Chicago Wedding Timeline Examples for Every Kind of Wedding

I say this with love, babes: how good your wedding feels is always gonna start with a good plan. And as a Chicago wedding photographer… I see ALL the time how your timeline affects your day! What people don’t tell you, though, is that wedding timelines are nottt one-size-fits-all. So please don’t Google a wedding timeline for your funky ‘lil bowling alley wedding and say, “Yep, works for me,” when it’s probably something that was made for a traditional venue. I’m giving you tons of wedding timeline examples that can work for SO many different kinds of weddings in Chicago, from courthouse weddings to destination weddings!! 

Wedding Timeline Examples We’ll Cover

If you have your full vision planned out and you’re nailing down the final details… I love that for you. Feel free to navigate to the one that fits your wedding vibe the best. 

• For a Traditional Wedding
• For a Laidback, Relaxed Wedding
• For a Funky, Nontraditional Wedding
• For a Courthouse Elopement
• For a Wedding With a Separate Ceremony and Reception
• For a Long Ceremony
• For a Wedding With a Large Bridal Party
• For a Chicago Destination Wedding

How to Use These Wedding Timelines

This is me begging you to not just screenshot this and send it to your wedding planner to say, “Okay, this is what we’re doing!!” These are meant to serve as a guide, not something that’s set in stone. Every wedding is so unique to the couple, with different moments, different spaces, and different vibes, and these timelines should act as a starting point to kick off your plan. 

If you wanna see what real weddings can look like using timelines like this, check out my Chicago wedding portfolio here!

A Wedding Timeline Example For a Traditional Wedding

Let’s start with our most straightforward wedding timeline example. If your wedding is at a Chicago venue, all in one place, and you don’t have any sort of surprise band or flash mob planned, this is the timeline for you to check out. 

9:00 am: Start getting ready with your bridesmaids, on-site at your venue

2:00 pm: First look, private vows, and portraits 

2:45 pm: Wedding party photos

3:30 pm: Hide away before the ceremony 

4:00 pm: Ceremony

4:30 pm: Cocktail hour starts while you take family photos

5:30 pm: Reception entrance and special dances 

6:00 pm: Dinner and toasts

7:00 pm: Sunset portraits (depending on your venue and the season of your wedding)

7:30 pm: Dance party (plus any cake cutting, bouquet tosses, etc.)!!

10:00 pm: Sendoff

Again, this can be tweaked depending on your wedding style, if you’re doing a first look or not, and how much time you want to spend taking photos vs. being with your guests, but this is a really great simple timeline to build your day around. 

A Wedding Timeline Example For a Laidback, Relaxed Wedding

Okay, if you’re the kind of person who read that timeline and thought, “Okay, but where do I get to relax??” you’re in the right place. One, I deeply understand you. And two, this wedding timeline example is basically made for you. 

10:00 am: Show up to get ready, iced coffee in hand

1:00 pm: First look, private vows, and portraits at your venue so that you don’t have to deal with the nightmare that is Chicago traffic

2:00 pm: Wedding party photos

3:00 pm: Hide away before your ceremony (aka: take your shoes off, drink some water, sit down for a little) 

4:00 pm: Get married! 

4:30 pm: Take a private moment with your lover to say, “We just did that!!” 

5:00 pm: Family photos

5:30 pm: Enter your reception and do special dances

6:00 pm: Eat and listen to your toasts

7:30 pm: Dance floor opens

10:00 pm: Sendoff (unless you want to get back to your hotel and go to sleep sooner… I see you) 

A Sample Wedding Timeline For a Funky, Nontraditional Wedding

If you’re the kind of person who’s dreading the first dance, the bouquet toss, and the potential bridal party drama and would rather keep it a little nontraditional (and totally you), here’s a wedding timeline that you can make completely your own, tradition-optional. 

9:00 am: Get ready (all by yourself OR with your love, if you want to!) 

1:30 pm: A first look (if you’re doing one), vows, and portraits literally wherever you wanna take them

2:30 pm: Wedding party photos, if you have one. If not, that means you get to start your day later! 

3:30 pm: Hide away before the ceremony

4:00 pm: Say I dooo! 

4:30 pm: Cocktail hour, while you’re taking any other photos you want here (or actually being with your people)

5:30 pm: The reception begins, whether that looks like an entrance and a first dance or a reveal of a silent disco. 

6:00 pm: Dinner and speeches

7:30 pm: Time to do quite literally whatever you want. Dancing? Yep. Sunset pictures? On it. A mechanical bull? Love that for you. 

