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The Ultimate Wedding Day Timeline for 6pm Ceremony
This post is all about the best Wedding Day Timeline for 6pm Ceremony
Planning the perfect wedding timeline is crucial for making sure your special day runs seamlessly, particularly if your events don’t start until the evening.
And whilst a 6pm ceremony brings the unique charm of a romantic sunset ceremony, a lively night of activities and even a wedding morning lie in, it can be quite stressful trying to make sure you have enough time to fit everything in. As well as juggling all the other wedding planning.
But don’t worry we’ve got you! We’ve curated the ultimate wedding day timeline for your 6pm ceremony.
This well-planned wedding day timeline will guide you through every part of your day, to make sure its as elegant and seamless as possible! Whether you’re having a first look, no first look, sit down dinner or buffet we’ve got you covered.
Plus we know that things don’t always go to plan when it comes to weddings, so we’ve included some tips at the end on what to do if there are any delays to your wedding day timeline!
So let’s delve into the perfect timeline!
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The Ultimate Wedding Day Timeline for 6pm Ceremony
Getting Ready Timeline
12:00 PM – 12:30 PM:
– Start your afternoon with a light lunch and some refreshments. Make sure you remember to eat and stay hydrated!
Also don’t introduce any new foods that you don’t typically eat. The last thing you want is for your stomach to not agree with what you’ve eaten?
– Put some chilled, upbeat tunes on to get everyone in the mood for your big day.
12:30 PM – 3:30 PM:
– Hair and makeup starts for you and your bridal party. 3 Hours should be enough for 3-4 people. If you have a different stylist for hair and makeup. If you have a larger bridal party – consider starting this earlier. It’s never too early to start! Your makeup artists will know best.
– The groom and groomsmen suited and booted.
– Once hair and makeup is done – you and your bridesmaids get into your dresses.
– Also if you’ve got a photographer and videographer, this is a great opportunity for them to capture the get ready photos in the bridal suite.
Pre-Ceremony Photos
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM:
– Have your first look. Take Pre-wedding photos. (If you’re not having a first look, you can skip this part.
Use the extra hour for getting ready or have an extra hour to chill and take photos with your wedding party members).
– If preferred the immediate family portraits can also be taken at this point.
– Factor in travel time – if you are not getting ready at the wedding venue – how long do you need to get there.
Pre-Ceremony Refreshments
5:00 PM – 5:30 PM:
– Your guests start to arrive at your wedding venue
– Pre-ceremony drinks and mingling starts to happen. This is a good opportunity to put on a chilled, happy wedding playlist.
– Groomsmen or family member start to distribute your wedding programs or ceremony booklets.
– Bride and Groom final touch ups.
Seating and Prelude Music
5:30 PM – 6:00 PM:
– Pre ceremony music starts to play, and guests are ushered to their seats.
– The ushers or groomsmen assist guests where needed.
Wedding Ceremony Timeline
6:00 PM – 6:30 PM:
– The ceremony procession starts with whoever is walking up the aisle before you e.g. groom, bridesmaids, mother of bride etc.
– Then its time for you to make your grand entrance.
– Vows and Rings exchanged.
-Readings or special rituals.
– The pronouncement of marriage.
– Then you and your groom walk back down the aisle in celebration.
Cocktail Hour Timeline
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM:
– Guests ushered into the cocktail hour space after your wedding ceremony. Ushers and bridesmaids could help assist with this.
– Join your guests for part of your cocktail hour. We recommend you get the time to enjoy this part of the day as its such an exciting part and the photos can wait! Enjoy some cocktails and appetizers with your new husband and close friends!
– Once you’ve enjoyed part of your cocktail hour, this is time for you and your now husband, friends and family to start take wedding photos!
Wedding Reception Entrance
7:45 PM – 8:15 PM:
(We’ve left an extra 15 minutes here just in case the photos over-run – some buffer time)
– If your cocktail hour space and wedding reception space are in different locations – guests are ushered into the wedding reception area.
– This is where you can have your grand entrance as the new happy couple! Get your bridal party involved if you like.
– Then it’s time for toasts and speeches. Also make sure you have a pre-determined order for your speeches (if you’ve got multiple speakers).
Dinner Timeline
8:30 PM – 10:00 PM:
– Again we have left a buffer of 15 minutes for the toasts as its likely these will over-run (hopefully because of all the cheering and laughing).
– Dinner service begins – whether its buffet, set menu or stations. If you’re having a buffet, get your wedding planner or coordinator to organise tables to get food one at a time. So you don’t have a whole crowd of guests queuing up for food at the same time.
– Cut the wedding cake (if there is one).
Dancing and Party Timeline
10:00 PM – Finish
– Bride and groom first dance and then any other dances you want to have e.g. father-daughter dance, mother-son dance etc.
– Then Open your dance floor for all your guests. Choose a classic party tune to get everyone on the dancefloor.
– DJ or live band plays a variety of music.
– Bouquet Toss or garter toss (if having).
– Time to bring out the Late night snacks – your guests will likely be hungry again after all the dancing.
– Get your photographer to get the candid shots with your family and friends. These are photos you will cherish forever.
Final Moments of the Wedding Night
30 Minutes before Finish
– Have your last dance or private last dance.
– Say a big farewell and thank you to all your guests for coming.
– Then to finish the night with a grand exit, with a confetti or sparkler send off.
Finally
I hope this article was useful in helping you create the perfect wedding timeline for 6pm Ceremony.
By thoughtfully considering each element of the evening, you’ve created a wedding that not only reflects your unique love story but also allows your guests to share in the magic of the moment.
Finally, as the night comes to an end, you can look back on a day that was everything you dreamed it would be!
How to Handle Delays to your Wedding Timeline
Dealing with delays on your wedding day can be stressful, but its also quite common!
However, with some flexibility and quick thinking, you can keep your day on track. So here’s some tips on how to handle a delayed wedding timeline:
1. Stay Calm and assess the situation
Take a pause to understand the reason and extent of the delay. By figuring out how much time you’ve lost is a great starting point for deciding what to do next.
2. Communicate with Key Wedding Vendors
If you’ve hired a wedding planner, inform them of the day, they will know how best to handle the situation, as they’ve done a lot of weddings. If not you’ll need to make sure that you let all your vendors know about the delay.
Moreover, it’s not their first time doing this, they may have suggestions on how to amend the timeline.
3. Reprioritize Events
Think about whether any parts of your wedding day can be cut short or combined? For example could you reduce your cocktail hour? Or could you move some of your group photos to later in the day?
Do you really need 2 hours of photography for family shots? What is a priority and what can be compromised on.
4. Prep for Buffer Time
If your wedding day timeline includes a buffer time between this events, you could use this to make up lost time instead of cutting or reducing important moments.
If you haven’t created your wedding day timeline yet, and can foresee some delays, I would recommend adding 15 minute buffers to certain areas of your wedding e.g cocktail hour or dinner reception.
We actually find that a longer cocktail hour works better (you don’t just have to keep to the hour). Wedding day you will thank you for that extra time (so will your vendors).
5. Communicate with your Guests
Make sure your guests are informed of any significant changes to the schedule, like delayed ceremony start time. This could be communicated via your wedding planner, ushers, groomsmen etc.
6. Focus on the Bigger Picture
Remember the whole reason you are here! The most important thing is that you’re getting married. If something small has to be cut or altered, it’s not the end of the world. Your day will still be one to remember!
