Things to Remember: Timeline Edition

Once you have all your major wedding vendors booked and you’re around 2-4 months out from your wedding day, they’ll start creating a timeline for you. This can be a stressful and confusing process when you get a timeline from your DJ that is 15 minutes off from caterer’s timeline, which is another 15 minutes off from your photographer’s timeline. It can get messy. If you can afford a wedding coordinator like myself, I would combine all of these timelines, coordinate with all of your vendors, and create the timeline that works best for YOU. Here are some things to remember when planning out your timeline.

1. Look up what time the sun sets on your wedding day.

The first step in any wedding day timeline should always be to look up what time the sun sets! If you are having an outdoor ceremony, this is critical. You don’t want to get married in the dark, and definitely don’t want your guests to be staring directly at the sun at the hottest part of the day either. Your photographer will likely plan their photos around this timing, to ensure the best lighting for your portraits. The rest of the timeline is always built from your ceremony time, so always decide this first. Ask your venue their suggestion on timing based on the month you are getting married. Ask them where the sun usually sets, and what works best. Typically fall or winter weddings start as early as 4:00pm, and spring or summer weddings start as late as 6:30pm.

2. Decide if you want to do a first look.

A “first look” is when the couple plans a designated time before the ceremony to see each other for the first time. Traditionally the fist time seeing each other would be walking down the aisle, however the first look has replaced this tradition in a majority of modern weddings. Some benefits of opting into a first look? If you can see each other before the ceremony, you can take ALL of your photos before the ceremony! You don’t have to miss any of your cocktail hour, and you have a little more wiggle room in the schedule for photos. If you are planning a first look, it’s most common to do this 2 hours prior to your ceremony time, to give just under 2 hours for photos with the two of you, your wedding party, and your families. If you choose not to do a first look, you will likely use the full cocktail hour to get through all of these photos.

3. Get the formalities out of the way.

There are certain formalities in a wedding timeline that you will likely be asked about by your venue. These include things like your first dance, parent dances, speeches, bouquet toss, garter toss, and cake cutting. Whichever traditions you choose to have during your wedding, it can be good to clump some of these together in the timeline. For example, your first dance, parent dances, and speeches can happen one after the other at the start of the reception. Getting speeches out of the way is always a good idea for those giving the speeches, so they can calm their nerves and enjoy themselves the rest of the night (you’re welcome maids of honor and best men). If you are opting for just a cake cutting but you want a dance party all night, it’s best to do the cake cutting before the dancing starts, likely right after dinner. This way, you aren’t stopping and starting the dancing, but instead making it a seamless transition from dinner, to cake, to dancing all night!

4. Always account for extra time.

As a wedding coordinator I aim to be on time, and am proud to say that most of my weddings have started promptly on time. However, the rest of the timeline is never followed exactly. While a coordinator may break it down into 10 or 15 minute chunks, we know that weddings never go exactly as planned, and always account for this in our timelines. This way if your best man is giving a 10 minute monologue of a speech, you still know that dinner will be on time, because that extra time was already expected. This is another reason having a coordinator is so beneficial to yoru wedding, so they can adjust the timeline in real time and coordinate with all of your vendors.

If you don’t have a coordinator assisting with your timeline, use these tips when you go to plan out your day. Remember this is YOUR day, so if your photographer is asking for 2 hours of posed photos and you care more about making it to cocktail hour and eating all that great food, then speak up, and make sure that you have the day you want. Considering it’s the most expensive day you’ll ever have, build your timeline to be how you want the day to go! If you decide you do need a coordinator, reach out! Look out for more “Things to Remember” blog posts, and let me know if there are any specific things I should cover by emailing me at alexandria@everlastingeventsnj.com or using the link below.