5 Tips to have a Seamless Wedding Day Schedule

 

One of the biggest stresses as a bride is planning the wedding day schedule. So today, we’re going to have a little chat about 5 tips to have a seamless wedding day schedule and to not be stressed at all the day of.

Number 1, it’s always a good idea to hire a wedding coordinator or have someone you know in charge for the day. These people know how to work with your vendors, keep to the schedule, and manage anything that might come up. Having someone in charge means that you guests will not be coming to you asking when dinner will be served, or when you’ll toss your bouquet. Your person in charge will handle all of that and more! You can give them your ‘thank you’ cards so they can hand them to your vendors as they leave, they can coordinate with the DJ/ band to make sure the right song is playing, and they will seriously put your mind at ease. I remember for our wedding, we had Kim, an amazing family friend, be in charge, and it was the best decision ever. She coordinated all our volunteers for set up, handed out our thank you cards to our vendors, and handled everything while I was getting ready in the bridal suite. Seriously guys, have someone be in charge! It will be the biggest blessing on your wedding day.

Number 2 is this (and it goes with number 1): Hire vendors that will put your mind at ease. They all know the job they are providing, so ask them what their day of work looks like- how they operate, how to take care of things, what they might need for set up or talk to them about who they might need to talk to for that, anything that will help you relax. You are hiring professionals that will make your day perfect. Be sure to talk to your photographer too! They need to know when things will happen, to coordinate with you when you want your family pictures done, if you want a first look, anything! They are your poparatzi for the day, so be sure to give them a timeline. For that matter, give every vendor a wedding day schedule so they know what the day looks like and how to plan for it. Let them do their thing, and in the end, all you’ll have to do is show up, get married, and enjoy your day.

Number 3- Have a solid schedule. First map out what you want your day to look like. Do you want a first look? Do you want family pictures done during happy hour? When do you want to have your first dance? All great questions to ask yourself when planning your big day. Also, most venues have a timeline for when you can come set up, and basically rent their property. That will give you a solid timeline for when to start and when to end. From there, coordinate when your vendors will arrive, when your ceremony will be, food be served, dances, etc. Then, let your coordinator and vendors manage their side of things. As a bride, know when you’ll need to start getting ready: ask your hair and makeup people how long you’ll take, how long your wedding party will take, and plan around that. Be sure to also go over your schedule a few days before and print out plenty of copies for your vendors. Everything will fall into place the way you envisioned it to be.

Number 4: Go over your wedding day in your head. Find little spots that need to be filled. One of the things that we forgot about was someone to introduce us as we were entering the reception. We didn’t have a DJ or a band, so we literally needed someone to shout that we are the new Mr. and Mrs. Brown! So, we chose Matt’s dad, Jeff. Our gal in charge, Kim, made sure to have Jeff ready when we entered. We also had to think about electric cords, making sure our iPad and microphone at the reception had cords and speakers: yes, this is all from the venue. Ask them what equipment they might have or if your DJ has all the extension cords they need, coordinate all the hardware stuff to make sure what you want to happen, has the right equipment ready to go. Finding these little gaps will save you serious headaches the day of. Go over your wedding day outloud with your groom, your maid of honor, anyone who can help visualize your day and see what might come to mind. Even rehearsals help fill in the gaps! This seriously helps before your wedding day so nothing goes un-thought about.

And lastly, Number 5: DON’T WORRY! You have hired the professionals to take care of everything so you don’t have to. So relax, enjoy your big day! Trust your vendors and your family to take care everything. You carefully picked them all out, you’ve talked to them about what their day looks like and how they work it, you’ve gone over the schedule with them- so now it’s time to RELAX! Get your makeup done, your hair, put your dress on, get excited, and feel all the butterflies in your tummy. You put in the work, now it’s time to enjoy what you have created and let it go.

Well friends, I hope these 5 tips to having a seamless wedding day schedule has been helpful and helps any bride with a start to wedding planning. Just remember to breathe, relax, and leave it to the professionals.

Thanks for reading along with this week’s Sarah Jane’s Bridal Banter and tune in next week for another installment of wedding bantering!

Have a great Wednesday, friends!