One of the most essential elements of a wedding is the wedding timeline. The where, when and how that everything will come together during your perfect moment requires a master plan. Everything from the entrance of the bride to the first dance are perfectly timed according to your unique wedding timeline. Every vendor, every guest and the wedding party will all follow the blueprints that you create for your special day. These tips should help you create a wedding timeline to make your wedding day a success.
Where to Begin with a Wedding Timeline
A wedding timeline naturally begins at the beginning of your wedding day. Think about how you will begin that day. Imagine where you will be staying and readying yourself for your adventure to the ballroom that will be decorated and awaiting your arrival. Whether you are in the next town or at a hotel down the road, plan out everything as it should occur in the process of gathering your wedding party and arriving at the venue during the scheduled time. Your wedding venue will have a window of time allocated for your arrival.
If you have a 6:00 pm wedding, you should begin your day at 11:00 am. This might seem extremely and unnecessarily early; however, you will need to run any last minute errands, shower and touch base with your bridal party. Leave yourself room on your wedding timeline for any last minute issues that might arise. Some couples bring their wedding attire to the venue to dress in a suite at the venue. Depending on your situation, you might be getting ready offsite. Make sure you know the when and where of your wedding party and plan for it on your wedding timeline. Plan to arrive at your wedding venue on time, which is usually about two hours prior to your event. This will give you and your wedding party sufficient time to prepare.
Wedding Timeline at the Venue
Consider whether you will be having your ceremony and reception at the same venue or different locations. If you will be hosting the events at separate locations, you will need to include blocks of time on your wedding timeline for transportation between places. Choosing a venue with a ceremony space and a reception ballroom provides an advantage when you do not need to factor in additional travel time between locations. Once you have a basic idea about how much available time you have, you can start planning your wedding timeline at the venue.
When planning your wedding timeline, think about all of the events and rituals you want to take place during your ceremony and at your reception. Plan out all the unique ways that your bridal party will make an entrance, factor in all the elements of your ceremony that will make it unique, such as readings, prayers, and the lighting of a unity candle. Add a cocktail hour to your wedding timeline to take place between the ceremony and the reception. Serving cocktails and appetizers avoids having hungry guests waiting miserably to be fed. Add the time for the reception to begin, the serving of the food, the cutting of the cake, the first dance, the father’s dance, bouquet toss, speeches and any other special rituals you want to conduct at your wedding.
Photography on Your Wedding Timeline
You have planned and designed this moment perfectly. Photography is essential to holding the memory of it. Plan for photography moments. A good photographer will capture moments prior to and throughout your wedding day to retell the story of all of your magical moments; however, you will need to plan blocks of time for photography to occur on your wedding timeline. Important photograph sessions usually include the couple and their wedding party, together and separately. It is important to add a couple different photography opportunities to your wedding timeline.
Crystal Ballroom at Veranda
Your wedding timeline at Crystal Ballroom at Veranda is your blueprint for your wedding day. Your timeline should be reviewed by your day of event coordinator and your wedding deejay. Your day of event coordinator will make sure everything at the venue adheres to your wedding timeline. Your wedding deejay will be responsible for making timely announcements and playing the music that corresponds to all of your special events. Crystal Ballroom at Veranda is an all-inclusive wedding venue with an in-house design team, planners, vendor connections and a day of event coordinator package to make your dream wedding come true just the way you planned it.
