Catering Tips: Wedding Day Timeline

One of the most important and useful pieces of information you can provide your wedding vendors is a timeline or schedule of events for your wedding day. This document should expand beyond the basics of the ceremony and reception to include the timing of vendor arrivals and preparation events through break-down and clean-up activities. The more detailed you can make the timeline, the better prepared everyone will be to stay in sync with each other and keep your wedding running smoothly.

From a catering perspective, knowing in advance that the salads will be served at 6:00, before the speeches, followed by the first course at 6:30, is vital to ensure the food you ordered is served to you and your guests at its highest possible quality. If you are going to have pictures taken during cocktail hour, be realistic about how long it will take. This will influence how many pieces of hors d'oeuvres are needed to keep your guests at optimal happiness until the time you have designated for dinner to be served.

If you have a wedding planner or day-of coordinator, this is likely to be a service that the company provides for you. If not, don't fret; it's not an overwhelming task! Read this Weddingbee Wiki with a sample timeline and events to consider for yours, and then use this comprehensive Google Doc template, written by industry experts Michelle Rago and Style Me Pretty, to develop your own schedule to send to your vendors. Be sure to distribute the schedule to your vendors before the wedding day to ensure ample time for them to review it and plan accordingly.

Wedding Day Schedule Template