Scheduling
SCHEDULING
Your wedding does not need to be strict and have every second planned out but you will need a running order. Wichita Falls Wedding Photography. Don’t panic, it is easier than it sounds.
First of all: you should choose who you want to be around you in the morning. As should your other half.
A rough running order would go like this:
Preparation.
Guests Arrive.
Ceremony
Drinks Reception
Pictures
Wedding Breakfast
Speeches
Cutting The Cake
First Dance
Dancing.
People Disperse.
You don’t need to plan things to the minute unless you want to. This was my wedding schedule. It didn’t go entirely to schedule, I was late (bride’s prerogative) and I think the reception ran over a little but no one is going to notice if it doesn’t run to the minute. Before the ceremony I had a makeup artist and my maid of honour and a bridesmaid come to my flat and we got ready. In fact, it ended up being quite the party as my husband was ill and we got the best man and his girlfriend to come along too! I may be the only bride to get ready when her husband-to-be was in the flat. I didn’t put the dress on until he had left though.
An important note: make sure there is food for the wedding party. You don’t want anyone fainting and it is a long day. There will also probably be champagne and the first glass might do some damage on an empty stomach.
Ceremony and Wedding Reception of Catherine & James
Deliveries the day before: Seating chart, table names, flowers, sparkling, jelly beans.
Wedding Day
2-2.30: Flowers
15:30 James and Guests arrive at LRC
15:45 Guests seated in Long Room
James interviewed by Registrar
15:50 Catherine arrives at LRC Catherine meeting with registrar
16:00 Ceremony commences. Lute played.
16:30 Ceremony ends
Reception Drinks – tea/coffee by LRC. Sparkling Elderflower.
Photographs
17:30 Cut the cake (it will be dessert)
18:00 Call to dinner
Couple announced by family
Ice water and white/red wine on each table
Starter
Main
Cake as dessert
18:30 Speeches x4 Prosecco served
20:00 Tea & Coffee in the Fairbairn Room DJ sets up
21:00 First Dance
23:00 Balcony closed
00:00 Carriages
Notes:
Prosecco station at the end of the bar with Red/White
4 round tables, 20 people on the long table
Who Should Have The Running Order?
Guests might appreciate a running order to know what is going on. At the very least make sure the key members of the wedding party have a running order so they can
help the day go smoothly. Key people to have a running order are: maid of honour, best man, ushers, bridesmaids, father of the bride, mother of the bride, other family members, the venue, photographer, wedding planner etc. Although if you have a wedding planner or a venue coordinator they usually do the schedule for you, and should do too.
Make sure all of your suppliers have a copy of your schedule. Send it to them before the wedding just to make sure everything is okay and that they know what they are doing.
Schedule
Doing the schedule might be a nightmare. We were lucky as we had the venue manager do this for us. We had a say in it of course and ran through it with her but she did the final draft. This was a huge strain taken off. Things to include on the schedule are: the name and contact details of suppliers and key wedding party members, transportation details, timing (doesn’t have to be 100% accurate), any specifics and any important details. If you don’t have a wedding planner or venue coordinator then give the schedule to the maid of honour or an usher so they can manage it all and make sure everything goes according to plan.
Some people still have receiving lines but these are becoming unfashionable, especially as they take so long. If you have a small wedding then greeting people won’t take up too much time but if not then you can have yourself announced into the room. This will mean that you don’t greet every guest but you can make your rounds at the reception. You will also have more time to speak to people that way and won’t feel rushed.
Weather checking
Checking the weather can become an obsession for a bride and groom, especially if you are having an outdoor wedding. There are plenty of apps to do so but try to not get too worried or obsessed.
DOING THINGS YOUR WAY
Vows
You can write your own vows if you want but there will be certain words that have to be said legally as the vows are part of a legal contract.
Readings
You can include readings in your vows. You could do your own readings or get a member of the wedding party to do one. These can be a poem or a passage from a book. Anything at all. You can even write your own.
Speeches
Traditionally the father of the bride goes first, then the groom and then the best man. I made sure my chief bridesmaid made a speech because otherwise it is just all men talking and is a bit sexist.
The speeches can go on for a while. An average of forty minutes. It is best if people have about 10 minutes each and then the groom can have longer. It is best if people don’t ramble on too long. We served the food before the speeches and this is always a good idea. Otherwise people get drink on an empty stomach and the speeches might go on to the sound of rumbling stomachs. Champagne on an empty stomach is never a good idea either.
Some good tips if you are working on a speech: Start by writing some thoughts and stories down and then you can work the rest of the speech around those main stories. Childhood stories or a funny anecdote are great. There can be a trend to embarrass but it really is better not to. For grooms: don’t forget to say how beautiful the bride is looking. Brides: don’t be shy about mentioning certain things to the groom you want him to mention, whether it be where the wine is from or something nice about a family member. With the best man and maid of honour, let them know if you would like them to mention anything.
It is best to write the speech down in full, even if you don’t want to copy it word-for-word. This will also help trigger the points you want to make. My poor dad forgot his speech in the chaos which was our wedding morning and had to wing it. Even if things do go wrong, remember the people in the room don’t want you to fail. No one will find it amusing nor be rude. Funny is always a good idea but hold back on rude and inappropriate stories. There will be older relatives in the room. Another key point is to hold back on the alcohol until you do your speech. A drunk speech is never a good idea. Funny, but not a good idea.