How stressed you are on your wedding day is directly relative to how organised you are.
Having a plan of attack or a timeline to map out your day will ensure you’re on time and relaxed – even if you have it planned to be traditionally late to your wedding ceremony (But make sure you let the celebrant know -well in advance of the big day -ed)
A great way to plan out your day is to work backwards. Using your ceremony time as the end point, allocate your time in reverse. This will allow you to get a rough idea of what time you have to be up and how much sleep you need the night before.
It is better to be generous with your time allocation that have everything to a strict structure. One little delay could upset the whole time line.
To give you an idea – I’ve mapped out a “typical” wedding that starts at 3pm. Obviously, depending on the number of bridesmaids, flowergirls etc you have to run a different activities at the one time.
Plus there are plenty of other things to take into consideration. Are you having one or two photographers? Are you travelling to the hairdressers etc.
Talk to all your wedding services about how they work as well. The photographer can give you an idea as to what time you should be ready. Then talk to your hairdresser/make up artist as to how long they need. Once you have collected all the information you can create your timeline and have a feel for how the day will run.
Remember, you can’t plan for everything – hiccups happen. Things like bridesmaid hair and makeup can float during the preparations. For example – some bridesmaids can have an earlier lunch and be getting their hair and makeup done while you eat.
| Time | Bride | Bridal Party | Groom/ GroomsMen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3:00pm |
Ceremony
|
Ceremony
|
Ceremony
|
| 2:50pm |
Arrive at Location
|
Arrive at Location
|
Move to front
|
| 2:30pm |
Leave for Ceremony
|
Leave for Ceremony
|
Arrive at Location
|
| 2:20pm |
Wedding Cars Arrive
|
Wedding Cars Arrive
|
|
| 2:10pm |
Photo/Touchups
|
Photo/Touchups
|
Leave for Ceremony
|
| 2:00pm |
Photos
|
Photos
|
Cars Arrive
|
| 1:00pm |
Photographer Arrives
|
Photographer Arrives
|
|
| 12:15pm |
Makeup (Bride)
|
|
Suit Up
|
| 12:00pm |
Light Lunch
|
Light Lunch
|
Light Lunch
|
| 10:00am |
Hair (Bride)
|
Make Up/ Hair
|
Showers etc
|
| 8:00am |
Healthy Breakfast
|
Hair/Makeup
|
Healthy Breakfast
|
As you can see it’s a juggling act and a bit of the circus so having a plan may save you loads of stress.
