7 Things Brides Forget to Put in Their Wedding-Day Timeline
The last thing you want to be worried about on your big day is following your wedding timeline and making sure everything goes according to schedule. First things first, to ensure you won’t get bothered on your wedding day by vendors and other specific questions, make sure you hire a day-of event planner or designate a point person (your maid of honor, mother, etc.) to deal with all the day-of questions that may arise and make sure everyone sticks to your wedding schedule.
When creating your schedule, here are a few things couples forget to leave out of their wedding-day timeline:
1. Breakfast and/or lunch
This is one of the most important things brides and grooms forget to include on their wedding timeline. Whether it’s going out for brunch with your bridesmaids or ordering something in while you’re getting ready, make sure you plan time to eat! This will prevent you from feeling sick later on in the day or prevent any other health complications that may arise from not eating. This is extremely important if you plan on drinking champagne or mimosa’s while you’re getting ready… you definitely don’t want to do that on an empty stomach!
2. Vendor arrivals
Make sure you know exactly when each vendor (Flowers, DJ/Band, Food, etc.) is supposed to arrive and when they are supposed to be set up and ready to go. Give a copy of this timeline to each vendor beforehand and confirm the arrival times with each of them in the days leading up to your wedding. Give them your point persons contact information and tell them to reach out to him/her with any questions on the big. Make sure your point person has a copy of the schedule as well and knows who to contact if a problem arises or a vendor is running late.
3. Extra “cushion” time
Whether this be for pictures before or after the ceremony or for hair and makeup appointments that ran a little late, it’s always a good idea to add extra time in your timeline whenever you can! This will ensure that you have time to do everything that you’ve planner and that you’re not rushed throughout certain times of the day.
4. Time to sign your marriage license
As we’ve mentioned before, this is the one thing you need to make your marriage official! We recommend reserving 10-15 minutes right after the ceremony for you, your new husband and/or wife, and a witness to sign your marriage license. Once you sign it, be sure to put it in a safe spot or give it to your point person so it does not get lost or left behind.
5. Down time after the ceremony
Lots of couples forget to include this on their wedding day timeline and go right into picture mode after the ceremony. Make sure you include a few minutes of down time so you and your new spouse can unwind from the ceremony and take in the reality of your new married life.
6. Time to see the venue
Make sure you take a moment (maybe during cocktail hour) to see the reception venue all set up without anyone in it. Seeing all the flowers and decorations will finally make everything a reality and seeing it for the first time with your new husband and/or wife will just make this moment that much more special. It’s also a great opportunity to get some photos in the space as well!
7. A moment to take everything in with your new husband or wife
If you have time during the reception, take a few minutes to sneak away with your new husband and/or wife and observe the wedding celebration. Take a couple of minutes to take it all in and recognize all of the people who showed up to celebrate with you and support the two of you as you start this next chapter. Looking at it all for a few minutes will not only make you feel so much gratitude, but it seriously gives you the chills.
