You're 5 steps away from an AMAZING wedding ...
1. Choose a ceremony start time.
2. Ask vendors how long it will take to set up and take down things.
3. Decide on how long the ceremony and reception will last.
4. Write down a rough draft now that you have the big things planned out.
5. Add in unique activities that fit you and your future spouse then plan accordingly!
Time flys when you're having fun!
Many times, brides ask me questions related to the timeline of their wedding. When should they be ready by? What time should portraits start? Can they fit all the pictures they need in a certain amount of time? This is one of the most crucial and difficult choices a bride can make, and in truth, many times schedules directly correlate to the brides stress on wedding day. I've found that many brides are opting out of wedding day planners and organizers because of the price point (Although they are amazing, and if you need a reference I have a few in mind that are amazing). Because of this, I decided to write a post to explain and help my future brides navigate the overwhelming feeling that comes along with planning your big day.
Why Do You Need a Timeline?
As a professional wedding photographer, I love a good timeline. In my experience, when a timeline is planned for anything, and I mean ANYTHING, the day is not only enjoyable, but also stress free. A step by step guideline to how you want your day to flow gives vendors an idea of what you're looking for, and helps with set-up, take-down, and everything in between. Let me give you an example:
Your wedding day starts, your hair and makeup is done by 10am, you're getting ready to have a first look with your soon to be hubby, and pictures are delayed because the ceremony hall (where you want pictures) isn't decorated yet. Why? Because in the midst of wedding planning chaos, you messaged the florist to be at the venue at 10am and not be set-up by 10am.
Get where I'm going with this? Many things can fall through the cracks while planning a wedding, and rightfully so...it's just a tad bit stressful don't you think? I've found that the easiest and simplest way to get all vendors, family, and friends on the same page is by sending each a "master" wedding timeline so they know when to arrive, when to set-up, who to contact, and when to take down.
How To Build It
Building a wedding timeline, seems simply enough. But when brides sit down and actually put their ideas on paper it tends to get overwhelming quickly. Follow these steps to successfully build a simple yet detailed timeline.
1. Choose a ceremony start time
- What time does the sunset in your area?
- Do you envision yourself having a morning, mid-day, or afternoon ceremony?
- For those with weekday weddings, what time will your loved ones get off of work?
- Are you having an indoor or outdoor ceremony?
Many weddings I've photographed, tend to have a ceremony start time of 3pm or 4pm. This is because it gives an adequate amount of time to prepare in the morning, get pre-ceremony pictures, and still have a few hours of sunlight post ceremony for family portraits and/or bride and groom pictures. From a photographers perspective, I love 3pm/4pm weddings because there's no overshadow cast that a noon ceremony time would give, but still an adequate amount of lighting to really light up my bride and groom at the altar.
2. Ask vendors how long it will take to set up and take down things.
- How long will the florist need to set up?
- What time will the DJ need to be there to unload equipment and set up equipment before reception?
- Does the DJ offer both ceremony and reception packages? If so, how long will it take to set up before the ceremony?
- How much time will the makeup and hair artist need per bridesmaid?
- How much time will the bride's makeup and hair artist need?
- What types of photographs do you want the photographer to capture?
- How long will each session need to last? (e.g., detail pictures - 25 minutes, getting ready pictures - 20 minutes, first look - 15 minutes)
- What time will the catering company be there, and how long will they need to prepare?
While I can't speak for other vendors, I can speak as a wedding photographer when it comes to this step. With my brides, I usually go over the wedding day timeline and schedule out an individual photography timeline with them on a one-on-one consultation. This way my brides know where I'm at, AT ALL TIMES, and no one has to chase me down to find me. It's important when planning this portion to leave room for error. Maybe the groomsmen weren't ready on time, or more than likely, hair and makeup went 30 minutes over the designated time. Things like this happen, and to avoid being rushed, I usually tell my brides to leave 30 minutes to 1 hour between pictures and when the ceremony starts. When this is done, if anything goes over the allotted amount of time you still have room to get everything you want in, without feeling stressed.
