Free tool

Wedding reception running order

A smooth evening is all in the timeline. Start from a typical order below, tweak the times to your event, and copy it for the couple, the venue and yourself.

Your running order

  • 19:00Evening guests arrive / room turnaround
  • 19:30Background music & first drinks
  • 19:45Cut the cake
  • 20:00First dance
  • 20:05Dancefloor opens — party set
  • 22:00Evening buffet served
  • 23:30Last song
  • 23:45Carriages
In Gig Planner your couples build this with you in the client portal — it becomes your set brief automatically, so you walk in knowing every cue.Start a free trial

A typical evening reception timeline

Evening guests usually arrive around 7pm while the room is turned around. Keep background music going through first drinks, cut the cake, then bring everyone together for the first dance before opening the floor. A buffet around 10pm gives both you and the dancefloor a breather, and a planned last song means a clean, on-time finish rather than an awkward fade-out.

With Gig Planner, your couples fill in these moments themselves in their planning portal — and it becomes your set brief automatically.