One of the hardest challenges couples planning their wedding day encounter is determining where and when things are supposed to happen. That is to be expected. Most individuals only get married once – unless you’re Ross Geller. Since that is the case, grab your pen and paper – or Apple Pencil and iPad to write down the answer to the following questions. (Maybe grab your contracts as well)
- What time is your Ceremony and how long will it be?
- What time do you want to eat dinner?
- When do you have to have to vacate the reception venue?
- How long is your photographer/videographer contracted for?
Based on these key items you can roughly outline the second 1/2 of your wedding day. The easiest way to determine when you want things to start is by working backwards. If you have to have all your decorations boxed, vendors packed up, and guests out of the building – your event needs to end an hour prior to your contracted rental. If you want to make sure your photo and video team capture all the key elements of your wedding day, then determine when you want guests to start dancing and work backwards. IMPORTANT NOTE: For Summer weddings – make sure you look-up the time of sunset so you don’t plan the bouquet toss during the same time frame.
Now the ceremony and dinner time are slightly different. Ceremony time is often dictated by your ceremony location. Church? Park? Wherever it is, make sure you lock in the time and are only on property during your rented time. Ideally, you will want dinner to start no later than 2 hours after your ceremony. IMPORTANT NOTE: both the Ceremony and Dinner should start exactly on time. Why? Simply put etiquette. Venue, Vendors and ALL of your guests are affected by delaying or starting 15 minutes late. Do you want a room of 200 people mad at you? I don’t.
Something to keep in mind is that too often couples defer to their photographer or DJ to help create the flow for the day. It is very important for their insight to be included when curating your plan. However, they are not your best resource for knowing when to start your hair and make-up. Nor can they help you make your shuttle schedule. Do they know you have family members that constantly show up 20 minutes late? Will they take into consideration you or your future spouse hate being the center of attention? As a Certified Timeline Genius, we will work together to take every key component you listed above, along with the wedding vendors requests, to make sure you have a wedding day that is seamless and stress free. Want to learn how we can automatically send text reminders to your wedding party and family on your wedding day? Fill out our contact page request form to learn more and #planstressfree!