3. Decide on how long the ceremony and reception will last.
- How long will the ceremony last? 5 minutes or 2 hours?
- Are there certain religious practices you want during the ceremony? (e.g. taking communion together? scriptural vows?)
- Are there fun things you want do at the ceremony? (e.g. confetti on exit? Live painter or piano player?
- How long do you want your reception? 1 hour - 6 hours?
- Are you serving a meal at your reception? (Make sure to configure timing in.)
- Will you have a cocktail hour in between the ceremony and reception? How long will it last?
- Will you have first dances, and how many dances will you have? (e.g. bride + groom, groom + mom, bride + dad, bride + mom)
- Cake cutting? Bouquet toss?
Deciding on these two big things in the beginning will save you time later on. When it comes to my photography packages, I offer an elopement package, an 8 hour package, and a 10 hour package. Knowing how long these 2 major components on your wedding day will last, will help you decide the length of time you need to book vendors. For example, if your ceremony will last 1 hour, and your reception will have a first dance and nothing else you might only want to hire a photographer for 3 hours and not spring for a 10 hour package. Or, if you plan on playing multiple different songs during your ceremony and plan on dancing during the reception, you might want to hire your DJ to play in both settings.
4. Write down a rough draft now that you have the big things planned out.
- With a rough draft, you will eventually be able to fill in the tiny details around the major events. Your draft may look like this:
> 8am - Arrive at venue/ Start Hair and Makeup w/ bridesmaids
> 9am - Wedding Decorators/Florist Arrives/ Start setting up ceremony hall
> 12:00pm - Groomsmen Arrive/ DJ arrives
> 2:00pm - Catering Company arrives
> 3:00pm - Ceremony
> 4:00pm - Cocktail Hour begins/ Family Portraits
> 5:30pm - Reception Starts/Dinner is served
> 6:00pm - First Dances
> 6:30pm - Cake cutting
> 7:00pm - Time to dance!
> 10:00pm - Grand Exit
With a rough draft in place, It will be easier to see the big picture of your wedding day, and add in activities that are unique to you. For instance, some brides opt for a "fake grand exit" as they walk out of the ceremony. Now that you can see the full picture you will be able to add that in accordingly. I would also like to point out the amount of time between 9am and 12pm. That is a WHOLE 3 HOURS to fill with fun and laughter. Many times bride are done with hair and makeup by 10:30am if starting at 8am, and we can get fun getting ready pictures, bridal portraits, and bridesmaids pictures out of the way early!
5. Add in unique activities that fit you and your future spouse then plan accordingly!
- Do you want a fun vendor like an ice cream truck?
- Do you want games during reception as a crowd starter?
- Cookie cake instead of wedding cake?
- Of course, my all time fav, a bouncy house?!
- Fireworks as a grand exit?
- Fake tattoo artist during the reception? (Yes I've seen it, and it is amazing!)
The possibilities are truly endless with this step, and it's so much fun to plan. I think many brides tend to skip steps 1-4 and go straight to step 5 but then get lost in the logistics of all the details and where they'll fall in place during the wedding day. When you approach your wedding day timeline from outward (the big picture) to inward (the details), the stress of wedding day planning drastically decreases. Saving the best step for last makes sure the hard part is out of the way, and the rest of the planning is a fun experience!
Example Timelines!
The time has finally come to start building your wedding day schedule on your own! Now that we have an understanding of why we need a timeline and how to build it, I didn't want to leave you high and dry without at least giving some example timelines to correlate to as you start building your own! Please use these as reference when preparing for your big day!
Make Your Wedding Day Unique!
I hope this post helped in some way while wedding planning! For my future and current brides, please reach out with further questions or if you would like to schedule a one-on-one consultation with me fill out a contact form located below! Make your wedding day special by following the above steps. If you loved this post, please look into my other post. Happy planning!
Sincerely,
Josie Lane Photography