The wedding planning has begun! You've scoped out some amazing dresses, found a photographer whose work you've fallen in love with and found the perfect venue - your wedding day is coming together just like you planned. Nothing can derail you now right?
We've all heard about (and laughed at) crazy wedding day fail stories, and sworn that won't be me. What you maybe haven't heard about are those smaller fails...the ones that don't make for funny YouTube videos, but still add a major hiccup in your day. The culprit? Your time line.
Ten minutes seems like a pretty small thing...until your guests are all seated for dinner and your caterer says dinner is delayed by 10 minutes. These uncomfortable "pauses" can add stress, make guests anxious, and ultimately change the whole mood of your day.
Now of course you can't plan everything down to the minute; there is a certain amount of "go with the flow" with your wedding day. How you deal with them is what's key - below are some tips to help make your day flow smoothly.
DO coordinate your ceremony time and your reception time together. I see too often a ceremony starting in the early afternoon, and the dinner starting several hours later. An hour or so of social hour before dinner is just about perfect - the longer that your guests have nothing to do, the more likely they are to bail on your reception early.
DO have someone in place to coordinate with vendors like the caterer. This is something we do in our role as Master of Ceremonies - it's a pretty simple thing to check in with the caterer to make sure they're on schedule, but makes a big difference. If something has gone off track and there will be a big delay; coordinate with your entertainment to be prepared with some trivia, or an interactive game to keep guests engaged while you wait.
DO make sure your bridal party knows the time line. We will often make copies of the time line to leave at your table for each attendant, and send a picture of the schedule you can share in a text. If they know toasts are coming up right after dinner, or that they'll be asked to dance in the bridal party dance, they'll be more likely to be where they are needed.
DO make sure that all of your vendors are working from the same time line. If the photographer is planning sunset pictures the same time the DJ is planning the bouquet toss, or the MC confirmed dinner is at 6p when the caterer is planning on 7p it can make for a stressful moment for everyone involved. We make a point to coordinate with all the vendors we'll be working with to ensure everyone is working from the same plan.
DO make sure that your parents (and anyone who is in one of your special dances) knows there is a dance for them, and is in the wings waiting before you start. Nothing kills the vibe faster than having to search for the missing father of the bride or pulling in a bridesmaid from a smoke break outside.
If you find value in this blog, please share it with others - if you'd like to chat more about your day, and how we can help, contact us to get the fun started.