How to use the wedding day timeline generator
- Enter a title, the wedding date if you want it printed, and the ceremony time in 24 hour form, such as 16:00 for 4 PM.
- List each event under Events with the minutes from the ceremony. Use a negative number for before, such as -240, and a positive number for after, such as 90. Zero is the ceremony itself.
- Add who is responsible for each step if it helps, and any notes about the day, such as a rain plan.
- Read the schedule in the preview. The tool sorts the events by time and calculates the clock time of each one.
- Press Download PDF or Print, or Copy timeline text to send the schedule to your wedding party and vendors.
Planning backward from the ceremony
Most wedding days are fixed around one moment: the ceremony start. Everything before it, such as hair and makeup, photos and guest arrival, has to be finished in time, and everything after it, such as the cocktail hour and dinner, follows from it. Working in minutes from the ceremony turns that into simple arithmetic and keeps the plan consistent if the ceremony time changes.
With a 4:00 PM ceremony, an event 240 minutes before it starts at 12:00 PM, one 150 minutes before starts at 1:30 PM, and one 330 minutes after finishes at 9:30 PM. To move the whole day an hour later, change the ceremony time to 17:00 and every event moves with it. The clock times are calculated with whole minutes, so there is no rounding.
The sample events in the tool, such as hair and makeup 240 minutes before and the last dance 330 minutes after, are examples to show how it works. Real timings depend on your venue, the number of people, travel and what your vendors advise, so replace them with your own and confirm the plan with the people involved.
Early mornings and late nights
Events that fall before midnight or after it are labelled. If your ceremony is at 11:00 PM and an after party starts 90 minutes later, it shows as 12:30 AM (next day), and an event 60 minutes before a 12:30 AM ceremony shows as 11:30 PM (day before). Offsets can reach up to 24 hours either way.
Events with the same time keep the order you typed them, so you can control how simultaneous steps appear. The ceremony row is highlighted on the printed page so the anchor is easy to find.
Sharing and privacy
The printed schedule has three columns: time, event and who. A copy of the plain text version is handy for a group message. Everything is made in your browser and nothing is uploaded. If you tick Remember, the timeline is stored in this browser only, so you can keep adjusting it between visits. The tool does not book vendors, send reminders or check the venue rules. For converting between 24 hour and 12 hour time, see the military time converter.
Assumptions and limits
- The ceremony time is a 24 hour clock time and the offsets are whole minutes from it, up to 1,440 in either direction.
- The sample events and minutes are only examples. Replace them with timings that suit your own venue, vendors and guests.
- Times are shown in 12 hour format for US readers. Time zones and daylight saving changes are not modeled, because the plan is for a single local day.
- Saved timelines stay in this browser only when Remember is ticked and are not synced or backed up.
Frequently asked questions
How do I enter events before the ceremony?
Use a negative number of minutes, such as -240 for four hours before. Events after the ceremony use a positive number, and zero is the ceremony itself. The tool then works out the clock time.
What happens if I change the ceremony time?
Every event moves with it, because the times are calculated from the ceremony. Moving a 4:00 PM ceremony to 5:00 PM shifts the 12:00 PM hair appointment to 1:00 PM automatically.
Are the sample timings a recommendation?
No. They are examples that show how the tool works. Real timings depend on your venue, travel, guest numbers and vendors, so confirm them with the people involved and adjust.
Can events run past midnight?
Yes. An event after midnight shows with the label next day, and one before midnight on the previous day shows as day before. Offsets of up to 24 hours either way are accepted.
Is my wedding plan stored online?
No. It is built in your browser and only saved on this device if you tick Remember. The PDF is created locally, so nothing about your plans is uploaded.