A Catholic Wedding Timeline (cont.)

Written By Cat Carter

Without a First Look

Catholic weddings are some of my favorite to plan because of the intense logistics that are involved with the planning. This is a follow up post to my previous article, “A Catholic Wedding Timeline For the Modern Couple”. In this article below, we are going to show an example of a Catholic wedding day that does not include a first look before the ceremony.

We are making a few assumptions on this timeline such as:

  • The church is less than 10 minutes away from where the bride and bridesmaids are getting ready

  • The church is 20 minutes away from the reception venue

  • You have a great vendor team and your planner has a good working relationship with your transportation team

Enjoy.

A Catholic Wedding Timeline: Without a First Look

5:30am: Wedding party arrives at getting ready location for hair and makeup (traditionally bride and bridesmaids)

6:00am: Hair and makeup artists arrive at getting ready location

10:00am: Wedding party arrives at their own getting ready location (traditionally groom and groomsmen)

10:00am: Designate a member of your wedding party to collect your detail items. Your detail items should be already together in your “details box” but sometimes things get loose and “run away”

Detail Items:

  • Shoes

  • Engagement Ring

  • Wedding Rings

  • Veil

  • Blue Bracelet

  • Perfume

  • Invitation

  • Ceremony Program

  • Ribbon

10:30am: Photographer arrives at getting ready location (getting ready shots, detail shots)

10:45am: Mother of the Bride and bride’s wedding party get dressed

11:00am: Hair and makeup finished, touch-ups for bride and bridesmaids

11:15am-11:45am: Bride gets dressed

11:45am: Mother of the bride and bride getting ready photos

12:00pm: Bride and Bridesmaids photos (if time allows)

12:15pm: Transportation arrives for bride, wedding party, and immediate family

12:30pm: Bride and bride’s wedding party leave for church

12:45pm: Groom and groom’s wedding party leave for church (no professional transportation needed, unless you think they will be drinking this early in the morning!)

1:00pm: Bride, groom, and wedding party arrives at church (bride arrives a few minutes before the groom so she can hide in church’s cry room or bridal suite)

1:00pm: All ceremony details set for guest arrival

1:30pm: Earliest guest arrival, transportation arrives from hotel

1:45pm: Bride hiding, groomsmen greeting and ushering guests

2:00pm: Church doors close

  • Processional begins:

    • Celebrant(s), altar people, etc.

    • Grandparents

    • Parents

    • Groomsmen

    • Bridesmaids

    • Maid of Honor

    • Flower Children/Ring Bearer

    • Bride and Bride’s Parents

  • Reading 1

  • Reading 2

  • Flowers for Mary Presentation

  • Unity Candle Ceremony

  • Vows

  • Recessional

  • Mass ends

3:00pm: Transportation arrives for wedding guests (ask your coordinator to have snacks and drinks on the bus!)

3:00pm-4:00pm: Wedding party and family photos at the church

3:15pm: All wedding guests depart for the reception

4:00pm: Transportation arrives for wedding party and immediate family

3:45pm: Earliest guest arrival at the reception, make sure your reception is flexible on timeline and has soft drinks displayed for early guests.

4:00pm: Cocktail hour officially begins and bar opens

4:30pm: Wedding party and immediate family arrive at the reception

4:30pm-4:45pm: Bride and groom portraits outside reception venue

4:50pm: Wedding party is told to meet outside the reception for grand entrances

4:55pm: Guests are seated in the reception

5:00pm: Wedding party introductions

5:02pm: Newlywed introductions

5:04pm: First dance with bride and groom

5:06pm: Parent Dance #1 

5:08pm: Parent Dance #2

5:10pm: Welcome Speech/Blessing (a good way to involve the dads is to have the father of the bride do the welcome speech and the father of the groom to do the blessing. You can also ask your priest if they would like to do the blessing)

5:15pm: Dinner service begins

5:20pm-5:50pm: Vendor meals and Vendor break

6:10pm: Thank you from the newlyweds

6:15pm: Cake cutting

6:20pm: Dance floor opens

7:30pm: Dance floor props brought out- light sabers, optic wands, sunglasses, and party supplies

7:45pm: Newlyweds pulled for portraits to supplement for first look photos

9:45pm: Last Call

10:00pm: Send off!

10:00pm-11:00pm: Vendor load out and breakdown

See more of Nikki + Wyatt’s Catholic Wedding in Greenville, SC here

Cat Carter
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A Catholic Wedding Timeline