No matter your vision, the wedding day timeline will ensure your story is written your way. In the early phases of wedding preparation you will inevitably attend what seems to be an endless amount of vendor meetings over the course of the wedding planning process. And every vendor will ask you to make decisions about how you want your wedding day to run.
To avoid being overwhelmed in the process here’s what you can do:
- Prioritize the big items first. Talk to experts and read our post where we explain popular wedding words used during the wedding planning process so you can understand the terminology.
- Vendors are experts at suggesting timeline options that are tailored to their areas of expertise. For example, discuss with your photographer the length of time they recommend for a first look, family photos, location changes, and even when the lighting will be best for outdoor shots. You chose them for a reason, so rely on them to help you!
- To prevent any last-minute blunders, do your best to give your vendors accurate estimated timing from the start. It’s not uncommon for vendors such as a florist or baker to schedule multiple weddings on the same day.
- You have spent countless hours crafting personalized favors, alphabetizing place cards, and soaking skew stickers off votive vases. Don’t let all of your hard work be forgotten when determining the wedding day timeline. Let your Day of Wedding Coordinator pay attention to those details. Those details are what make your day stand out from the rest!
Do you need a wedding day timeline?
The short answer? Yes. 1000%
Whether you’re having a simple, backyard wedding for 50 or a ballroom wedding for 250 – a wedding day timeline is crucial.
By no means do you have to break everything down to the minute (actually, we highly suggest avoid getting THAT detailed) but it’s important to have an understanding of what’s happening when in order for the day to run smoothly.
The more logistics there are, the more detailed the timeline needs to be in order to account for all the moving pieces.
Why a wedding day timeline matters
- Helps you stay organized and less stressed. Detailing out what you want to happen and when, will help keep stress levels low come wedding day. Having a wedding day timeline to follow will ensure you don’t have to guess what’s happening next.
- Keeps everyone on track come wedding day. This not only goes for vendors, but those closely involved (parents, bridal party) as well.
- Helps keep a flow of the day. The exact timing won’t always be perfect – dinner may run longer than anticipated, or the best man may talk for 11 min instead of the 5 he promised you his speech would be – but having a idea of what’s supposed to happen when, will help ensure there’s a flow of the day.
Remember, breaking down your wedding day into an organized timeline will help keep everything on track when the big day finally arrives. The more detailed you can make the plan, the better.
Planning a wedding can be months or even years in the making. So it’s important to lay out a thoughtful plan and be completely transparent with anyone who will be majorly involved. When everyone is on the same page from day one it makes planning and timing seamless and much less stressful.
Xo,
The JDWC Team
