Wedding Timelines: What to consider for your stationery
An Order of Service featuring the couples key timings for the day.
Wedding timelines are a fun, easy way to share the "who, what, and when" of your big day while injecting a bit of your personality into the stationery.
Why include a timeline?
We’ve all been to weddings where we aren’t quite sure when we’ll be eating, dancing, or heading home. Including a timeline—whether in your invitations, on a "day-of" sign, or both—allows your guests to relax and plan ahead. Most importantly, it ensures they don’t miss those special moments you’ve worked so hard to curate.
Whitstable beach themed wedding invitation, featuring a simplistic line style timeline inside.
Simple line icons pair really well with different colours and illustrations.
What timings should you include?
Every couple is different, but here are the most common milestones I’m asked to feature and what is usually used to represent each timing.
In the Invitation:
Arrival - Wedding Bells
Ceremony - Wedding Rings / Bands
Drinks Reception - Champagne Flutes / Specific Drinks being served (e.g. Pimms)
Photographs - Camera
Wedding Breakfast - Place Setting / Illustration of the meal (e.g Fish & Chips)
Speeches - Microphone / Speech Bubble
Cake Cutting - Wedding Cake
First Dance - Dancing Couple / Footprints / Music Notes
Evening Entertainment - Dancing - Disco Ball
Carriages (departure) - Taxi / Carriage / Just Married Car
You don’t have to include all of these and often couples will merge them (such as First Dance & Cake Cutting). Don’t forget these are just suggestions, you can make each icon personal to you, that’s the beauty of hiring a bespoke Wedding Stationer.
On the Day: You might choose to be more specific here. Since guests have already arrived, you can swap the "Arrival" note for fun surprises like a magician, lawn games, or a sparkler send-off.
Pro Tip: Many couples give a rough outline in the invitation and save the nitty-gritty details for the on-the-day signage or Order of Service.
An illustrated wedding timeline, painted using a limited colour palette to match the details and style on the day.
Designing Your Style
This is where you can truly have fun. I find that couples often use on-the-day timelines to showcase their wedding’s "vibe" through bespoke illustrations.
Line Illustrations / Icons: Simple, elegant, and perfect for invitations. They pair beautifully with venue sketches & flowers.
Pops of Color: A limited palette that ties in with your flowers or bridesmaids' dresses.
Full-Color Illustrations: High-impact artwork for each milestone.
I love getting specific—whether it’s illustrating your exact wedding cake or changing the "Carriages" icon to a VW Campervan or a vintage car to match your actual transport, this really is an opportunity to make the stationery your own.
This couple were spending their honeymoon travelling in a VW Camper so wanted to include one in their timeline.
It’s all in the details - a wedding cake matching the design and colours the actual cake would be on the day.
FAQs & Tips
"What if we don’t know our timings yet?"
Talk to your venue coordinator first. They usually have a tried-and-tested framework that ensures the day flows perfectly.
"What if the timings change after printing?"
Don't sweat the small stuff! Unless it’s a major shift (like eating two hours later than planned), your guests will go with the flow. For on-the-day stationery, I typically send designs to print 10 working days before the wedding to ensure everything is as accurate as possible.
"Large Sign vs. Order of Service?"
This comes down to personal preference:
Large Signs: These create a beautiful focal point as guests arrive and double as a piece of decor.
Order of Service: A lovely keepsake for guests to take home. This is the best option if you have a lot of additional information to share, such as readings or hymns.
A beach themed wedding timeline, full of the couples personality and details they wanted included, such as fish & chips that the guests would be having, plus a watchful seagull, linking into their British seaside theme.
I hope that gives you some ideas and helps if you’re considering have a timeline as part of your wedding stationery or including it within part of your suite. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch, either via my website or your can find me on my socials @wedding.stationery.by.chris