Almost four years ago, I first explored the importance of a wedding day timeline. I want to revisit the topic again with some additional tips and tricks to help your wedding day go as smoothly as possible. I want to help you master your wedding day timeline.
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Master Your Wedding Day Timeline
Your wedding day is meant to be spent having tons of fun with your wedding guests! It is not meant for being 45 minutes late to your own wedding OR for following your wedding photographer around for three-and-a-half hours after the ceremony is over taking pictures.
PLAN YOUR DAY! Have a clear and concise plan of what will happen before your wedding day ever gets here. Don’t let your wedding day be ruined by a photographer who failed or refused to be involved in your wedding day timeline planning drag you around during most of the reception because they didn’t properly plan to get the shots they know you will want. Plan for success ahead of your special day.
You want only happy memories of your wedding day. You don’t want to look back and remember thoughts of stress and annoyance. You want to have fun and actually enjoy the celebration with all the wonderful people you invited to the special party! One of the biggest ways to help you achieve this success is to plan accordingly. Master your wedding day timeline!
In addition to all the great tips I gave you in that previous post, here are eight more to help you master your wedding day timeline!
- Pad the items that are really important to you with a few extra minutes.
- Always, always, always have extra time for hair and makeup! If your HMUA asks for four hours, give them 4½-5 hours.
- Create a deadline in the timeline to inject the bride into the hair and makeup schedule so that’s she’s ready no matter what. And again, pad that a little.
- If you aren’t hiring a coordinator, appoint a stern timeline manager to deal with vendors (makeup artist, photographer, videographer) who are causing delays in the timeline.
- If you do get off track, be prepared to flop items and/or make other variations on the fly to get back on track.
- If you and your groom are taking family formals or creative images directly after the ceremony, get tucked away immediately. Don’t hang out. People will mingle with you forcing the timeline to drag.
- Add every single detail on your wedding day timeline that any of your vendors may need to know (ie. processional order, first dance songs, announcements you need the officiant or DJ to make, etc.).
- Give as many people copies of the wedding day timeline as possible—especially vendors who will be hanging out with you on your wedding day (coordinator, photographer, DJ/band, officiant, caterer, etc.).
Do you have any other tips to master your wedding day timeline? Sound off in the comments below!
The post, Master Your Wedding Day Timeline, first appeared on Ata-Girl Photography Co.’s website and blog. Please feel free to comment here, or share this post with your friends via Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. Please email me if you have any questions about this article or want to share a neat idea for a future blog post with me.
