Your flowers didn’t arrive on time, the limo is on the clock and waiting, and you’re frantically trying to get into your wedding dress because your hair and makeup ran late, all the while your photographer is trying desperately to get all of the detail shots needed to help tell your wedding day story. Sound like a terrible nightmare? It happens all too often. Follow these tips, and help to make your wedding day flow as smoothly as possible.
Set Up A Clear Timeline (with real expectations of how much time each activity will take)
Your wedding day can seem like such an enigma in the months of planning leading up to the big day. Luckily, as time goes by, and the day itself draws nearer, details start to come into focus. A week or two before the wedding, you really start to have a good idea of how the day will unfold. Its so important during this time to sit down and write out a detailed timeline.
Its super helpful to involve your vendors in this process. If you’re my client, you’ll get the sense that I must know every detail of your wedding day. I start to freak out if I don’t know exactly where I need to be and when during the ENTIRE DAY. Because of this incisive need to know hour-by-hour what will be happening, I ALWAYS have my clients write me a detailed timeline. And I also help to answer their questions regarding how long a certain activity may take (whether its photo related or not), and also how the day is normally ordered. Vendors will have very realistic advice regarding how long their services will take, and how much time you should allot to said services and activities.
Once you have a timeline, and you’ve brought all of your vendors on board with the timeline, your day is bound to go smoothly.
Designate A “Wedding Sheriff”
Even with your timeline, sometimes vendors or wedding guests will still have questions on your actual wedding day. Why should you be bothered with these questions?! You’re the dang bride! (Or groom, I won’t leave you out fellas!) You cannot be bothered with such things (now wave your hand in the air and pretend you’re in Downton Abbey). Seriously though, questions about details that may have not fallen into place on your wedding day should not be directed at you, the couple. Even the most perfect wedding days have small details that don’t turn out the way they’re supposed to. When this happens, its so helpful to have designated a person to help answer those questions.
The perfect person for this job should NOT be someone in the wedding party. Your wedding party is there to experience your day with you, and to help support you. They’re already going to be busy making sure your hair, makeup, dress, flowers, and groom are all perfect. They need to be there for YOU.
Your designated question answerer/detail saver should be someone close to you, who is not in the wedding party, and is not a parent or other guest who may already have stress on their shoulders from the day.
A close friend or extended family member would be perfect for this. This is the person who can answer all questions on your behalf. They’re your “Wedding Sheriff”, and they handle keeping the peace and order nicely.
Allow Ample Time for Photos
I had to throw this into the list. So often, photos are kind of lumped into the middle of the day between the ceremony, during cocktail hour, and before the reception. A lot of times, depending on location, this isn’t a whole lot of time to get some good quality photos, with a good bit of variety. If you’re wanting dramatic lighting, gorgeous poses, and awesome composition, your photographer will need some time to stage each photo. Give AT LEAST 1 hour to bride & groom photos, with an additional 20 minutes or so for group photos. Do not lump group photos and posed bride & groom photos together in one hour, it won’t be enough time.
Plan your ceremony time accordingly so you get the best lighting during your photo session. (Often this will give you great light for your ceremony photos as well)
Consider Hiring A Wedding Planner (or Day-of Coordinator)
This should really be at the top of the list. I know its an extra expense, but it can be SO worth it. The difference between the stress level of brides with a wedding planner vs the stress level of a bride without a wedding planner are night and day! The weddings I do that have a wedding planner go so smoothly. Everything is on time, all details are done and taken care of, and the bride and groom sail through the day without a care in the world!
If you don’t want to hire a wedding planner, consider hiring a day-of coordinator. This is a service that some wedding planners offer where they will coordinate everything for you on the day of. Essentially, they’ll be your “Wedding Sheriff” for you, and with that comes all of their added expertise.
The Bottom Line
Ultimately you want your day to be as stress-free as possible. You don’t want to have to focus on little details because you should be too busy focusing on each other and this wonderful day that you’ve dreamt of your entire life. Follow these tips for a little added alleviation so you can enjoy your wedding day to its fullest!
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