Every bride dreams of a wedding day that feels calm, joy-filled, and effortless—but if you’ve ever talked to someone after their wedding, you know how easy it is for the day to fly by in a blur. The secret to feeling present isn’t cramming more into your schedule—it’s creating space for peace.

That’s where a thoughtful wedding day timeline comes in. Not the rigid, minute-by-minute kind that makes you feel trapped—but a realistic, flexible plan that helps everyone (you, your bridal party, your vendors) know what’s happening and when, so you can relax and actually soak it all in.

So today, I’m sharing 8 simple ways to make your wedding day run smoothly—so you can stop worrying about logistics and start being fully there for every moment that matters.

Before we do that though, here’s an important quick note: how your day runs (timeline wise) depends A LOT on how you want to look back and remember your day. Talk with your photographer to make sure time is built into the schedule to capture those moments. I love working with my brides and grooms to create custom timelines that capture the things we’ll talk about in this post because they’ve considered what’s important for their memories and what they’d like in their wedding album to relive these moments. What we’ll cover in this post are decisions that come up repeatedly when planning wedding days. 

Before you set the ceremony timing in stone, I recommend reaching out to your photographer for tips and advice. They’ll try to get as many portraits as possible done before the ceremony so that you can get to the party and enjoy your guests quicker after the ceremony. And if you want those dreamy sunset photos, they’ll help you time the ceremony with this too!

Figuring out the time for you to start getting ready will work backwards from your ceremony. If you haven’t got your ceremony time all figured out yet, no worries, you can still have a general idea of how the day will run and smooth out the finer details later.

Lastly, before we get into the tips, I want to remind you that you don’t have to do this all alone. Your wedding vendors understand that this is all new to you and they want to help you. Talk to your wedding planner (if you’re having one) and photographer — they’ve got expertise in these areas and will be more than happy to help you iron out the details!

1. Getting Ready

Getting pampered with hair and makeup is such a fun way to start the day, am-I-right? Bridal getting ready photos won’t need to start until about 5 minutes before your hair and makeup artist is finished and applying final touches. Most brides prefer this too, so they look as camera ready as possible!

• PRO TIP: At the same time, your bridesmaids, mom, mom-in-law to be, and anyone else getting ready with you should get their gowns on at this time so they’re ready to go for photos since they’ll be the ones helping you get into your gown.

2. It’s All in the Details

While you’re getting hair and makeup done, this is the perfect time for your photographer to photograph your bridal details. You put a lot of thought, time, and energy (months, if not your whole life) into planning and designing every little detail of your dream wedding day, from your save the dates and invitations to the sentimental pieces, like having a piece of grandpa’s favorite shirt sewn into your gown so he can be there with you on your wedding day. Us photographers understand how meaningful these details are to you and make sure you have photos to remember it all. You deserve to have keepsake memories of them.

• PRO tip: Put all the details in a box ready for the photographer when he/she arrives, along with your veil (if you’re wearing one) and gown ready nearby. Have all the tags for new items removed so it’s ready to go! Here’s a quick list of what’s in the detail box:
  • The full invitation suite and save the dates
  • ALL 3 rings
  • Bridal jewelry
  • Bridal shoes
  • Perfume
  • Sentimental details
  • Any extra details, like a velvet monogrammed ring box or customized hanger for your gown
  • Remember to have all tags removed

3. First Look

The first look is a special time where the bride and groom see each other before the ceremony and have a moment alone to pause and soak in all the emotions of the day, especially since the ceremony moves so quickly you’re on to the next thing before you can really enjoy and appreciate *the* moment. Typically, you’ll head to your First Look right after you’re finished getting ready, which means you get to spend a majority of the day with your best friend (y’know, that dreamy guy you’re getting married to!). It allows you to spend that special moment of seeing each other for the first time in private, and can actually enhance the aisle moment for both of you. If you haven’t decided on a First Look yet, that’s okay. I love to educate my clients on the benefits of a first look for them because there are a lot of benefits they didn’t realize. For instance, the First Look allows you to get portraits as bride and groom before the ceremony and as husband and wife during sunset portraits after the ceremony when you’re in a different head space. Armed with this knowledge, you can make an informed decision on what’s best for you.

• PRO tips: Scheduling portraits with your VIPs before the ceremony allows both you and your VIPs to get to the reception sooner!

4. Family Portraits

Reserve this time for immediate family. Create a list of your must have family portraits, and be sure to note any circumstances your photographer may need to be sensitive to. Send this list to your photographer at least a week or two before your wedding. It’s best to communicate what you need so you and your photographer are on the same page. 

• PRO tip: I recommend saving photos with extended family for during your reception. Get everyone together for the photo then get your photographer.

5. Skip the Receiving Line

To be honest, every bride I’ve talked to has dreaded their receiving line! At my best friend’s wedding, it took at least an hour to get through the receiving line and none of us in the wedding party knew it was even happening until it did! And that was before we started portraits! But by that time, my best friend felt stuck in the line and didn’t know how to gracefully get out of it. My advice? Skip the receiving line. You will be greeting and thanking your guests during the reception for coming to celebrate with you, so it’s okay for them to wait just a little bit longer to see you. This way, you get to your reception faster and you’re more present when you do get there. You may not get to every single guest and that’s okay too. Your guests know this day is about celebrating you and they want you to have a great time!

• PRO tip: Get into hiding! Have a planned meeting point away from guests to head to straight after receding down the aisle. 

6. Sunset Portraits

You’ll hear me talk about this quite often. The dreamiest light for photos is during golden hour: the last two hours before the sun sets. Even if you’ve had a First Look and did bride and groom portraits, this mini portrait session is a fantastic idea because you’ll be in a different state of mind than before the ceremony, and these are your first portraits as husband and wife. Depending on the timing of your ceremony and the sunset, you may be able to build this in right after your ceremony. Alternatively, it’ll give you a chance to sneak away to be (mostly) alone in the middle of your reception!

• PRO tip: Sneak away (for about 30 minutes) for some alone time after your ceremony for dreamy, romantic sunset photos as husband and wife!

7. Reception

Schedule your special dances for the beginning of your reception, right after you’re introduced. If you’re planning any special surprises that your guests don’t know about, let your photographer know in advance (they may need to make adjustments in their settings to prepare). This is your time to have fun and by now you’re ready to kick of your shoes and get on the dance floor!

• PRO tip: Your wedding day goes by in a flash and one thing I love recommending is for you and your (now!) husband to sneak away for a few minutes to just enjoy each other and soak in all that’s happening. You’ll be so thankful you did!

8. Work with your Wedding Planner and Photographer

I mean, you only have about a thousand things you’re planning and thinking about for your big day. No big deal, right? Your vendors are here to help! Talk with your planner (if you have one) and your photographer about scheduling for your wedding day and what’s important to you. This helps you take some stress off your plate, especially if there are things you’re uncertain about because there may be things you haven’t considered that your wedding planner and photographer are used to building into a schedule for you. I love working with my clients to create a custom timeline with them from the very beginning of our time together, so it’s one less thing for them to stress about.

• PRO tip: Build in cushion, including travel time for you and your guests if you’ll be at more than one location.

So there ya have it! Armed with these 8 tips for wedding scheduling, you are well on your way to your best day ever!

Okay friend, tell me: do you have a timeline for your wedding day yet? Are there any tricky questions I can help you with? Are you doing anything different with the flow of your day? I’d love to hear! Let me know in the comments below!