BY THE WEDLEY TEAM · PRACTICAL PLANNING GUIDANCE · UPDATED
The short answer
Start with fixed commitments such as the confirmed ceremony slot and venue access. Work backwards and forwards, allowing time for real travel, setup and handovers. Give each important transition a named owner. A sample schedule is a prompt—not a timetable every wedding should follow.
Collect the immovable pieces
Ask your venue, ceremony provider and suppliers to confirm the timings that affect their work. Note access windows, service times, setup requirements and finish times. Do not move a contracted arrival time just to make a template look tidy.
If the date or venue is undecided, start with an ordered list of activities and mark exact times as unconfirmed. That is more honest than inventing appointments.
Use this example to ask better questions
This is a fictional same-venue wedding with a 14:00 ceremony. The durations are illustrative only. Adapt them with the people actually delivering your day.
| Example time | Activity | What to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00 | Supplier access and setup | Venue access, equipment and contact on arrival. |
| 13:30 | Guest arrival | Who welcomes guests and directs them. |
| 14:00 | Ceremony | Confirmed start and expected duration. |
| 14:45 | Drinks and photographs | Photographer’s plan and catering arrangements. |
| 16:30 | Guests seated for meal | Meal service and any announcements. |
| 19:00 | Evening celebration | Evening guest arrival and supplier handover. |
Plan the transitions, not only the moments
People need time to find coats, move rooms and locate their table. Equipment needs setup and sometimes sound checks. Ask the venue and suppliers where buffers are genuinely needed rather than padding every line with the same number of minutes.
For travel between locations, use a realistic route and discuss accessibility and transport arrangements. A map estimate alone is not a transport plan.
Give each handover an owner
Write down who welcomes a delivery, who tells the caterer the room is ready and who has the contact number for a delayed supplier. A role such as “someone from the wedding party” is not a confirmed handover.
The blank timeline in the starter kit includes activity, time, owner, location and dependency columns. Use “not confirmed” until the person responsible has agreed.
Share one dated version
Review the schedule with the people affected before distributing it. Give suppliers the details they need without including the whole guest contact list. If something changes, send the change to the relevant people rather than quietly editing your own copy.
Wedley’s planning journal brings the day’s schedule and supplier information together. It does not automatically negotiate timings or brief suppliers on your behalf. Watch the planning demonstration for the journal’s working style.