Planning Your Best Day Ever
Planning, budgets, seating arrangements, and fittings, all build hype before your wedding. If you are not careful, the day will come and go quickly, and you will feel like you missed your own event.
Not to mention, you will be so exhausted that you might feel like the months of phone calls, shopping, planning, and budgeting were a waste of time because you were unable to be present enough to witness them as they were executed.
The key to a wedding day timeline that runs smoothly is planning ahead. Breaking down your entire wedding day into an organized timeline helps to keep everything on track when the big day finally arrives. The more detailed you can make the plan, the better. As a rule of thumb, wedding ceremonies typically last less than thirty minutes, and the wedding reception typically lasts four to five hours.
Who should handle all of this? The planner, the photographer, bride, or groom? The real answer - YOU. Decide what part of the day matters most to you and plan for it. You are in charge of this day and if you need your photographer to be there at 10 a.m., schedule it. If you leave it up to the photographer, you might miss your beautiful photo opportunity.
PRO TIP: A great wedding timeline also assumes that the ceremony and reception are being held at the same venue. This means that guests won’t need to travel to a separate party location before cocktail hour begins. If you’re having your wedding reception at a different site, make sure to add travel time, accounting for the time it will take for the guests to make their way to the post-ceremony festivities.
But those are just the details… let’s talk about how you can ease into your wedding day with zero stress so you can make this YOUR BEST DAY EVER!
1. GET TO BED EARLY! YOU NEED TO BE AWAKE AND FEELING YOUR BEST First things first, go to bed early the night before. With excitement and nerves running high, it may take you a little bit longer to drift off. So, head to bed a little bit earlier than normal to get a good night's sleep. Might we suggest a little melatonin to help you fall asleep and stay asleep!
2. PRACTICE GRATITUDE - MINDSET IS EVERYTHING
Before you jump into your day, make sure you have set aside some time for reflection. What are you grateful for? What do you love about your day? What feels exciting? Do this again between your ceremony and reception. After your ceremony, pull your spouse into this grateful mindset and give yourselves a few quiet moments together before jumping into the crowds. You are now married! This is an amazing time to remember why you are so excited to finally be a married couple for all time and eternity.
3. PLANNING YOUR FIRST GLANCE - CAPTURING INTIMACY
The first glance is when a couple sees each other for the first time on their wedding day. You may want to capture this in a private and beautiful setting. This intimate moment makes for an emotional photo opportunity and if shared with the crowds, it might not feel as cherished. If you want to wait until the ceremony, that is completely okay also - just plan it. Make sure your venue is large enough that you won’t run into him before the ceremony accidentally.
4. A BRIDE HAS GOT TO EAT - GIVING YOUR BODY FUEL!
With so much going on, it might be hard to find time to schedule a meal. But, you sure will be glad that you did! You need food fuel to fight brain fog, fatigue, and blood sugar crashes. Add breakfast and lunch to your list of wedding to-do’s.
Try to avoid greasy and heavy food, these can make you feel a little queasy and bloated if nerves are heightened. If you are staying at the venue or a hotel, make sure to order your breakfast from room service the night before.
5. HAIR AND BEAUTY - AN ABSOLUTE MUST FOR YOUR TIMELINE Time your hair and make-up trials so you will know how long they’ll take on the morning of your wedding. Double check how your hair and skin should be prepared before they arrive; you may need to have hair washed the night before. Confirm with the hair and make-up artists on the bridal party schedule and brief your bridal party so there’s no confusion about who goes first. Make sure you’ve tested any new beauty products before the big day to ensure there are no last minute reactions!
6. BRIDAL PARTY CELEBRATION - POP THE BUBBLY!
Your wedding party has been on this journey with you even before your engagement. Let’s face it, they probably saw this coming before you did. Make sure they are aware of deadlines for dresses and tuxedo rentals. Print out a schedule of the wedding day events and give it to them ahead of time so they don’t miss a beat. You are the star of the show, but you still need your support team to back you up.
But, don’t forget to celebrate them! Each member means something to you personally or to you as a couple. Affirmation and acknowledgement on social media and in person will help them stay connected to your special event. Pop some bubbly and make time in your day to celebrate each member of the party.
7. PLAN TO PLAN NO MORE - TIME TO ENJOY YOUR DAY
Confirm timings with your vendors and bridal party, such as hair and makeup artists arrival, or flower and cake delivery a few days before. If you’re planning on making items, arranging flowers or doing some of your own decor, make sure to have everything ready to go and in place before the big day. This means no more DIY’s or actual wedding prep on the day of!
If you want to check the venue or set up, make sure it’s the first thing you do so it’s out of the way. Have all of the cash for an on-the-day vendors in envelopes ready to hand over to a trusted bridal party member.
It is your day! To help keep things in perspective, prioritize the essentials- those things that are super important to making this your dream wedding. Then, refer to your “must” list over and over during the planning process so you don’t go down a spiral and overwhelm yourself in the process. Lean into your planner, photographer, caterer and venue as your plan for this special day. This will help you avoid feeling overwhelmed, stress less, and HAVE YOUR BEST DAY EVER!