One of my favourite things about my job is that I get to see so many alternative wedding timelines. Not one wedding is the same and that’s what makes my job so much fun! It also shows me that some of those more traditional features of a wedding – first dance, cake cut, speeches etc – don’t have to happen if you don’t want them to. Really only those legal words need to be said for it to be a wedding – the rest is up to you! I thought I’d put together three wedding day timelines from real weddings to show you some examples of how you could run your day if you are looking for alternative wedding timelines.

A Party Wedding Timeline

If you are just wanting to get your favourite people together in one place and have a big party in celebration of your marriage, have a look a the alternate wedding timeline below. No cake cut, no formal photos, a small joint thank you speech and a LOT of dancing! If you are looking for a band for this type of wedding I can highly recommend the fabulous JJ and the Beatniks who were excellent and had all the guests on the dance floor. For an example of a real wedding with this timetable, see here.

2:00pm – Ceremony 

3.30 – Drinks and canapés

4.30 – Band Set 1

5.15pm Thank you speech by Bride&Groom

5.30- Pizza served

7.00- Band Set 2

8.00- Pudding

8.30- Band Set 3

9.10- Spotify playlist

9.30pm- Fish & Chips

10.30pm S’mores around the fire pits

A Festival  Wedding Timeline

If you are looking to host a wedding with a festival vibe, then take a look at the timetable below. A wedding with no speeches and no first dance (a ‘first axe throw’ instead!). This day was a joy for guests – the free time between lunch and the evening event meant everyone got to pop back to hotels, change their clothes and relax for a bit before coming back refreshed for the fun evening games! If you are looking for suppliers for such a wedding, then do take a look at Go Wild Activities and Clayzer Pigeon Shooting. For the real wedding held at Vanstone Park see here.

11am – Ceremony

1pm -2:30pm – Lunch

3pm -5pm – Free time

5pm – Confetti

5.15pm – Picture with everyone in front of the tipi

5.15pm – First Axe-Throw (Festival Opening!)

5.20pm – Festival games (axe throwing, clay pigeon shooting, tug of war, craft tent)

6pm – Evening food trucks open

8pm – Dancing

9pm – Evening food

An Elopement wedding timeline

My parents always love to tell me about their wedding day in 1982 – especially about how the photographer went away after the ceremony to develop the photos and came back to the reception with them all printed to sell to guests! But I do love hearing about the simplicity of their day. It is really exciting to see that these simpler days are coming back into fashion. If you are looking for a smaller, micro-wedding timetable then take a look a the suggestion below. There are lots of venues that can host such a wedding, especially a pub venues (check out The Elephant and Castle, Amwell, or The Olde Bell, Hurley. If you are looking for shorter photography coverage of your micro-wedding then do look at my smaller packages here.

12pm Ceremony

1pm Lunch

3pm Games and drinks on the lawn

5pm Leave for honeymoon!