How to create your wedding day schedule
Whether you’re a super punctual person or the one who’s often running a bit behind, putting together your wedding day schedule can really hurt your brain. Remember that you are plotting timings for a whole army of wedding suppliers, so it’s bound to be challenging! Have a read of my simple guide below to make sure your wedding day is scheduled to perfection..
Start with a ‘skeleton’ schedule
Roughly map out all the elements of the day in order, without worrying about any of the timings to start with. So, if we look at a standard wedding day format, that’s:
Getting ready
Travelling to the ceremony venue
Ceremony
Travelling to the reception venue (if it’s being held elsewhere)
Drinks reception
Wedding breakfast & speeches
First dance
Cutting of the cake
Band & dancing
Guests depart
Of course, this is your wedding day so you can absolutely mix things round or leave bits out! Once you do have all the elements you want down on paper, you’ll have a clear picture of the day so you can start adding timings as and when they’re confirmed.
Pick your ceremony time
Depending on where you’re having your ceremony (religious ceremonies can be a bit more specific), you should be able to decide what time your ceremony will take place. The majority of wedding ceremonies in the UK take place between 12pm and 3pm which allows plenty of time either side for getting ready and celebrating! If you do have the luxury of choice then make sure to think about how long you might need to get ready. If you have a large wedding party for instance, then you’ll need to allow plenty of time for hair & make-up in the morning. More on that below! Once your ceremony time is determined you can use it as the key timing to work back from for the morning, and forward from for the celebrations in the afternoon & evening.
Double check bridal prep timings
As mentioned above, it’s important to allow plenty of time for getting ready on the morning of the wedding. Brides are often surprised at the amount of time needed for hair & make-up but remember you’re paying an expert to come and work their magic, and they know their stuff and exactly how long it takes. Have a good chat with your hair & make-up artist/s about how long they need per person and allow contingency time of at least 30 minutes at the end just in case. This time is often used for last minute touch ups before you leave for the ceremony. As a starting point, I’d say to set aside approximately 45 minutes for hair and 45 minutes for make-up for each member of your bridal party, and up to 2 hours total for bridal hair & make-up.
Don’t forget to eat!
This sounds silly, but so many couples forget that they need to allow time to eat breakfast and often a light lunch before they head to the ceremony. This doesn’t need to be a lot of time; I usually advise having a bit of a brunch buffet on the go so everyone can grab food as and when they want it. On this note, if you think you’re likely to feel a bit nervy in the morning, task someone in advance to bring you a plate of simple snacks so you can graze whenever you do get peckish!
Allow more time than you think for travel
These days we can pretty much rely on Google maps for providing us with an accurate travel time to any location, but it can’t account for any unexpected delays. Fingers crossed the transport arrives with you, picks you up and drops you off in perfect timing, but allowing plenty of extra time can avoid any unnecessary stress if there is a delay!
Check how long to allocate for your ceremony
As a general rule, you should allow 30 – 45 minutes for a non-religious ceremony or civil ceremony and between 1 hour and 90 minutes for a religious ceremony. Check this with whoever is hosting your ceremony as they will be able to confirm.
Chat to your caterers about timings for the wedding breakfast
This is one element which is really crucial to check, as this is usually a big chunk of the day and timings before and after will rely on the dinner going to time. Your caterers are experts at prepping in advance and getting courses out the kitchen on time, so speak to them as early as possible in the planning process to get your dinner timings nailed.
Clarify your finishing times
You might already know that your finish time at the venue is midnight, but what does that actually mean? Make sure to check what time the music needs to be off, what time the bar needs to call last orders and close and what time the last guest must have left the site by. This is particularly important if you’re getting married in the countryside, where taxis need to be pre-booked. Some venues charge if guests aren’t off site on time as they have to have staff on site until that point, so save yourself any unnecessary stress and potential additional charges by checking in advance.
Encourage your suppliers to talk to each other
It sounds like such a simple point to make but if you don’t introduce your suppliers then it might be that they don’t meet until the day of your wedding. Obviously, you don’t need to introduce everyone, but think about who might be relying on someone else to get what they need to do done. Your florist might want to have a chat to the venue about what time they’re able to gain access for instance, and your caterers might want to know how long the band needs for set-up so they can build that into turnaround times. Most suppliers will of course request the information they need from the suppliers they will be working with, or just ask for the contact details proactively, but there’s no harm in offering to put them in touch so they can talk specifics. Do remember to ask both parties before sharing any details though!
Bring in an expert
If all this talk of timings and scheduling isn’t your thing and you’d rather avoid it, consider bringing in a wedding planner to look after the specifics for you. I offer a range of services for couples who want some support in planning their day, all of which include putting together schedules for the wedding day! Check out my services here and get in touch if you want to talk about how I can help you.
Nat x
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