I'm sure my fellow type-A brides can sympathize with one of my biggest pre-wedding fears: mass chaos. The closer the big day came, the more I worried about the specific timing of events. The thought of missing bridesmaids, groomsmen wandering off, being disorganized, and missing out on certain things such as family photographs made my heart palpitate a bit faster. I knew that things running smoothly was key to me staying calm. Because of this, developing a wedding day timeline was of the utmost importance to me.
I started off by researching timelines that included a first look. Many photography websites include sample timelines that gave me a better idea of how much time each "event" should take. Here is the photography breakdown I developed from samples:
Bride/Bridesmaid makeup, hair: 2-3 hours
(Actual primping shots - 30 min.)
Detail shots - 30 min
Groom/Groomsmen "getting ready" - 30 min
Bride dressing/accessories - 15 min
First look + couple photos - 1 hr.
Wedding party photos - 1 hr.
Ceremony - 30 min.
Family formals - 30 min.
Using this as my guideline, I started with my ceremony start time (5pm) and then worked my way backwards to the beginning of the day. Adding travel time was key. Without it, the schedule would have been off by at least 30-45 minutes by the end of the day! For the reception timeline, my DJ/Master of Ceremonies was a huge help.
For those interested, here is the actual Hawk wedding day timeline:
10:30 am: MUA, bridesmaids arrive in bridal suite
11:45 am: Bride's makeup
12:00 pm: Lunch delivered
12:30: Hair stylist arrives (only for Bride's hair.)
1:00: Photographers arrive
Detail shots, primping photographs
1:30: Second shooter to Groom
2:00: Bride puts on the dress
2:10: Groom leaves for first look location
2:20: Bride leaves for first look location
2:30: First look
3:00: Bride and Groom Photographs
BMs and Groomsmen leave for ceremony location
3:30: Wedding party photographs
4:00: Florist delivers bouquets
4:30: Photography ends. Music begins in the chapel
4:55: MOB seated
5:00: Bride walks down aisle/Ceremony begins
5:20: Recessional
5:30: Family formals
(5:45: Cocktail hour begins)
6:20: Must be completely done with photography
6:30: Grand Entrance
7:00: Dinner
8:30: Toasts
Cake cutting
8:55: Open dancing
11:00: End of reception
Phew! Distributing the timeline to the bridal party was a relief. I knew by providing this, I wouldn't have to be worried about rounding everyone up. I still heard a question or two like, "what time do we have to be at Wren again?" The running joke continued to be, "you obviously haven't read your timeline." Trust me, I didn't mind the ocassional teasing though. The wedding day went more smoothly than I could have imagined!
Did you/will you write a detailed schedule out for your wedding party?
We are getting married September 8 and I am putting together our timeline right now because, like you, I worry that someone will be late, wonder off, not know what to do, etc. And we only have our ceremony venue for 1.5 hours including set up, ceremony, clean up, etc so we have to stay on schedule!
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