Wedding Day Itinerary: Schedule, Tips & Tricks

The schedule for your wedding day should be planned so that there are no long waits between events; at the same time, of course, you also want a relaxed atmosphere for your celebration. Accordingly, the wedding day shouldn’t be so packed that you and your guests have to rush from one event to the next. A mix of good planning, a little nonchalance, and a few built-in buffers would be perfect. How can you not only plan such a schedule but also pull it off? Our sample wedding schedules provide ideal guidelines for a personalized and well-timed wedding. Of course, there’s always a chance you’ll need to push back one or two items on the schedule, but we can already provide you with the foundation for an ideal schedule here:

What's on the program?

First, you should decide which parts of the program you actually want to include. Below is a list of various activities that might be part of your wedding day. Decide which ones you’d like to include and which ones you’d rather skip. Remember, it’s your wedding. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, so cross off anything you don’t like… Well, except for at least one type of wedding ceremony, maybe.
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• Getting Ready
• Civil wedding
• Church Wedding
• Agape
• Champagne Reception
• Wedding Ceremony
• Bride Kidnapping
• Photos with family, friends, and witnesses
• Group photos
• Cutting the Wedding Cake
• Wedding Couple Photo Shoot
• Speeches by the Parents and Witnesses
• Dinner Together
• Guest Contributions and Games
• Opening Dance
• Party
• Midnight Interlude
• More party!

Examples of a Wedding Schedule

As avid readers of our Austria Wedding Blog articles, you already know: Every wedding can and should be personalized. That’s why our itineraries are just guidelines and can be freely adapted to suit your needs. Here are four different wedding itineraries—which one makes your heart skip a beat?

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1. The Classic Version

If you want to have a very traditional wedding, you’ll have a civil ceremony in the morning and a church ceremony in the afternoon. Yes, this is definitely the option that requires the most planning. But when the different parts of the day mesh together like little gears, the day won’t feel too packed—it’ll just be absolutely wonderful.

• 6:00 a.m. Get up, have breakfast
• 7:30 a.m. Getting ready, toasting with the best men, stylists, and others.
• 10:00 a.m. Wedding ceremony at the registry office
• 11:00 a.m. Off to lunch with my immediate family!
• 1:00 p.m. Get changed on site at the restaurant or at home; get ready
• 2:00 p.m. Church wedding ceremony
• 3:00 p.m. Reception in front of the church, agape, group photos
• 4:30 p.m. Coffee & wedding cake at the venue
• 5:00 p.m. Couple's photo shoot
• 7:30 p.m. Dinner
• 9:00 p.m. Opening dance, performances, wedding speeches, music
• 12:00 a.m. Midnight snack, DJ

As you can see, the schedule for a wedding where absolutely everything—the civil ceremony, the church ceremony, the photo shoot, and so on—takes place in a single day is tightly packed. However, you can make the planning process less stressful by choosing a venue where you can have lunch right there and get ready for the afternoon on-site (in a room you’ve reserved in advance). If the wedding schedule still feels too hectic, you might want to consider scheduling the photo shoot for the day before the wedding .

2. Schedule with Afternoon Activities

If the church or non-religious wedding ceremony takes place around 1:00 p.m. and lasts about an hour, there’s still plenty of time left for cake and coffee. Maybe even too much time? To keep boredom at bay and ensure the kids in the wedding party are entertained, there are several activities you can incorporate into your schedule. From shisha lounges to a museum visit to mini-golf—in our blog post on this topic, you’ll find a wide variety of activities for the wedding afternoon. A schedule that includes afternoon entertainment might look something like this:

• 8:30 a.m. Get up, breakfast
• 10:00 a.m. Getting ready, toasting with the best man, stylist, and others.
• 12:30 p.m. Civil or religious wedding ceremony
• 1:30 p.m. Welcome in front of the church, refreshments, group photos
• 2:30 p.m. Coffee and cake at the venue
• 4:00 p.m. Couple's Photo Shoot
• 5:00 p.m. Activities to bridge the gap between late afternoon and dinner
• 7:30 p.m. Dinner
• 9:00 p.m. Opening dance, performances, wedding speeches, music
• 12:00 a.m. Midnight snack, DJ

3. A relaxed schedule starting at 2:00 p.m.

If the wedding day doesn’t officially start until around 2:00 p.m., this is a very relaxed option for you as a couple. However, you should also keep in mind that while this makes for a leisurely day, it also means the day will naturally go by faster, since you’ll only have the afternoon and evening to celebrate.

With this wedding schedule, it definitely makes sense to skip the coffee reception and savor the relaxed atmosphere between the different parts of the program. Schedule #3 also leaves room for the occasional spontaneous activity—perhaps organized by your best man and maid of honor or your parents.
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• 9:00 a.m. Get up, breakfast
• 11:00 a.m. Getting ready, toasting with the best man, stylist, and others.
• 12:00 p.m. First Look, Couple Photo Shoot
• 2:30 p.m. Non-religious ceremony or church wedding
• 4:00 p.m. Reception in front of the church, agape, snack bar, or food truck with light snacks
• 5:00 p.m. Group photos, speeches, games, activities
• 7:00 p.m. Dinner
• 9:00 p.m. Opening dance, performances, wedding speeches, music
• 12:00 a.m. Midnight snack, DJ

4. A Relaxed Wedding with an Early End

If you’re planning a small wedding with 30 to 50 guests, this wedding schedule might be just right for you. The day’s itinerary is relaxed, and you’ll be gently guided through the day—punctuated by little highlights.

And who says a wedding has to end with a huge party? For some, the perfect wedding evening is more about gathering with close family for a lovely meal. These preferences can also be beautifully incorporated into Itinerary #4.

