How to create an elopement timeline

Jul 1

Creating a timeline for your elopement or intimate wedding can feel intimidating. But I’m here to show you that it doesn’t have to be confusing and complicated. Yay! Relief!

So, what is the purpose of creating a timeline for your wedding? Although elopements and intimate weddings allow for more freedom and spontaneity, a timeline will help ensure that you do everything you want to do on your wedding day. It’s also a handy little way to make sure you schedule in some time to eat! Yes, you might forget to eat on your wedding day!

The easiest way to set up a timeline is to write out all of the activities you want to do and decide how much time it will take to accomplish those activities. If you’re not sure how much time something will take (i.e. hair & makeup) reach out to your vendor. They’ve done this so many times that they’ll be able to give you a pretty good estimate that you can count on!

Once you’ve figured out how much time everything will take, put them in the order you’d like to do the activities. When in order, you’ll be able to visually see what time you’ll have to start the day to fit everything in!

Let me give you an example so you can visualize what I mean:

Lucy and Devon have planned a relaxed elopement in the Rocky Mountains.

Desired activities for the day:

Homemade brunch ~1.5hr
Get ready ~1.5hr
First look ~10min
Ceremony at river ~20min
Photos & exploring ~2-3hrs
Meet up with some loved ones for a celebratory dinner ~2hrs
Campfire at Airbnb to stargaze ~1-2hrs

Lucy and Devon have reservations for a celebratory dinner with friends and family for 7pm at their favourite distillery in the Rocky Mountains. So to create their timeline, they’re going to work backwards from 7pm!

Homemade brunch 11:30 am
Get ready 1:00 pm
First look 3:00 pm
Ceremony at river 3:30 pm
Photos & exploring 4:00 pm
Celebratory dinner 7:00 pm
Campfire 9:00 pm

Notice how I added a teeny tiny bit of extra time in between certain things? I like to do this to account for travel time between places and allow a little bit of time for snacks, a quick break to just enjoy yourself, and bathroom breaks! I.e. A first look rarely takes a full 30 minutes. But the extra 20 minutes accounts for the travel time from the first look at the Airbnb and the travel time to the ceremony location.

Timelines for elopements and intimate weddings don’t have to be daunting. They also don’t have to be followed quite as strictly as a traditional wedding timeline. This is because you’re working with fewer vendors who are expecting to provide services at a specific time and because you have little to no guests who are waiting for you to arrive for the traditional reception.

Many couples plan to visit multiple locations and choose their ceremony location and time spontaneously! Others choose to have their ceremony at a specific location and time and plan their spontaneous plans around that. There is no limit to what you can plan.

Bonus tip: Many elopement and intimate wedding photographers are very knowledgeable when it comes to timelines. We’ve seen it all!

We’re also very knowledgeable about what time of day will have the best lighting for portraits. As an elopement photographer, I offer timeline guidance and customized suggestions for your wedding day. So don’t be afraid to hire a photographer before you have the whole day organized. Oftentimes it’s your photographer who can guide you through intimidating things like timelines!