One of the things that's been stressing me out lately is our pre-ceremony time line. We're having a daytime wedding and here's how the day will go:
11:30am: Guests arrive
12:00 - 12:30pm: Ceremony
12:30 - 1:30pm: Cocktail Hour
1:30 - 5:30pm: Reception
Because our guests are arriving at 11:30am, we won't have the luxury of a slow morning/day of getting ready like those of you with evening weddings. Additionally, we're planning to do a first look, take photos of me and Steve alone and with our bridal party, and also knock out the family portraits (with our immediate families) before the ceremony. Like I said, it's going to be a packed morning.11:30am: Guests arrive
12:00 - 12:30pm: Ceremony
12:30 - 1:30pm: Cocktail Hour
1:30 - 5:30pm: Reception
This is why I'm glad we have a DOC, because she'll be able to help us stay on track. I already know I'm going to have to wake up at 6:00 or 6:30am in order for us to get this all done. I'm SO not a morning person so I hope the adrenaline of it being my wedding day will prevent me from yawning!
I know it's possible for us to accomplish everything we want to before the ceremony. Steve and I and our bridal party are staying in the hotel right next to our venue, and the photos we plan to take will happen in our venue's gardens, so no travel will be necessary. We're not going to have a three hour photo session like some brides, but our wedding isn't a photo shoot so that's okay with us. Our photographer is awesome and I trust he'll use the time he has to get some great shots. It helps that he's shot weddings at our venue before.
But I have a question for all you current and recent brides: how late are you having (or did you have) your photographer stay? We have our photographer (and his assistant) for eight hours and I'm trying to figure out what time to have him arrive. If he comes at 8:30am (at the tail end of my getting ready, in time to get some of those shots) he'll be able to stay until 4:30pm, one hour before our reception ends. Does that sound okay? Is there any reason we'd need the photographer there for the last hour? I think not, since by that point the big moments of the reception (toasts, dances, cake cutting) will be over and we'll all just be dancing and mingling. But I thought I'd get your opinions.
If he comes at 8:30am, our morning time line can look something like this:
6:00-6:30am: Wake up and shower
7:00am: Hair friendor arrives and starts on my hair
8:00am: Makeup artist arrives
8:30am: Photographer arrives. I get into my dress and take a few bridal portrait shots.
9:00am: First Look + photos with me and Steve
10:15am: Bridal Party photos10:45am: Family Portraits (and during this time the bridal party can practice lining up, with the help of our DOC*)
11:15am: I head to bridal suite and hang out there with the b-maids until the ceremony begins
Of course, things happen and this schedule could change if we end up running behind for some reason. I might ask my hair friendor and makeup artist to arrive a bit earlier to give them extra time. But this time line seems okay. Is there something obvious I'm forgetting?
Writing this post is actually making me feel a little better. I'm really excited about our daytime wedding, but having so little pre-ceremony time is its main disadvantage. The major advantage though is that with a noon ceremony, there's less time to wait to get married!
*We aren't having a rehearsal at our venue (we'll do a quick run through at our rehearsal dinner venue) so it would be good for the bridesmaids and groomsmen to figure out where to stand once we're at the wedding. They'll already know their order. Of course Steve's brother, who is a groomsman, will have to be present for the portraits but we'll all be in the same general area so he can do both.
We're looking into extending ours to the end of the reception - I think it'll be cool to get pics of us saying our goodbyes to our guests.
ReplyDeleteI think your timeline looks good, overall, though the morning may get rushed during the hair/makeup/getting into the gown phase. In my case, it took longer to get into my dress than expected, due to the taking of photos. For example, the girls paused while putting the gown over my head, then while zipping it, then while putting on the veil, then the garter, then the shoes...you get the picture...so the photographer could get enough shots. Also, the sheer nature of getting into a large gown slowed me down, too. We then were running a bit behing for bridal portraits, which I still wanted to spend enough time on. In the end, I ran about half an hour late for the first look. But since you've allowed what I think is more than enough time for the first look and photos of just you and Steve, I think you'll have a cushion in case things run over a bit.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of having the photographer there during the final hour of the night, the only reason I think you'd need to do that is if you're planning a special grand exit you want captured. In our case, our photographer left an hour before the end of the reception, and our friends simply got photos of our final dance and the other end-of-night happenings, which were pretty low-key. Like you said, all the major "moments" are out of the way by that time.
We had our photographer arrive at the tail end of my getting ready (my mom and sister had their hair/makeup done first) and purposely packed the reception so that the toasts, first dance, tosses were done early. She wasn't there for the very late hours of dancing, but we still got a good number of dance shots. Hope this helps! :)
ReplyDeleteYour timeline looks really great to me! In our case, our photographer is a friendor, so she will probably stay until the end - but I definitely don't expect her to be taking photos until the bitter end. Once the cake-cutting an d first dance are out of the way (and the toasts), she is free to stop working and enjoy the party. She will probably arrive around 12:00 or so for our "getting ready" shots, since photos will start at 1:00 at our venue (first look, formals, etc.) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteOur timelines were very similar. Our photog came at 9/9:30 and was supposed to take pictures of the girls but we were late (left my gown at the salon!) You don't need anything special the last hour though it's really hard to remember what shots you did/didn't get at the end so get them early!
ReplyDeletelooks good to me! i realized that i messed mine up and the makeup girl is showing up at my house, right when we will be at the salon getting our hair done.. so you're like 5 steps ahead of me :)
ReplyDeleteWe had our photographer for seven hours, and the timeline was similar to yours in that the photographer came a bit after we started getting ready, and stayed until an hour before the end of the reception. Seemed to work just fine.
ReplyDeleteWe ran late all day. But I am sure having a DOC will make all the difference.
ReplyDeleteIf you want those cool exit shots from the reception you can always stage it just before the photographer leaves.
Your time line looks great! This has been my biggest stessor lately... looking at your list really helps me a lot :-)
ReplyDeleteI think that sounds good. Our photographers got there at the tail end of our getting ready stage too. Just be sure all the "photo" style shots are front loaded at the reception so you won't miss anything. So for the ceremony I would suggest the toast, first dances, to come before you eat then cut the cake right after you eat.
ReplyDeleteMaybe something like this:
1:45 - 2pm: first dances couple/father/mother
2:00 - 2:15: toasts
2:15 - 3pm: eat
3pm: cut the cake
3:15 - end of night: dance!
You can also take other photos you may have missed during the 3:15-4:30 timeline.
Thanks so much for the advice, guys! This is really helpful.
ReplyDelete@buhdoop: What you came up with sounds PERFECT. Seriously--thanks so much. You're awesome :)
I think what you have sounds about right. We are having our photog for 8 hours as well, and I am having her leave a little bit after all the special dances, etc. are done.
ReplyDeleteIt's getting so close!!!!!!! :)