How To Create a Wedding Day Itinerary

So you’re engaged, you’re well into your wedding planning journey, your dream vendors are booked and you’re on a roll with finalizing the details of the day. GO YOU!!

All of sudden, your vendors and wedding party start asking you what the “plan” for the day is. Well, saying “I do”, of course, followed by dinner, drinks, and dancing. What more do these people need to know?

Unfortunately, it’s not quite that easy and there are many moving parts to a wedding day, especially if you happen to be planning a tented wedding. Because of this, you will have to create a more streamlined itinerary full of details for whoever might ask you!

Hey! I’m Lindsay, a Cambridge, Ontario-based wedding planner who has worked with dozens of couples to create their dream wedding days. Which means, you guessed it, I’ve created a TON of wedding day itineraries.

Let’s dive into some of my biggest tips for creating a great wedding day schedule.

This week, I asked my Instagram followers what they needed help with and the resounding answer was, you guessed it, Itineraries! Luckily, for you, I’ve got your back with some tips!

Work Backwards

I like to start with the ceremony and any other key events and work backward and forward from there! There are a few events throughout the day where the time shouldn’t waver, which makes those great starting places! Input your non-negotiables and then fill in the blanks around them.

Ask for input

If you don’t have a wedding planner or coordinator to help guide you, always ask your vendor team for their input! How much time is needed for getting ready? How much time is needed for certain photos? Are you doing a first look? When do cocktail hour and dinner start? It truly takes a village to pull off the perfect wedding day, so involve your team— They will be happy to help!

Create buffer time

When it comes to buffer time, always assume that something you think is going to take 5 minutes will take 30! Take into consideration travel (and not just travel by car). Even if you are hosting the entire day on the same property, you still need to get your entire wedding party to and from multiple areas. This can be quite the task when there are mimosas and washroom breaks involved. Some great places to create buffer time are:

At the end of hair and makeup— Save time for touch-ups. (Lean on your beauty team to help create your morning itinerary!)
Before the ceremony— You may need to use the washroom, rehydrate, or take a moment to yourself.
During your photos. Often photography is one of the biggest portions of your budget and you do not want to feel rushed here! Creating buffer time and allocating enough time for things like the first look, couple and wedding party photos, family photos and sunset photos is huge. (Don’t fret, your photographer will likely create your photo itinerary for you! )
At any point in the day where travel is involved. You never know when there is going to be an accident or unexpected traffic— always add about 15 minutes (or more) to the total travel time based on your locations. For example, I would add a ton more buffer time to a wedding being hosted downtown Toronto compared to a wedding in a smaller town.

Schedule vendor arrivals and deliveries

This, alone, is a great reason to hire a wedding coordinator. As your wedding manager, I typically arrive on site before all service providers and, therefore, become the point person for the day to direct and follow the discussed itinerary!

An example of things to consider when scheduling your arrivals and deliveries: What time are the florist and decorator arriving? Does one delivery need to happen before or after another? Perhaps your florist cannot arrive and commence their job until certain items are ready— Are linens on the tables? Has your arch been set up in the ceremony space?

Organizing the little details of the day can feel overwhelming, but it is necessary to ensure everything flows well.

Be flexible

Try not to time everything to the minute because, let’s be real, nothing ever runs on time! I love a relaxed itinerary that allows everyone to move through the events of the day without feeling rushed! Instead of timing each event to the minute, allot it to a block of time. This will allow the event activities to stay in order while including breathing room.

Again, there are pieces of your day that do need to stay on time ie. The ceremony, but blocks of time allow for a little less stress than if everything is scheduled right to the minute.

Remember

Your day is yours! Aside from your set times for ceremony, cocktails, and dinner, you can really schedule your day to include whatever you want. Feeling like you might be strapped for time? Check out my post on some traditions you can cut from the timeline!

And it you’re already feeling overwhelmed, let’s chat. It’s never a bad idea to have a pro on your side when you’re planning one of your most exciting days!

Considering a wedding coordinator for your big day? LQ Events is a Pearle Weddings Preferred wedding planning company based in the GTA who has helped close to 100 couples say I do! Visit my services to see which one might be the best fit!