Planning · 7 min read
Chinese Wedding Timeline and Day-Of Schedule
A Chinese wedding has two timelines: the weeks of smaller customs leading up to the day, and the day itself, which starts early and ends late.
This page lays out both, with three sample schedules for the wedding day. Every time on it is an example. Your venue, your families and, in some households, the almanac will set the real ones.
Ask about auspicious times before you book anything. If either family wants certain moments — the groom leaving home, the bride arriving — to happen at particular times, those become fixed points, and everything else has to fit around them.
The months before
- Nine to twelve months out: agree the date with both families and book the banquet venue. Popular dates go first.
- Three to six months out: decide which customs you are keeping, and send invitations early if relatives are travelling.
- Two to four weeks out: the betrothal, guo da li, if you are holding one.
- Three to seven days out: the bridal bed is set.
- The night before: the hair combing ceremony, in each family’s own home.
Not every couple does every step. Chinese wedding traditions and what they mean explains what each one is.
The wedding day: three sample schedules
A traditional day
The full sequence, common in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, with a banquet in the evening. Which home hosts the first tea ceremony varies by family.
- 6:30 am — Hair and make-up begin
- 8:00 am — Groom and groomsmen leave for the bride’s home
- 8:30 am — Door games
- 9:15 am — Tea ceremony with the bride’s family
- 10:00 am — Leave for the groom’s family home
- 10:30 am — Tea ceremony with the groom’s family
- 12:00 pm — Lunch and rest
- 3:00 pm — Photographs
- 6:30 pm — Guests arrive; drinks reception
- 7:30 pm — Banquet begins
- 10:30 pm — Send-off
A Western ceremony with a tea ceremony
The usual shape for couples in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
- 10:00 am — Tea ceremony at a family home or the hotel, immediate family only
- 12:00 pm — Lunch, then change
- 3:30 pm — Wedding ceremony
- 4:15 pm — Photographs and drinks
- 6:00 pm — Dinner or banquet
Or put the tea ceremony between the ceremony and dinner, during the drinks hour, if the families are happy for guests to watch.
A tea ceremony on a separate day
When relatives are flying in, many couples hold the tea ceremony the day before or the morning after, at home, with a family meal. The wedding day then runs like any other.
How long to allow
- Door games: 30 to 45 minutes.
- Each tea ceremony: 30 to 45 minutes, more with a large family.
- Travel between homes: the real journey time, plus 15 minutes for getting everyone into cars.
- Outfit changes: 20 to 30 minutes each.
- The banquet: about three hours from the first course.
The commonest mistake is planning each part at its shortest. Nothing at a wedding runs at its shortest.
Where the tea ceremony fits
There are three workable slots: the morning at home, between the ceremony and dinner, or a separate day. Each has a cost, and the main tea ceremony guide weighs them.
When the tea ceremony happens on the wedding day →
The running order inside the ceremony →
Give everyone the same schedule
A wedding day with two families, two homes and two languages fails on communication, not on timing. Write one schedule, in both languages, and send it to both sets of parents, the wedding party, the host and the photographer.
People who know what happens next do not need to be herded.
Questions couples ask
What time does a Chinese wedding banquet start?
The invitation usually gives two times: when guests are received and when dinner is served. Dinner often starts later than stated, so do not plan anything straight afterwards.
How early does the bride need to start?
Work back from the first fixed point of the day. Hair and make-up usually take two to three hours.
Do we need a day-of coordinator?
You need one person who holds the schedule and is not in the wedding party. That can be a professional, or a firm, organised cousin.
Can the two tea ceremonies be combined?
Yes. Many couples serve both families in one place, one after the other. It saves a journey and usually an hour.
What if the day runs late?
Decide in advance what gets shortened. Door games and photographs can lose ten minutes each without anyone noticing. The tea ceremony should not be the thing that is rushed.
A timeline both families can read
The Tea & Vows kit includes a bilingual timeline: your times and your venue, in English and Chinese side by side, ready to send to both families. Building and previewing it is free.
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