what is the wedding day itinerary?
It’s the day before your wedding. You have spent months maybe even years, planning this day slash weekend. There have been a lot of moving parts. Times to coordinate, outfits to buy and rooms to book. Your guests are arriving for the rehearsal dinner the next day and then plan to stay overnight so they can wake up and be in the vicinity of the wedding venue for the big celebration! Now how on earth does everyone know all the details of these upcoming events?? How will they get from the hotel to the rehearsal dinner? Or from the hotel to the reception? All good questions. Cue the itinerary card.
First things first, your wedding website. I personally think having a wedding website is a great resource for both you and your guests. Once you send out your invitations, the wedding date, location (s) and times are nailed in stone. Or at least, they absolutely should be! But with ceremonies sometimes being in one location and the reception in another or people traveling for the wedding and are unfamiliar with the area or maybe don’t have their cars, an itinerary is going to break it all down for them and the wedding website is there for backup! You can update the website live and at a moments notice so I always recommend having one for emergencies! But I’m also old school when it comes to paper goods and think a tangible piece goes along way, too.
There are 2 ways to use an itinerary card. The first option, is to include the card in your invitation suite and mail it to your guests. The second option, is to have it at the hotel waiting for each guest to grab and be able to review the details of the day or weekend on site.
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Now let’s list out the details that could be on your itinerary card / schedule of events.
WELCOME DRINKS - date, time, location
REHEARSAL DINNER - date, time, location, shuttle information
HOTEL - this would only be included if the card is being mailed to each guest so they have booking information
SHUTTLE - this is included if guests are staying in hotels and need a shuttle to and from the ceremony / reception
RECEPTION TIMELINE - some couples like to include a timeline for the reception, outlining the time of the ceremony, what time cocktail hour begins, what time toasts are happening, when dinner is being served, when the first and last shuttle will depart back to the hotel and if there is an after party
AFTER PARTY - if the couple is throwing an after party, either at the venue or at another location, informing guests where and what time the party is taking place and how they can expect to get there and get back to the hotel is helpful
FAREWELL BREAKFAST / BRUNCH - date, time, location and any other information you’d like to include
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I am a big fan of ‘leading the people’ especially in a crowd. people will rely on a schedule and a person to lead the way. The itinerary gives them an idea of what to expect so they can plan accordingly. You want to consider everyone and their busy lives and remember that they have devoted all of this time to come and celebrate you, so don’t leave them with any questions!
Below are examples of wedding timelines and schedule of events I have created for past clients.
