Order of the day maker

How to build your order of the day in four steps

1. 1

   Answer five short questions. Enter your ceremony time and length, your town or venue, how many people need hair and make-up, how many family photograph groups you want, how long each journey takes, when the speeches are and when evening guests arrive. Press Build my day and the whole day is laid out around your ceremony.

2. 2

   Add your date to see golden hour. Search for your venue's town or city and add your wedding date. We show sunrise, golden hour and sunset, and Fit golden hour places your photographs in the last light and tells you why.

3. 3

   Change anything that does not fit. Edit the time, length, who is involved and where it happens. A longer step moves the steps after it, and you can fix any time in place. Move the ceremony and the whole day moves with it.

4. 4

   Print it or share it with your suppliers. Download a PDF or a calendar file, or print a clean copy. With a free account you can make a link for each supplier that shows only their lines, plus the big moments of the day. They can tap Looks good or leave a note, and you can turn a link off whenever you like.

Times are in the local time of your venue.

Your running order

A wedding day usually runs in this order. Your own day may drop a step or add one.

1. Getting ready. Hair, make-up and dressing, with the photographer arriving for the first photographs.
2. The ceremony. The vows and the signing of the register.
3. The drinks reception. Drinks and canapés while guests mingle.
4. Photographs. Family groups and the two of you, often beside the drinks reception.
5. The wedding breakfast. The meal, with a seated plan for the room.
6. The speeches. Before, after or between courses.
7. The evening reception. Cake cutting, the first dance, evening guests arriving and evening food.
8. Carriages. The send-off, and the way home.

The order of the day maker above puts times against each of these, and you can change any of them.

Sample orders of the day

Each table below is made by the same order of the day maker you use above, with four people having hair and make-up, one artist, eight family photograph groups and the ceremony and reception at the same place. Change any answer in the tool and the times change with it.

How long each part takes

Wedding timings

A few rules of thumb are worth keeping in mind.

Allow for the journey between venues, and leave a little room around it. Leave a buffer around the photographs too, so nobody feels hurried. A five-minute job often takes much longer on the day, such as gathering one family group or moving guests into the next room.

Ask your caterer and your venue how long they need. The kitchen's timing matters more than the order. The lengths in the tool are a good place to start, and a little spare time makes the day feel calmer.

On the day

Hand the day to a day captain or the venue coordinator. This is the person who keeps the order of the day, moves it calmly if it runs behind, and is the one your suppliers ask. Give them a printed copy and your supplier contact list.

Day mode, part of Plus, puts each person's own order of the day on their phone. It also moves the rest of the day when it runs behind, so everyone sees the new times.

Free order of the day templates

Free downloads, no email needed.

• Blank order of the day template (PDF, A4)
• A sample order of the day as a spreadsheet (CSV)

Frequently asked questions

What goes on an order of the day?

Everything that happens, with a time and a length: getting ready, hair and make-up, leaving for the ceremony, the ceremony, the drinks reception, photographs, the wedding breakfast, the speeches, cake cutting, the first dance, evening guests arriving, evening food and carriages. Add who each line is for, where it happens and any notes your suppliers need.

Do we need one?

You do not need one, but most couples find it worth the hour. It gives your venue, photographer, caterer, band and toastmaster the same times, so nobody has to ask you on the day. It also shows early if something does not fit, such as a drinks reception that is too short for the photographs.

What is a wedding running order?

A wedding running order is the list of what happens on the day, in the order it happens, from getting ready to carriages. It is the same thing as an order of the day. Share it with your suppliers and your wedding party, so everyone knows what comes next.

Who keeps the day running to time?

Many couples ask a day captain, a friend or family member, or use their venue coordinator or a planner. This person holds the order of the day, moves it calmly if something takes longer, and is the one your suppliers ask. Day mode, part of Plus, puts each person's own order of the day on their phone and moves the rest when it runs behind.

What time should the ceremony start?

Between 12 and 3pm is common. In England and Wales a ceremony usually has to take place between 8am and 6pm, and your venue or registrar will confirm what applies to you. In winter, sunset can be before 4pm, so a later start can leave no daylight for photographs: add your town and date and the tool shows sunset, then Fit golden hour places your photographs.

Speeches before or after the meal?

Both are usual. Speeches before the wedding breakfast let nervous speakers relax and eat, and the tool gives them 45 minutes. Speeches after the meal, the traditional order, are given 60 minutes. You can also have them between courses. Ask your caterer, because the kitchen's timing matters more than the order.

How long is the wedding breakfast?

Plan on about 90 minutes for a three-course meal, which is what the tool uses. Add time for the speeches if they come after it, and ask your caterer whether more courses or a sharing menu need longer.

What time do evening guests arrive?

Usually between 7 and 8pm, after the meal and the speeches and once the room has been turned round. The tool keeps your evening guests' arrival time fixed and reminds you, calmly, if there is less than 30 minutes between the end of the meal and their arrival. Evening food follows about an hour and a half after they arrive.

How long are photographs during the drinks reception?

Plan on about 45 to 60 minutes: roughly 3 minutes for each family group, so 24 minutes for eight groups, then about 20 minutes for the two of you. The tool keeps the drinks reception at 90 minutes or longer and runs the photographs beside it, so your guests are never waiting for you.

Who needs a copy?

Your photographer, videographer, caterer, band or DJ, planner, venue coordinator, toastmaster, registrar or celebrant and the people in your wedding party who have a job on the day. Share a link for each supplier so they see their own lines and the big moments, and so everyone reads the same version. If you change something, the link shows the update.