Wanna see what this kind of day looks like in action? Check out my guide to nontraditional wedding traditions here. 

A Wedding Timeline Example For a Courthouse Elopement

Courthouse weddings are truly some of my favorite days because you have so many options for what you can do with your day. They usually look a little something like: 

7:00 am: Getting ready at a nearby hotel

8:30 am: Walk, ride, or take the subway to Chicago City Hall

9:00 am: Civil ceremony time! 

9:30 am: Portraits at the courthouse with you, your lover, and any guests you two invited 

10:00 am: Photos around downtown Chicago

10:30 am: The rest of the day to do whatever makes your heart happy: a celebratory lunch, a reception at a later time, or going home to snuggle on the couch with your pups 

Need some inspo for a day like this? Check out Nathan and Emma’s Chicago City Hall wedding that lives rent-free in my funky little mind. 

A Sample Wedding Timeline For a Wedding With a Separate Ceremony and Reception

If you ARE planning a Chicago City Hall wedding and you’re looking for a timeline that completely separates your ceremony and reception, I’ve got you covered with that, too. It could look something like: 

8:00 am: Getting ready at a hotel 

10:00 am: Ceremony

10:30 am: Portraits near your ceremony site and in the city on the way back to your hotel 

11:30 am: Relax, change, eat some lunch, prep for the rest of your day… Whatever feels right

5:00 pm: Arrive at your reception venue and mingle with your people

5:30 pm: Eat dinner

6:30 pm: Party!! 

A Wedding Timeline Example For a Long Ceremony

30-minute ceremony not cutting it? Don’t fret; timelines are nottt just made for a quick ceremony. Here’s one that works really well for a longer ceremony that still gives you tons of time to relax AND party: 

9:00 am: Get ready

1:00 pm: First look, private vows, and portraits 

1:45 pm: Wedding party photos

2:30 pm: Hide away before the ceremony 

3:30 pm: Ceremony

4:30 pm: Cocktail hour starts while you take family photos

5:30 pm: Reception entrance and special dances 

6:00 pm: Dinner and toasts

7:30 pm: Dance floor opens

10:00 pm: Sendoff

A Wedding Timeline Example For a Wedding With a Large Bridal Party

Have a big bridal party? I see you, miss popularrr. 

Larger bridal parties take a little bit more planning, just because that’s a lotttt of people to get glammed and ready in time for photos. Trust me… You don’t want to be sprinting to the transportation to leave for wedding party pics, bag in hand, to do makeup on the bumpy bus. Recipe for disaster, babes. 

Luckily, the whole timeline doesn’t get messed up. It just has to be pushed up a little to ensure you’ve got plenty of time and don’t spend your morning stressed out. 

7:00 am: Start getting ready (and drink approximately 3 cups of coffee)

1:00 pm: First look, private vows, and portraits at your getting-ready space

1:45 pm: Wedding party photos (and please build in time for transportation and traffic if you’re going to a separate location)

3:15 pm: Get back to your venue (if applicable) and hide away before the ceremony 

4:00 pm: Ceremony time! 

4:30 pm: Cocktail hour starts while you take family photos

5:30 pm: Reception entrance and special dances 

6:00 pm: Dinner and toasts

7:30 pm: Dance floor opens

10:00 pm: Sendoff

If you’re intrigued by the idea of wedding party photos around Chicago instead of right at your venue, you’re my kinda person. See my guide on where to take wedding party photos in Chicago here. 

A Wedding Timeline Example For a Chicago Destination Wedding

Lastly, if you’re having your destination wedding right here in Chicago… We love that. Destination weddings are a bit different, and I personally LOVE a wedding weekend for one. 

Your weekend could look something like: 

Day 1

A rehearsal dinner followed by a welcome party at your fave Chicago restaurant that shows your people the BEST of Chicago and lets you mingle and dance your little heart out. Guests can then go to their accommodations to relax before the big day!! 

Day 2

Wedding day!! You can follow any of the wedding timeline examples mentioned above, based on whatever fits your vibe the best, loves. 

Day 3

Day 3 could look like a sendoff brunch to tell your people bye, then heading right out to your honeymoon. Hellooo, honeymoon era! 

Wren and Rose | Chicago Wedding Photographer

As a Chicago wedding photographer, I’ve captured approximately 39586 different wedding timelines, and no matter which one you choose, as long as your focus on the day is having a good time and feeling completely present, it’s gonna work out SO great. 

If you’re looking for someone who will be there to (gently) help keep you on track, help you plan out the BEST timeline for your day, and have a ton of fun with you on the dance floor… I’m your gal. Tell me what you’re planning here!