Your ceremony start time is the pinnacle around which you will build the rest of your wedding day timeline. Time will feel like it is flying by on your wedding day, this means it is incredibly important to get the timeline right! Don’t worry we are here to help. No two couples and no two weddings are the same. Although you will find ceremonies typically start within the same time window, they are specific to each couple and a lot of thought goes into determining what yours will be. Ceremony time is dependent on a number of factors that are specific to you and your special day.

Sunset time is specific and will be different for every wedding. It is based on the time of year and location. Our first words of advice are to look up the EXACT date and location of your wedding day to determine sunset time. This will be a key component in developing your timeline. The biggest factor sunset time affects is lighting for photos. It will be important both if you want to include sunset photos as well as to ensure there is enough daylight after the ceremony for the wedding party and family portraits.

A first look is a private, intimate moment a bride and groom share with each other BEFORE the ceremony. It gets the initial jitters out and allows time for JUST the two of you to spend a moment together before the day begins. Doing a first look this will affect your ceremony start time for a few reasons. Primarily it will determine how much time you will need after the ceremony to get all the necessary photos together, with family and wedding party! If you do a first look you can check a lot off the list before the ceremony.

Will your wedding be indoors or outdoors!? If your event will be indoors then factors such as sunset time will not be as important to factor in. however, if the majority of the day will be outdoors (as it typically is in Hawaii) you need to consider sunlight.

Your wedding venue will likely have some rules and regulations to follow so this may affect when you start the ceremony. Typically your venue rental will not be “by the day” and there will have specific set up and break down times for your vendors. Consider the time frame of your rental for the space and take this into account along with the extensiveness of your set up when choosing the ceremony time (which the rest of the timeline is built around).

Every Ceremony is different and will vary in length. Some may be as short as 10 minutes or for more religious ceremonies they may last up to 1.5 hours. It will be completely dependent on the denomination of the ceremony and the types of traditions you choose to include ( ex. sand ceremony, wine ceremony, lei exchanges, etc.). It is important to take this into account when choosing the start time as you want to be able to fit in all the elements of the day that follow that require sunlight.

This one is very important. Review your wedding day priorities — is it the photos? The food? The flow? music and dancing? Relaxing and mingling? etc… Be sure to revisit these priorities throughout the planning process and especially when creating your timeline (which is centered around your ceremony start time). You want to ensure you build your timeline to make these wedding day “must haves” a priority!

Formal family photos are a must at every wedding. They usually take place right after the ceremony. If you have a big family and want lots of different photo combinations this could take up a good chunk of time. You don’t want to cut into your cocktail hour or sunlight time. Be sure to consider family photos before setting your ceremony time.

Food and the type of food service can directly affect the flow of your special day. Are you serving a multi-course plated meal (which will take more time)? a buffet that can start at any time? Only cocktail pups and action stations? Are you okay dining once the sun goes down? The type of food you choose for your wedding will directly affect the timeline for the evening and program. In turn, it can help you determine what time of day you say I do!

When do you want to start getting ready? How much time will it take? This is important to determine how much time you will need BEFORE the ceremony starts. Here you will want to consider hair and makeup (how extensive/how many people), pre-ceremony photos, travel time to the venue (if not already there), if you are doing a first look, etc.

The age and personality of the guests you invite are something to consider when building out your wedding day timeline. Is this more of a family affair with children? Or mostly friends who want to stay up all night dancing? If your crowd is more likely to leave early you don’t want them to miss important parts of your special day. Knowing your crowd will help you determine if late afternoon or an earlier ceremony time will be better for your special day.

Taking all of these factors into consideration before setting your ceremony time will be key to keeping your timeline in line with your wedding day priorities. Time on your wedding day is precious and we want to make sure it is well spent. Now that you have been able to establish a start time you can work backward from there to create the full wedding day timeline!

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