What time should each part of the wedding day start?
Enter the ceremony time and date, then adjust each duration. The planner works back from the ceremony for preparation and travel, forward for the rest of the day, and checks the couple portraits against golden hour and sunset.
How the tool works
Preparation, travel and the arrival buffer are counted backwards from the ceremony start. Confetti, group photos, couple portraits, travel, drinks, the wedding breakfast, speeches, the first dance and an evening buffer are counted forwards. Every duration is an editable example figure, so set each one to match your own day. A duration of 0 leaves that step out.
If you choose a place, the page estimates sunset and evening golden hour with the NOAA solar position method for a flat horizon, in UK clock time. It then says whether the couple portraits fall inside golden hour, before it, or after sunset. Turning on the first look moves the couple portraits to before the ceremony. Times past midnight are marked with +1 day.
Treat the result as a draft. Weddings run late, so build in slack, confirm travel times and share the final timeline with the venue and the couple. Cloud, hills and buildings will change the real light. Use the copy button to paste the timeline into an email.
Questions
How long should couple portraits take?
There is no fixed rule. The page starts with 30 minutes as an example. Change it to suit the couple, the venue and how much of the day you want to spend on them.
Is the sunset time exact?
No. It is an estimate for a flat horizon using the NOAA method. Hills, buildings and trees can make the sun disappear earlier, and cloud changes the light.
What does the first look toggle do?
It adds a first look and moves the couple portraits to before the ceremony. The portraits are then no longer in the after-ceremony part of the timeline, and the light check uses the new time.
More photography tools: Wedding group photo planner, Wedding venue light check, Golden hour and blue hour calculator