First, let me say that the perfect Catholic wedding timeline is the one where you’re most at ease on your wedding day. However, if I were to plan my wedding all over I’d probably go with something similar to what’s below. Contrary to popular belief, your Catholic wedding gap, the break between your ceremony and reception, is not a curse. It might just be the biggest win (besides stepping into a sacramental marriage) of your wedding day.
Perfect Catholic Wedding Timeline
8:00 am – Getting ready (could change depending on how many bridesmaids)
11:00 am – Light lunch while getting ready
12:00 pm – Dressed can do first looks with Father, Mother, Bridesmaids
12:15 pm – First look/first prayer
1:00 pm – Mass
2:15 pm – Family formals
2:45 pm – Alone time in the church
3:30 pm – Portrait time with wedding party
4:00 pm – Romantic portraits
4:30 pm – Cocktail hour (can attend or hideaway)
5:30 pm – Grand entrance
5:35 pm – First dance
5:45 pm – Dinner is served (family style)
6:30 pm – Toasts begin
6:45 pm – Parent dances
7:00 pm – Big dance floor photo to open dance floor
7:50 pm – Sneak away for sunset portraits
8:10 pm – Cake cutting
9:30 pm – Private last dance
9:45 pm – Grand exit
I would prioritize downtime to just be with the people I’ve invited to my wedding. I love a 1pm Mass time because it’s late enough to give you time for lunch beforehand!
Things that are important when choosing the perfect Catholic wedding timeline:
How far away is your church from everything else?
Is there a sentimental location you’d like to visit (first date location, cemetery, favorite date night, etc.)?
Do you want a big block for portraits or smaller portrait times throughout the day?
Do you have a large wedding where you’d like to spend more time talking to each guest?
The perfect Catholic wedding timeline is the result of your answers to the questions above.
What’s important to you on your wedding day?
My general guidance is to pick what’s important to you and build around that priority. It’s never a bad thing to build in extra time in the schedule either! Wedding days notoriously run behind, so if there’s more wiggle room in the day you’ll be able to accommodate when it takes longer to travel from your getting ready location to the church! If everything is on schedule, then you just get more time to enjoy your day and be with the most important people in your life.
The hour before your wedding might just be the fastest hour of your life. I recommend leaving this hour as free as possible because it will go by quickly, and it’s nice to not rush down the aisle because you’ve been stressed running from one thing to another for the last hour.
Family formals
Normally, these are the formal photos you take with your families after the ceremony at the altar. You can also move family formals to the reception, but sometimes it’s harder to round-up everyone in this informal setting. While this might be chaotic getting all of your family together, it’s important to take the time to do these. We’ll discuss the best way to organize your family right before your wedding, so this part of the day goes by smoothly!
One regret I have from my wedding day was running out of our church as soon as formals were done because I had been too stressed (lots of little kiddos to wrangle). I didn’t even look back. Now, I try to give my couples plenty of time together in the church to enjoy the place where you just got married! Whenever there are portrait blocks in this timeline, you can expect some gentle guidance from me followed by a few minutes where I step away to give you downtime with your brand new husband.
Common Wedding Traditions
Now, the part of the day is highly dependent on your personality and what traditions you want to include in your day! I’m going to highlight why I’ve picked this particular breakdown. In total, there’s about an hour for photos after family formals and such. For wedding parties between 4-10 people this tends to be a sweet spot for not spending too much time on photos, while also allowing enough time to get photos of the entire wedding party as well as solos with each bridesmaid/groomsmen. The goal for photos is to give yourself enough time to relax, but not so much time that you’re exhausted from posing.
What the Villain Option is
I offer my “Villain Option” as a way to help you get as much time as possible with your spouse on your wedding day. If at any point in the day, you want to sneak away for a few minutes, let me know and we’ll go take photos. Here’s the secret: we don’t actually need to take photos. You can just blame me, “our photographer needs us for more photos,” and I’ll act the part enough to keep guests away long enough for you to rest.
Your Wedding Reception
I love the first dance immediately after your grand entrance because everyone is already watching you come in, so it’s a great natural next step after a grand entrance. Family dinners are a great blend of buffet and plated. Buffet dinners often cause too much confusion, and for larger weddings are not the most efficient option. Plated, while often more efficient, don’t give your guests options for portion sizes. Family dinners are great because your guests can remain at their seats, and select their plating.
Portrait time on your wedding
As a photographer my job is to let you enjoy your day, and augment natural lulls with mini portrait sessions. Gone are the days where you spend 2-3 hours taking photos – the day isn’t about photos, it’s about getting married. Wherever possible, I want to give you and your new husband a chance to be together.
You’ll notice I have two more slots for portraits later in the day: sunset and late night/last dance. Both of these provide you with a chance to be together. All too often, couples get pulled apart during the reception. These two portrait times are a chance to come back to each other, and take a little breather. Maybe you just need a few minutes to sit down after dancing the night away!
While I don’t want your day to be dominated by photos, I do want your photos together to include the two of you throughout the day to tell the full story of your wedding day. A private last dance might just be my favorite trend in the last few years. Your wedding day will go by so quickly, this is a great chance to relish all of it before the day officially ends.
Plan the Perfect Catholic Wedding Timeline for the Perfect Day
In all, my perfect Catholic wedding timeline is one that gives you time to be present with your loved ones, has little pauses for when everything is chaotic, and helps you feel seen and beautiful.
Let’s celebrate your sacrament together! Schedule your consultation call today.
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