Crafting a wedding schedule
Planning a thoughtful and efficient wedding day timeline may be the most important thing you can do to minimize stress throughout your wedding weekend. A clear wedding timeline will eliminate confusion and scheduling conflicts, and it'll keep everyone on the same page, from your bridesmaids to your glam squad and to your caterers! We encourage you to work with your wedding coordinator to craft your schedule, however if you do not have that luxury the next best person to help you with this is your photographer!
Before drafting your schedule know the answers to these questions:
How long did I contract the photographer + videographer?
When do I have access to the venue?
When do I need to leave the venue?
When does the sun set?
How long will my ceremony be?
Do I want to do a first look?
Do my guests need to travel between ceremony and reception locations?
Step one in organizing your schedule is starting with your ceremony time. It is easiest to start there and then work backward for your getting ready schedule. The activities before and after your ceremony are generally pretty standard however the time you allot for everything can differ greatly. Below is the list of activities that happen with a few standard times on some items.
Hair/ Makeup Begins: This time will be determined by WHEN you need to get your dress on. If you communicate that time and the number of ladies getting ready your glam team will advise on a start time. Do NOT worry about making a firm “getting ready” schedule, once a stylist is ready they will just keep grabbing the next bridesmaid
Eat lunch! Have something delivered!
Floral delivery for personal floral (bouquets/corsages)
Photographer arrives for detail pictures- have these items set aside for them
‘Getting ready’ photos
Dresses On/ Suits On
Have your bridal parties pack up their belongings before pictures begin! Nothing is worse than drunkenly trying to figure out which suit or makeup bag is yours at the end of the night.
First-look (optional)
Pictures with couple and bridal party if you chose to do a first look
Ushers greet guests at ceremony location 30 minutes prior to starting
Ceremony
Family Pictures
Bridal Party Picture *if you do a first-look this does not need to occur
Couple Pictures *even if you do a first-look your photographer will still want to steal you for a bit
Cocktail Hour: 1.5 hours is the perfect time to get some pictures, grab a drink and not feel rushed. Please don’t think 1 hour is enough… please…
Guests invited to seats (allow 10 minutes)
Reception begins:
Grand Entrance (couple only, bridal party pairs or bridal party as one group)
Cake Cutting
Welcome speech/toast: Perfect time for the couple to say a few words or a father
Prayer
Dinner service begins or buffet dismissal
If you are doing plated dishes, ask your cater if they can pre-set salads at guest tables before they are seated
Speeches- This begins once everyone has their main dishes, we HIGHLY encourage keeping speeches to a minimum and only allowing 3 people to speak (Maid of Honor, Best Man, Couple or Parent)
Dessert- DJ announces or catering staff serves
FREEEEEE TIMEEEEEEE, take this time to take a breather, freshen up and chat with guests. This may be the perfect time for sunset pictures if the timing works! When you are ready for dancing to begin all it takes is a thumbs up to your coordinator or DJ.
7:30- is a great time to do first dances! There is a crazy phenomenon that guests don’t typically dance before 8:00 anyway!
First Dance
Father/Daughter Dance
Mother/Son Dance
Anniversary Dance- a great “intro song” to get couples on the dance floor and have your photographer get some sweet pictures
9:00 ish - Late night food comes out
11:00 or 11:30 - Last call at the bar
12:00- Last song *consider how much needs to be cleaned up and when you need to be gone by, is 30 minutes enough time?
EXIT AS NEWLYWEDS! IMPORTANT!! Did you figure out transportation for yourself?!
When you meet with your vendors roughly one month prior to your wedding they will ask you for a timeline so they can plan their arrival times accordingly. Vendors such as your DJ, florist and decorator will want to know when they have access so they can set-up and not interfere with any scheduled activities. It is pretty standard that the florist arrives at venues as soon as they can, and DJ’s will arrive 2 hours before the ceremony time.
Scheduling does not need to be as difficult as it seems! Thinking of your non-negotiable times such as ceremony will make scheduling more bearable. Reach out to vendors if you are feeling overwhelmed, afterall a well thought out schedule that EVERYONE agrees on is a fool-proof way to have the perfect day!