Choosing The Perfect Day-of Timeline
You got engaged, then you found your perfect venue, then you picked a date, what next? Whether you use a planner or plan everything yourself, now you must pick a wedding day of timeline. Knowing where to begin or how long each task will take can be tricky for brides but having a coordinator help you design the day of plan can help. Bringing ease to the bride and groom is what event coordinators are here for; we take on the stress, so you do not have to.
Most cases of timelines you start with getting ready. This amount of time will depend on how many people there are in the wedding party and how many people are helping you get ready. Hair and make-up can take more time than you think, and you want to give some extra time for adjustments or talking. Next you move into if you are getting ready at the venue or somewhere else then have to travel to the venue. If traveling, give yourself some extra time for any traffic or unexpected delays. For the grooms side, they take a lot less time to get dressed so they can have 1-2 hours for them.
After deciding the amount of time needed for your getting ready section you can then move to what your next task is. It could be a private photo session, or you get the ceremony started. It all depends on whether you choose to surprise all your guests and family with your dress or get the bulk of the photos out of the way. The photos can be anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours and the ceremony from 30 minutes to an hour. If you decide to have a special ceremony and want a longer time then go for it. Several couple have prayers and vows they have for each other and some are long.
With the ceremony figured out you can plan private bride and groom photos if you did not plan for them before the ceremony. Anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours or more. During this time you can have activities or cocktail hour for guests. Some couples like to have a bridal party entrance with dances or a show with the bride and groom at the end leading into a first dance. This part can be up to 45 minutes from start to finish. Leading into dinner there are so many ways to serve it. Buffet style, plated, catering, etc. There are many ways you can kick off dinner or you may even want to have activities during, speeches and toasts are most common once everyone has sat down. For speeches and toasts you want to have at least 10 minutes per person if not more, just so people have time to laugh and enjoy the moment.
After dinner you can go straight into some dances, mother and son, father and daughter or you can cut the cake. The dance are about 10 minutes unless you have a special dance that you have practiced, which may take longer but it is up to you. The cake you will want pictures of the cutting and feeding each other so I would give at least 20-30 minutes. I would also suggest having someone cut the rest of the cake for your guests unless you have different treats for them to have. Most people will want to dance and drink and have fun at your wedding but remembering that it is your wedding, what you plan and say goes.
In weddings, there is no timeline that is the same, some people want more intimate and emotional days while others want to have a more traditional church ceremony day. No one can tell the bride and groom what is what since it will be the bride and grooms day and how they see their day should be how it is. Planning the timeline you also want to leave room for travel or transition time just in case a task may take longer than wanted.