Master timeline

The month-by-month plan of milestones from kickoff to the event.

How it works in practice

The master timeline runs from kickoff to the week after the event. It is organised by month or by week, and each line is a milestone with a deadline and an owner: venue signed, entertainment booked, invitations out, final numbers in. The run of show covers the day; the production schedule covers the crews. This document covers everything before them.

Build it backwards from the event date and from fixed lead times. Some of those are set by law or by permit offices, and they are the ones that catch planners out. Mark the critical path items so you can see which delays move the event and which do not.

In Ontario and the GTA

How to handle it

1. Fix the date, then list every vendor and permit with its lead time.
2. Book the scarce things first: venue, then in-demand entertainment and photography, then everything else.
3. Set your own internal deadlines one to two weeks ahead of each vendor cut-off date.
4. Add payment dates for each deposit so cash flow is visible.
5. Review it weekly with the client in the last two months.

A typical 12-month wedding timeline books the venue at 12 months, photographer and band at 9–10, florist and decor at 6–8, invitations out at about 8 weeks, RSVPs closed at 3–4 weeks, and final numbers to the caterer at around 10 days.

Related tools

The timeline generator builds a first draft from your event date, and the risk register template sits beside it for the items most likely to slip.