Day of Wedding Timeline For a DIY Wedding

If you’re planning a traditional wedding at a hotel or banquet hall, your timeline will look something like this:

Hair and makeup
First look photos and portraits
Wedding ceremony
Cocktail hour
Grand entrance into reception
Dinner, dancing and cake
Grand exit

But what if your wedding isn’t at a traditional venue? And what if you haven’t hired a lot of traditional vendors? Maybe you’ve got a bunch of DIY projects to set up. Does someone need to pick up the cake? And what time should you start doing your makeup? If you’re doing DIY for your wedding, you’ll need to set up a schedule that fits everything in - and still leaves you time to get married!

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What Goes On Your DIY Wedding Day Timeline?

When you start making a timeline for your DIY wedding, some of the timing will be flexible, but some of the events have to happen at a certain time. Start by filling in the times that are already set:

What time are your guests invited?
What time does the ceremony start and end?
What time does the reception start?
What time is your grand exit?
Do you have hair and makeup appointments already booked?
What time is your photographer arriving?

Photography Timeline For Your Wedding

If you’ve hired a professional photographer, you’ll need to check with them before you set your wedding day schedule. Depending on the package or service you’ve booked, they’ll need to arrive at a certain time. And you, your partner and your bridal party will need to spend a few hours with them throughout the day.

Check with your photographer to see if they have a schedule they normally use in order to get all their shots. Then add it into your own timeline. If you’re doing photos at another location, remember to include travel time.

Typically, you’ll need to schedule extra time for:

Getting ready with the bride photos
Getting ready with the groom photos
First look photos
Group photos
Family photos
Bridal party photos
Couple portraits

Confirm Vendor Arrival Times

As well as your photographer, check in with your vendors a week or two before your wedding day. Confirm their arrival time and add them to your wedding day timeline.

Ceremony officiant
Caterer
Baker
Rentals
DJ

Schedule Your DIY Wedding Projects

Next, block out times for your DIY projects. If you’ve got a lot to do, make a week of wedding timeline that includes all your projects. Try to do all the decorating at least one day ahead of time.

Write the name of the person who it doing it. Even if it’s you, write down your own name. This will help you to see if anyone gets overbooked.
Write down start times and end times for every project or event.
Remember to include delivery times - how will your items get to the venues?

DIY Wedding Bouquets and Boutonniere

If you’re making your bouquets and boutonniere from artificial flowers, you can make them well ahead of time. All you’ll need to do is make sure they get to your getting ready locations before the ceremony. If you’re doing DIY with fresh flowers, schedule some time a day or two before the wedding.

DIY Decor at Your Wedding Ceremony

If you don’t have a florist, you’ll need to make sure someone sets up the altar and aisle decorations before your ceremony. Check with your ceremony venue to see how early you can start. If you can get in the night before it’ll make your wedding day easier.

What time can you start setting up?
Is your bridal party available to help you?
Is there an onsite coordinator who can help?
Can you streamline the decor so it’s easier to set up?

DIY Wedding Reception Centerpieces

If you don’t have a florist, you’ll need someone to set up the centerpieces for you. Depending on the number of tables, this could take at least an hour or two. Try to avoid doing it on your wedding day. Can you set them up the day before? Or is there a coordinator at the venue who is willing to set them up?

DIY Wedding Favors For Your Guests

Once you’ve made your wedding favors, they need to get to the venue. Make sure you have someone who is bringing all the items to your venue and either setting them up, or delivering them to the coordinator.

Will they be at each place setting? Or set up at the exit?
Who is setting them out?
Can your caterer or food servers handle them?

DIY Seating Chart, Escort Cards and Table Numbers

Your seating chart, escort card display and table numbers are fun DIY projects. Once they’re ready, make sure they can be delivered to the venue and set up.

Review Your Wedding Day Timeline

Once you’ve outline your day of wedding timeline, go over each item and double check:

Does it make sense?
Have you booked anyone to be in more than one place?
Is there enough travel time to get to each location?
How many times is your own name written down?
Is there time for you to do all the things you’ve assigned yourself?
Can you move some tasks from yourself to your bridal party?
Have you asked all the people on your timeline?

If You Have Too Much on Your Day of Wedding Timeline

Start your timeline over again, but this time make it a Week of Wedding Timeline. And move as many things as you can to the days leading up to your wedding.

Consider hiring a Day of Wedding Coordinator. If you can fit one into your budget, they can help you with everything from setting up your timeline to making sure everyone sticks to it. Read more about how a coordinator can help with your DIY wedding: What Does a Day of Wedding Coordinator Do?

Save Time on Your Wedding Day

If you’ve got too much on the day of your wedding, try to get more done in the days leading up to your wedding day. Check your contract or call your venues to see how early you can start decorating. If your bridal party can’t get everything done, ask close friends or relatives to help. Maybe an uncle or a cousin could help by picking things up for you. Ask some of your friends to come early and help decorate.

Can you decorate the ceremony space the day before?
Can you set up the centerpieces and favors the day before?
Instead of picking things up, can you get them delivered?
Is there anyone else you can ask to pick things up for you?

Double Check Your Budget

By now you’ve probably spent every single penny that you could on your wedding. But if you’re crunched for time, maybe you can come up with a few dollars in order to make your day go more smoothly. If you’re making a lot of the things yourself, is it too late to order them?

Instead of baking a cake from scratch, ask someone to pick up a plain white cake from your grocery store or bakery. You can decorate it quickly and easily and still stay on budget - and on time!
Instead of making all your bouquets and boutonniere, check your local grocery store or big box store. Many of them have florists where you can order inexpensive bouquets ready made. Some of them will even deliver to your wedding.

Share Your Wedding Day Timeline

Your bridal party, family and friends will all be happy to help with your wedding. But they don’t know what you need unless you ask. Make sure to talk to everyone ahead of time. Say exactly what you need and give them a copy of the timeline. Confirm their arrival times and make sure they’ll be able to show up for the items you’ve requested.

A Celebration to Remember

Once you’ve done your timeline and confirmed everyone who’s helping you, you can stop worrying. You have to trust that the people you’ve asked are going to do their best. As long as they show up and support you on your wedding day, it’s ok if everything’s not a hundred percent.

With a DIY wedding, lots can go wrong. But lots can go right, too. Maybe the flowers won’t be perfect, but knowing that your sister took the time to arrange them for you will make them the prettiest things you’ve ever seen. If you’re doing a DIY wedding, lots of people are going to help in big ways and small ways. Having your family and friends show up for you this way is going to make your day even more meaningful.

Even if it’s not perfect, concentrate on all the things that are going right. As long as you get married, you can consider your wedding a great success. No matter what happens, at the end of they day, you’ll have a celebration to remember.

Wedding Planner Book

Just started planning a DIY wedding? The DIY Rustic Wedding Planner has everything you need to plan an affordable wedding. It has worksheets and checklists for all your wedding plans including choosing your venue, planning your menu, hiring vendors and more.