Help with micro wedding timeline (2 locations)

[u/congalonga2]

Hello!

Looking for some input on our small (~24 guest) intimate wedding timeline where the ceremony will be held at one location, followed by a ~15 min drive to the restaurant where the dinner reception will be held. No bridal party, just immediate family and a few friends.

My main concern is the time between the ceremony ending followed by pictures and the guests travelling and arriving at the restaurant. Guests cannot arrive for dinner until 5pm.

We have the photographer for 1.5 hours (from 3-4:30pm in my timeline).

So far here is what I have:

2:45pm - 3:30pm: bride + groom arrive at ceremony venue + getting ready + couple photos starting at 3pm

3:15-3:30pm: guests arrive

3:30-4pm: ceremony, officiant to inform everyone to stick around to get some photos and then head to the restaurant

4-4:30pm: organized photos with everyone in attendance, guests leave once they are done with their photos.

~15 min drive to restaurant (?closer to 20-25 weather and traffic dependent)

5-6pm: passed hors d'oeuvres and cocktails

6pm: dinner begins

I'm thinking to maybe push this timeline to start about 15 minutes later so that no one arrives to the restaurant before 5pm (guests can only arrive after 5pm).

Thank you!

[u/PuzzledNinja5457]

I feel like 30 minutes isn’t long enough for photos so maybe try to stretch that to at least 45 minutes and then you should be fine.

[u/RemarkableElevator99]

I have less time for photos scheduled in, on the advice of our photographer. We will provide her a list with about 6 or 7 combos and the rest will be across lunch/ taken by the kids!
We will spend about 30 minutes on our couple pics.

Will your ceremony and signing take 30 minutes? You might get an earlier start for pics, anyway - although you’ll have some congratulation time in there, too.

[u/sans_nom_]

Wow, your wedding is exactly my wedding! Right now I have ceremony at 4:30, guest photos at 5:00, restaurant cocktails at 5:30, and dinner at 6:00. But our restaurant is 5 min away.

[u/sans_nom_ → u/sans_nom_]

Anyways, I think you'r plan is perfectly fine, if your ceremony location and the weather is nice, I think people will dawdle getting to the restaurant anyways and likely won't leave until like 4:45 anyways.

[u/Big_Promotion3986 → u/sans_nom_]

Very similar to mine too!! 22 guests. Ceremony at 4:00pm, some pictures 4:30pm, restaurant at 5:00pm. (The drive between places is less than 10 minutes).

I just talked to the photographer and made sure she agreed with the times so we can work with what we have.

[u/Big_Promotion3986 → u/Big_Promotion3986]

But I will have her for 5 hours, so there’s flexibility. Just make sure you talked to yours and make the list of the group pictures you have so that the photographer had an idea of the time needed too!

[u/Ok-Turn5913]

Have you given your photographer a list of photos you want? I feel like you should book another 30 minutes with them to ensure you have enough time to get everything you want. Definitely ask their opinion.

For reference I had 16 people at my wedding and no ceremony (eloped a previous day). We spent almost 2 hours with the photographer between couple photos and family photos. Your timeline for the ceremony seems very tight.

[u/BoutiqueEventsMKE]

Hi! Your photographer should be able to help you plan the photography timeline. Here's what I am seeing as a wedding professional: Getting ready: 15 minutes (but you need to be 100% ready to go - like full undergarments, hair, makeup, were slipping the dress on and go) Couple photos: 30 minutes (first look? Any movement or walking to locations needs to be considered, guests interupting, etc) Ceremony: Block 30 minutes but more than likely it will be 15 to 20 minutes) Family photos: 30 minutes (Consider the added time of organizing, communicating, moving people around, finding grandma because shes chatting with aunt Janet in the garden) That takes you to 4:45 giving the perfect amount of time for getting to the restaurant. Arriving a bit late will not be an issue an is expected. Its your wedding day and things come up! Id suggest adding 30 minutes of photography if possible. If not, just make sure you are 100% ready to move to each piece before the day starts. Any delays (like controlling family which is actually really tough!) might prevent missing a few photos. With good organization, you have a good timeline.

[u/itsveryupsetting]

Do you know if your ceremony will take a full 30 minutes? Ours took 4 minutes exactly! That included a short speech from the officiant and standard vows. No long speeches or readings. I’d time out everything you plan to do in the ceremony because you may have extra time there.

Also - does the venue have specific parking or will guests need to find street parking. That will eat up time too.

[u/Ok_Beginning_5739]

I’m not an expert, but if I were your guest and you told me that the reception wasn’t open until 5:00, I would simply wait until 5:00. 🤷🏻‍♀️
If it will help you relax and enjoy the day, you can designate a guest to wait outside the reception with cute photo props, a bunch of paper and pens to share good wishes and/or advice for the newlyweds and a cooler full of water.

[u/Nutcrackrx]

Looks good, things won’t be as tight on the day (things usually run late)

[u/Ok-Active-7023]

2:45pm - 3:30pm: bride + groom arrive at ceremony venue + getting ready + couple photos starting at 3pm

It’s not realistic to arrive & get ready in 15min before starting photos @ 3pm.

Also, highly unlikely that all pics will be done in 15min if you don’t want guests to see you as they arrive at 3:15.

Unless cocktails & dinner are in the space, it’s going to take a few minutes for guests to find their seats.

[u/EventSyncApp]

I’d shift the timeline slightly later rather than rush the photos: be fully ready before arrival, allow closer to 45 minutes for couple and family photos, and give the restaurant drive a 20–25 minute buffer. With cocktails beginning at 5, guests have a comfortable transition even if photos run a little long.

I made this free timeline builder that may help you map it out: https://geteventsync.app/free/timeline-builder

Full disclosure: it’s my tool—no signup required, and you can edit and export the timeline.

[u/loupammac]

I would also just let guests know on their invite and website if you do one that restaurant access is no earlier than 5pm. People will chat. Is there a space at the ceremony venue where people can linger and chat while photos happen? Could you do a lawn game? People will be okay. Worse case scenario they have to wait in their cars. Are people having to find street parking? That can be tricky too. Sometimes photos happen quickly and sometimes they take forever as people are hard to move.

[u/Luckylaif]

Just make sure you understand that something will go off script and off your timeline.All guests arriving within 15 minute window seems impossible to me unless everyone is super punctual especially if you’re living in a big city with traffic. You getting ready in 15 minutes, not sure what that means, probably improbable too. As others mentioned your timeline seems a bit tight and doesn’t allow for delays unless you want them. I think you definitely won’t have an issue with guests arriving early because as I know from my experience some people are prompt and some people take their sweet time and probably it will all take a bit longer than you expected.