Wedding Day Time Line
One of the tools I found most useful in planning my own wedding day and in helping a friend with her wedding was to have a time-line of all the chores and tasks and appointments written out with expected time needs. This really helped us plan ahead of time for when we would need to wake up, eat, have the grandparents arrive, etc.
Consider the following activities and how much time they usually take:
2-3 hours: ‘Maids and ‘Moms getting hair and makeup done
1.5 hours: girls putting on dresses/finishing touches (guys getting ready during this time)
35 minutes: group girl pictures
35 minutes: group guy pictures
35-60 minutes: any other shots that would be easier to take before the ceremony
15-20 minutes: all bridal party members should have this time to relax, get a glass of water, touch up make-up, get flowers and corsages pinned on, while ceremony guests arrive and find seats
30 minutes-1 hour: Ceremony
45 minutes: receiving line (although these are not too common anymore)
30-45 minutes: formal pictures with family at the altar/chuppah, this is usually during the cocktail hour
1-1.5 hours: wedding party pics and bride & Groom shots. (if you choose a location that is close to the reception or the ceremony site, that works perfectly!!!) If this is done before the ceremony you will miss a lot less of your reception. I recommend doing it before the ceremony.
Be sure to eat something light and healthy on the morning of the wedding. Also, drink water, enough to avoid feeling dehydrated but not so much that you have to use a bathroom too frequently. Getting that dress on once is hard enough! If you do need a pee-break, ask a gal-pal to help you get your dress up and then down again. Even for the most modest of brides, this is one area where help is really needed.
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