Free tool · no signup
Wedding reception timeline builder
Tell it when the reception starts, how long drinks run, and who's coming. You get a minute-by-minute run of show with one game in the slot that works, the gaps covered, and what to leave out.
The rules this timeline follows
- Drinks: only self-running activities, because you are away for photos.
- Dinner: no hosted games while people eat.
- Speeches: under 30 minutes in total.
- One live game, in the turnaround after speeches: 20 minutes with a screen, 15 without.
- The photo hunt and guestbook run all night, from the first drink to the send-off.
- Drinks under 90 minutes, and at least two hours of dancing.
- A 10-minute second round only with two and a half hours or more of dancing.
Your reception
Your run of show
5:00pm to 11:00pm · 100 guests
- Guest phones
- Paper
- Hands-on
- MC or DJ
5:00pm
60 min
Drinks
You're at photos, so everything runs itself.
- Photo hunt opens · Prompts into one shared gallery
- Guestbook opens · Messages and photos, same QR
- Conversation cards · At the bar: "How do you know them?"
6:00pm
90 min
Dinner
No hosted games while people eat.
- Table quiz cards · 8 to 10 questions, no scoring
- Guestbook reminder · One line on the table card
7:30pm
25 min
Speeches
Under 30 minutes, every speaker together.
- Photo prompt: happy tears · Catch the reactions you will miss
7:55pm
20 min
Live triviaMain game
Best slot: fed, seated, facing the front.
- Trivia about you two · Leaderboard on screen, no MC needed
- Prize for the winner · Wine, first dessert, or a song request
8:15pm
120 min
First dance & dancing
Energy builds fast. Let it run.
- Dance-floor photo prompts · First on the floor, best move
- Guestbook for non-dancers · Edge tables write the longest notes
10:15pm
10 min
Quick second round
Re-gathers the room when energy dips.
- Bonus trivia round · Five quick questions, then music
- Or: photo hunt winners · Best shots so far on the big screen
10:25pm
20 min
Dancing
Nothing that stops the music.
- Late-night photo prompts · Last tie on, shoes off
- Guestbook on the big screen · New messages appear live
10:45pm
15 min
Send-off
Last song, sparklers, or a quiet fade-out.
- Best shots on the big screen · Gallery mode for the last song
- Last guestbook messages · Then download them all
Leave these out
- Games that need you two during drinks · You'll be at photos.
- Music bingo · Needs a DJ calling songs.
- "Find someone who" bingo · Only the extroverts finish.
- Paper trivia with manual scoring · Nobody wants to tally sheets.
Run the 7:55pm trivia, photo hunt, and guestbook on one QR
No app, no guest accounts. Free with up to 5 guests.
Questions couples ask
- How long is a typical wedding reception?
- Five to six hours from guests arriving to the last dance: a 60 to 90 minute drinks reception, a 75 to 90 minute meal, under 30 minutes of speeches, a short room turnaround, then at least two hours of dancing. Squeeze it into four or five and the dancing is what gets cut.
- When is the best time for a wedding game?
- The turnaround between speeches and the first dance. Guests are fed, seated, and facing the front while the room is reset, so a 15 to 20 minute live game lifts the energy straight into the party.
- What should guests do during the drinks reception while we take photos?
- Only things that run themselves: a photo scavenger hunt on their phones, lawn games, or printed table cards. Anything that needs a host or the couple stalls while you are away.
- Can we run games during dinner?
- Not hosted ones. At a seated dinner, printed table quiz cards are a quiet backup. At a buffet, skip them: guests are in the queue, not at their seats.
- Do we need an MC or a DJ to run reception games?
- No. Phone-based trivia keeps its own time and score, and a projector or TV does the job a microphone would. Ask one friend to read out the winner.
The reasoning behind it
More free tools
- What should we play? Wedding reception game picker: Five questions, one game to play, and two to leave out, with the reasons.
- Wedding photo scavenger hunt list builder: A printable list of 15 to 25 prompts filtered to what is possible at your venue.