling and getting ready. It doesn't take long for the groom and boys to get ready.

After the ceremony timings:

2.00pm-Ceremony finishes

2.05pm-Confetti, some photos if requested, greetings. (Usually bride and groom will leave the church first. Even if you haven't plan a receiving line it will naturally happen. As you are standing outside the church guests will pass and talk to you. Depending on numbers it may take a while. Then confetti photo can be staged. If you would prefer not to have unplanned receiving line speak to the vicar and ask if you could leave the church last after all the guests. This also helps the guests to get ready with confetti and you can expect a nice blast of it as you get out. I have seen both options happening and both work well if planned and expected. Remember to confirm confetti rules at church. Some of them don't like it and it must be thrown outside the gate. Having bio-gradable confetti may help.)

2.30pm-All to move to the venue.

3.00pm-Drinks reception, canapés if ordered, formal photos if requested, bride and groom photoshoot if you fancy it. (Your photographer's advice would come in handy here. Depending on your photographer's style of shooting and planning it could take anything from 20 to 90 minutes. If the list of formal photographs is quite long with 'all guests' photo it may take a few minutes to complete the task. Drinks reception gives a great opportunity to just relax, grab a drink and talk to people. My recommendation is don't be tempted to have too many formal pictures as it would be boring and exhausting for all concerned.)

4.00pm-Wedding breakfast. (Three course meal for approx. 80 guests usually takes about 90 minutes. It depends on numbers and speed of food service at the venue. They can advise)

5.30pm-Speeches. (It can also take place before the wedding breakfast. From experience I know it works better after the meal. Guests had some drinks, they just been fed and atmosphere in general is a lot more relaxed)

Plan for the rest of the evening could vary. At some venues things are happening at one place so the room has to be vacated for a changeover. Bigger venues may have separate room for the evening.

Let's say:

6.00pm-All to vacate the room for evening changeover

6.30pm-Band/DJ to set up (ask them for timescale they need to set up)

7.00pm-Evening guests arrive

7.30pm-Evening starts

8.00pm-Cutting of the cake (if your cake is near dancefloor it will help to gather people to witness your first dance too. You might like to cut the cake in the day but evening guests won't get a chance to see you doing it)

8.05pm-First dance

8.10pm onwards- Awesome fun and shapes throwing!!!

All above is just an example and as I said earlier make it yours to suit you. Try to speak to all suppliers you are using and check with them what they need in terms of times. Don't plan all key events too tight as you might end up stressing out. There are quite a few things to think about but once well planned it will only make your big day better.

I photograph weddings in an unobtrusive, documentary way. No posing, prompting, staging or anything like that. Just honest storytelling photos that capture all emotions and atmosphere of the day. Formal photos and bride and groom photoshoot are always done with no fuss, not compromising the quality. It usually takes about 20-30 minutes form weddings day. Other than that there is no intervention from me at all. I carefully observe and aim to capture what's great weddings are about: love, joy, happiness, fun. It also lets bride, groom and the congregation relax and enjoy the day.
If you are having a formal type of photographer where many photos are staged and posed it might take some time of the day to do so. For example: he/her may stop you and dad in the car for couple of minutes to get a shot then pose you in church arch for another photo etc.
There are many creative, amazing photographers out there that would for sure create mouth-wattering set of wedding photos but this often takes time and you might end up having a one big photoshoot not a wedding to enjoy.

Every vendor has their ways of working that's why it is worth talking to them to confirm times and get some more details.

I have seen some disorganised weddings with badly planed times. You don't want it on your wedding day ?

Hope it helps, would you have any questions or if i could help more, just shout.

All the best!

Thank you all for your help and advice. My intention was never to copy someone's timings because I'm aware all weddings are different ect. I just needed to see ideas. I'll be getting ready at my partners house as that's where I'll be staying the night before. It's about 10 minutes from the church if that...

? I'll call the vicar and the hotel try and figure everything out.

Thanks again xx