The ceremony started twenty minutes late
The running order says ceremony at 2pm, drinks reception until 4, wedding breakfast at 4.15, speeches after mains. The registrar arrived on time but the bride did not. Everything shifts by twenty minutes. The coordinator radios the kitchen. The bar team hears second-hand. The photographer and the band are not on the radio. The toastmaster has the printed copy.
At 4.15, a server rings the dinner gong because that is what the sheet says. The couple is still having photos by the lake.
Running orders are printed plans for a live day
A wedding running order is the right idea, but a printed sheet cannot follow a day that is running late, or a couple who decides to move speeches before the meal. The coordinator becomes the only person who knows the real timings and spends the day relaying them.
- The running order is agreed at the final details meeting and printed.
- Late changes the couple makes are passed on individually.
- Suppliers (photographer, band, toastmaster) are not on the venue's radios.
- Each team needs different moments: the kitchen needs service times, the bar needs toasts, the band needs first dance.
- Nobody sees the knock-on effect of a delay across the rest of the day.
When the timeline slips
Food held too long loses quality. Drinks run dry or pour too early for toasts. Suppliers miss moments. The coordinator, who should be looking after the couple, is on the radio. Couples do not usually see the scramble, but they notice a rushed first dance or a gap in the evening.
How we build a live wedding day timeline
- The running order is built in the couple's planning area and the coordinator's view, with each moment tagged by who it concerns: kitchen, bar, front of house, photographer, band, toastmaster.
- On the day, each team and supplier opens a link on a phone and sees the timeline filtered to them, with the next moment highlighted.
- When something shifts, the coordinator moves one moment and chooses whether later moments shift with it. Everyone's view updates.
- Teams receive a short notice only when their moments change: kitchen, mains at 5.05 not 4.45.
- Key cues, such as couple entering, speeches starting or cake cutting, can be marked as happening now with one tap, so the kitchen and bar know without a radio call.
- After the wedding, the actual timings are kept, which helps plan future weddings and answer any questions from the couple.
| Moment | Planned | Now | Who is told |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ceremony | 14.00 | 14.20 | Everyone |
| Call to breakfast | 16.15 | 16.35 | Kitchen, front of house, toastmaster |
| Speeches | After mains | After mains | Bar for toast drinks, photographer |
| First dance | 19.30 | 19.45 | Band, photographer, bar |
The day, run from one timeline
The coordinator makes one change and everyone knows. The kitchen fires mains when the timeline says, not when the sheet says. The photographer is ready for speeches because they saw the cue. The coordinator spends more of the day with the couple and less of it on the radio.
Signs your running order needs this
- Running orders are printed and changed on the day by radio.
- Suppliers hear about timing changes last.
- The kitchen has held food because a moment moved.
- Your coordinator spends the day relaying timings.
- You have no record of when things actually happened.