Loading Forever Farrah…
By Forever Farrah Published 2026-09-12, last updated 2026-10-19.
A realistic wedding day timeline for a 4pm ceremony from getting ready to send-off, plus how the key times shift for a 2pm, 3pm or 5pm start.
For a 4pm ceremony, start hair and makeup around 10am, be dressed by 2pm, and finish wedding party photos by 3:15 so you're out of sight when guests arrive. The ceremony runs 20 to 30 minutes, cocktail hour and family photos fill 4:30 to 5:30, guests are seated for dinner at 5:45, dancing opens around 8, and the night ends near 10:30. Every other start time follows the same shape, shifted.
| Time | What happens | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 | Hair and makeup begin | Ask your stylists how long each person takes, and schedule whoever needs least touch-up first |
| 12:30 | Lunch for everyone getting ready | The meal most often forgotten |
| 1:00 | Photographer arrives for details | Rings, dress, invitations, shoes |
| 1:45 | Getting dressed | |
| 2:15 | First look (optional) | Moves most portraits before the ceremony |
| 2:30 | Couple portraits, then wedding party photos | |
| 3:15 | Couple out of sight | Guests start arriving |
| 3:30 | Guests seated, prelude music | |
| 4:00 | Ceremony | 20–30 minutes for most non-religious ceremonies |
| 4:30 | Family photos, cocktail hour for guests | Have a written list of family groups |
| 5:30 | Couple joins cocktail hour or has a breather | |
| 5:45 | Guests seated for dinner | |
| 6:00 | Grand entrance and first dance | |
| 6:15 | Dinner | |
| 7:15 | Speeches | |
| 7:40 | Parent dances, cake cutting | |
| 8:00 | Dancing opens | |
| 10:15 | Last dance | |
| 10:30 | Send-off |
The reception half of this in more detail is in wedding reception order of events.
To build the same schedule for your own ceremony time, change the start time and durations here:
Build your wedding day timeline from the ceremony time
Everything before the ceremony moves with the start time. The biggest difference is how long the reception has to fill: an early ceremony leaves a long afternoon, and a late one makes dinner late.
| 2pm ceremony | 3pm ceremony | 4pm ceremony | 5pm ceremony | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hair and makeup begin | 8:00 | 9:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 |
| Wedding party photos done | 1:15 | 2:15 | 3:15 | 4:15 |
| Cocktail hour | 2:30–3:30 | 3:30–4:30 | 4:30–5:30 | 5:30–6:30 |
| Grand entrance | 4:00 | 5:00 | 6:00 | 7:00 |
| Dancing opens | 6:00 | 7:00 | 8:00 | 9:00 |
| Typical end | 9:00–10:00 | 10:00 | 10:30 | 11:00–midnight |
A 2pm ceremony often leaves a gap before dinner, or a reception that ends while guests still want to party. Either serve dinner earlier and end earlier, or plan an afternoon activity for the gap.
A 5pm ceremony pushes dinner toward 7pm. Make cocktail hour food substantial, because guests will be hungry. Each start time has its own hour-by-hour plan: 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 5pm and 6pm.
The timeline above has almost no slack. Real days run late, usually in three places: hair and makeup, family photos, and moving guests from the ceremony to the reception. Add 15 minutes after hair and makeup and 10 minutes after family photos, and don't schedule anything at the exact moment the ceremony is meant to end.
Around 10am for a small wedding party, earlier if many people are having both hair and makeup done. Work backwards from being dressed at about 2pm.
Usually about an hour and a half: a 30-minute ceremony, then an hour of cocktail hour and family photos, with guests seated for dinner around 5:45.
Most end between 10pm and 11pm, depending on the venue's curfew and how long you want dancing to run.
Loading Forever Farrah…