Spring Wedding Day Timeline

Why Do I Need a Timeline?

One of the most common questions people ask me is, “What time should my wedding ceremony begin?” It often feels overwhelming to plan because, unless you routinely create wedding timelines, you just don’t know how much time is required for all of the things.. This is why I create a custom timeline for all of my couples based on their wedding day priorities, the time of year, whether or not they’re planning any first looks, size of the bridal party, how many family formal groupings they want in photos, etc.

But what if your photographer doesn’t offer this? Or what if you haven’t chosen a photographer yet, and you just need a ballpark idea when you’re booking your venue? How do you create the perfect timeline? If you’ve found yourself wondering about this, then keep reading because today I’m sharing Part Three in this Wedding Timelines series: Spring Wedding Day Timeline.

Spring Timeline

Before we jump into the actual sample spring wedding timeline, I do want to point out that I can’t create a sample timeline to encompass every situation you might possibly encounter on your wedding day. For example, in Charlotte on the first day of spring the sun sets an hour earlier than it does on the last day of spring. Other parts of the world will have even more variation. All off that plays a huge role in creating your wedding day timeline and needs to be taken into account.

Since we made our fictional couple in the Winter Timeline had a first look together as well as a father-daughter first look, we’ll change it up a little for the Spring Timeline and only do the father-daughter timeline. We’ll also pretend that there is a 2nd shooter and that the sun sets at 6:45pm. Final thing to note: the time your hair and makeup starts depends entirely on how many people will be having their hair and makeup done professionally. A bride, twelve bridesmaids, mother of the bride, and mother of the groom will obviously take far longer than a bride, maid of honor, mother of the bride, and mother of the groom. One is not better than the other, but definitely speak with your hair and makeup teams and create your timeline accordingly.

The Specifics

Photographers Arrive: 1:30pm

Photograph Bride and Groom Details: 1:45-2:45pm

Bride and Bridesmaids Hair and Makeup: Discuss with HMU

Groom and Groomsmen Arrive: By 2:00pm

Primary Photog with Bride and Bridesmaids Getting Ready, 2nd with Groom and Groomsmen Getting Ready: 2:45-3:15pm

Bride Puts on Dress: 3:15pm

Father-Daughter First Look: 3:30-3:45pm

Primary Photog with Bride/Immediate Family/Bridesmaids, 2nd with Groom/Immediate Family/Groomsmen: 3:45-4:30pm

Bridal Party Rest, Retouch: 4:30-5pm

Ceremony: 5-5:30 pm

Family Formals: 5:30-5:45

Full Bridal Party: 5:45-6pm

Bride and Groom Portraits: 6-6:20pm

Reception Entrance: 6:30pm

Dinner and Reception: 6:30-10:30pm

A solid timeline really is the key to a smooth, low-stress wedding day. The last thing you want is to spend one of the most important days of your life worrying about how to make the day work! I always use the sunset time to calculate the best time for the ceremony (based on how many portraits we’re trying to fit in afterwards) and then count backwards from there to set everything else. I hope this helps as you’re planning your spring weddings!