• 9:00 a.m. Get up, breakfast
• 10:30 a.m. Getting ready, toasting with the best man, stylist, and others.
• 12:00 p.m. Civil or independent wedding ceremony
• 2:30 p.m. Welcome in front of the registry office or at the venue; group photo
• 3:30 p.m. Coffee & cake, possibly a photo shoot
• 6:00 p.m. Arrival at the dinner venue
• 7:00 p.m. Dinner, speeches, a cozy get-together
• 10:00 p.m. Closing ceremony and farewell to the couple as they head off on their honeymoon

Wedding Schedule: The Specific Planning

To really get a handle on your wedding schedule, you should get comfortable with Dr. Excel. Yes, it’s not our favorite tool either, but a well-organized Excel file won’t distract you and provides the overview of your wedding schedule that you absolutely need. Here’s what to do:

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The times for the first items on the wedding program

Jot down the key times for your wedding. These are usually the ceremony time and dinner. Check! Based on these two times, you can now figure out the rest of the schedule. Estimate the travel time from your home to the wedding venue. Then consider how much time your getting-ready routine (and the photo shoot for it) will take. If you’re not sure, ask your stylist and photographer—they have plenty of experience and know roughly how much time they’ll need for your bridal hairstyle or daytime makeup. Now you’ve pinned down the key points before the ceremony. You’ve taken the first important step.

Austria Wedding Tip: Pin your starting point, the ceremony venue, and the final wedding venue on Google Maps—this will help you better estimate your travel times for each location.

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Set the time for the wedding ceremony

Next, let’s talk about the timing of the wedding ceremony: Ask your pastor, registrar, or wedding officiant how much time they plan to allocate for the ceremony. You can definitely rely on these experts’ experience. Again, be sure to factor in travel time: Will you be arriving with a chauffeur and not have to worry about parking, or will you be driving yourselves?

Once that’s settled, you can focus on the time following the wedding ceremony. Estimate how much time you’ll need for congratulatory remarks, the reception, and a group photo. These wedding program items might not seem like much at first, but it’s always better to have too much time for wedding congratulations than too little.

Austria Wedding Tip: Ideally, plan up to one and a half hours for congratulatory remarks, the reception, and the group photo.

Planning the time between Agape and dinner

You’ve already set the dinner time right at the beginning. Once the reception is over, you’ll usually have about three hours before you need to head to the evening venue with your wedding guests—unless everything is taking place at the same location. During this time, you can serve coffee, snacks, or even the wedding cake. As the bride and groom, you can also have your photo shoot during these hours. But it’s important to also plan parallel activities for your guests during the wedding afternoon (a kids’ obstacle course, a chill-out lounge, a museum visit, or a movie room with family videos, and much more). The afternoon can also be filled with the first performances and speeches.

Austria Wedding Tip: Allocating 2–3 hours for the afternoon might seem challenging at first. But with the right activities and a well-coordinated maid of honor or wedding planner by your side, your guests will enjoy a relaxing afternoon.

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The Schedule for Your Wedding Evening

Dinner is followed by the celebration, complete with music and wedding entertainment. To make sure you can give your band or evening entertainment the right time estimates, you should plan the dinner schedule carefully. Ask the chef at your wedding venue what they think about allowing an hour and a half for the meal. That’s usually a good guideline for a substantial wedding menu.

Austria Wedding Tip: As a general rule, one and a half hours is enough time for a sit-down meal. For a buffet, you should allow about one hour.
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Planning the Midnight Wedding Program

And the last task isn’t hard: Add an optional midnight snack and the handoff from the band to the DJ to your schedule. Once the midnight snack is served, you (or better yet, your maids of honor and best men) no longer need to worry about sticking to your wedding schedule. Because after that, all that’s left is the cozy finale to your brilliantly planned wedding!

Austria Wedding Tip: By midnight at the latest, throw your schedule out the window and just party without glancing at the clock! To make this happen, you can arrange in advance with your wedding vendor (or planner) for someone from the service crew to come over to you when it’s time to start wrapping things up. Discuss this with your DJ or band beforehand as well, so they can signal it’s time to wrap things up with some music.

Now that you’ve taken in all our tips, you’re in a better position to decide on a schedule for your wedding. Now all you need to do is consult your advisors (aka vendors, wedding planners, and witnesses) and consistently fill out that beloved Excel spreadsheet for your wedding schedule.

The Wedding Day Schedule Mood Board

The infamous Excel spreadsheet is important, even if it doesn’t look like much. But there’s a nice alternative to the spreadsheet that lets you visualize your wedding schedule. Pick up a sheet of A3 cardstock from a craft store, draw a timeline (i.e., a long line) on the cardstock, and you’re all set—each event gets a heart on the timeline.

For example: Getting Ready, Wedding Ceremony, Couple’s Photo Shoot, Reception, Coffee & Cake, Dinner, Music & Dancing.

Then you can fill your mood board with all kinds of wedding-related images. Choose the ones that best capture the vision for your own wedding. Once you’ve finished your creative project, you’ll have a wedding mood board that fully illustrates your entire wedding day and the corresponding schedule. And that’s not only beautiful, but also really helpful!
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Wedding planners know how to do it

The guide to wedding scheduling has surely helped you out a bit, but of course our list also shows that creating a wedding schedule isn’t always quite that simple. Especially if you’re planning a large wedding, it’s a good idea to work with a wedding planner. Planners simply know how things work right from the start.

By the way, many of our wedding planners also offer partial planning services—for example, they might only be involved in the planning and not in the execution of the wedding. There are many options—just check with the planner of your choice.

Okay, girls and boys—you’re now ready to plan the schedule for your wedding day. Have fun!