Day of Schedule

The day of schedule was one of the hardest things that I came across in the wedding planning process.  Thankfully I have fantastic coordinators that were able to help me with this, but it was really hard trying to figure out how long something was going to take.

Here's the important parts of our timeline for the day:
11am -- Hair appt. for bride, bride's mother, and bridesmaids
1pm -- Make-up appt. for bride, bride's mother, and bridesmaids
1pm -- Photographer arrives at salon to take pictures
2:30pm -- Getting ready shots of the guys
3pm -- Pre-ceremony shots of the guys
3:30pm -- Getting ready shots of the ladies
4pm -- Pre-ceremony shots of the ladies
5pm -- Ceremony begins
5:30pm -- Formal pictures while guests are at the cocktail hour
6:30pm -- Reception site opens up to guests
7pm -- Grand entrance for bridal party and couple
7:10pm -- Dinner is served
7:20pm -- Bride and groom perform table visits
7:50pm -- Toasts by best man and maid of honor
8pm -- First dance
8:05pm -- Dance floor opens up for guests
9pm -- Cake cutting
9:10pm -- Bouquet toss
9:15pm -- Garter removal and toss
10pm -- Bar closes
10:50pm -- Last dance
11:05pm -- Grand exit

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AN Planning/Organization

Weather Forecast

So, the 10 day forecast has now came out for our wedding weekend.

Beautiful weather right now for the wedding day. 

I'm worried about the rehearsal dinner right now.  We're having it in a local park.  There's a huge pavilion there that everyone could get under, but I don't really want my guests to have to be in a park in the rain.

So, let's hope that all the rain pushes to Thursday and both Friday and Saturday are going to be gorgeous!

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AN Planning/Organization

Get Your Rings Cleaned!!!

Do not forget to add have your rings cleaned to your to-do list for the month up to the wedding. 

I needed to have mine steam cleaned and re-dipped before the wedding, but guess what, I forgot!  I realized that I hadn't sent them out on Friday and when I called they said they wouldn't be back until March 26th.  No way am I going to chance them possibly not coming back in time.  So, I'm just going to have to get them cleaned in store.  I'm sure they'll look gorgeous, but I really needed to get them re-dipped.

So, if you already started your to-do list for the month before the wedding, add getting your rings cleaned to it.  You don't want to forget.

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2 Weeks!

Oh my gosh.  We have less than 2 weeks until the wedding and I have so much left to do.  It's definitely getting stressful and I've noticed that my fuse has gotten a little shorter.  Hopefully I can keep my cool.

Here's what we have left to do:

Meetings
- Alterations on 3/17
- DJ on 3/17
- Florist on 3/18
- Bunch of meetings with coordinators

To Do
- Finish playlist for reception
- Buy gifts for bridal party
- Assemble programs
- Order table numbers (I can't find the files!)
- Order insurance for wedding
- Finalize menu and service details
- Order seating chart (it's been designed right now)
- Finalize day of timeline
- Make and assemble favors
- Assemble wedding day emergency kit
- Buy plates, napkins, and silverware
- Assemble napkin rolls
- Buy alcohol
- Assemble reserved seating signs
- Buy jewelry
- Buy rehearsal dinner outfit

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Photography Meeting

We met with our photographer today while she was in town and nailed down some of the timing details of the day.  When the two us get together, we're bad about actually getting stuff done because we chit-chat the entire time.  We sat around for 2 hours just catching up with each other.  You think we'd have known each other our entire life.

We found out today that she's going to bring her husband as a second shooter which will be awesome.  It will be great to get some extra angles. 

We're going to start pictures of the guys at 3pm and then do the ladies at 4pm.  Then, the ceremony is at 5pm and then we'll do couples pictures afterwards.  She's also going to meet us at the salon and get some cute pictures there. 

Now that we have these details set down, me and my coordinators can start working on the day of schedule.  Everything is slowly falling into place!

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AN Photography, Planning/Organization

Reception Venue Layout

I figured that it would make my life easier if I did a layout for our reception hall.  I have to give the site coordinator a layout of how I want the tables and I have a bunch of people helping set up, so I figured I'd streamline it into one layout for everyone.

I think I have everything included in this.  We're going to have a total of 11 guest tables and we could probably squeeze a couple more in if necessary.  Do you see anything I may be missing?

Edited with answers to everyone's questions:
JIM: Is the Buffet table/line going to be seen from the sweetheart table?
It shouldn't be.  It was really hard to actually draw the reception hall because it's not a perfect rectangle.  The buffet area is kind of set back from the rest of the reception hall behind the fireplace.  I'm probably going to put some kind of greenery at the beginning of the buffet tables though so that you won't see the food in every picture.

Karen: Make the gift table and guest book table the same thing.
There is actually an entrance way to the reception area that is connected to the banquet hall, but it's behind like 3 walls.  The guest book table and the gift table are both attached in that entry way.  So we want to make the most use out of the tables we have.

Karen: Also, just check with your caterer: will two 8-foot tables be enough for the buffet?
I will definitely check with my caterer, but these are the tables the venue using for every wedding, so I'm assuming it will be enough.

Karen: And do they want the bar set up like that? We do one table in front of the bartender and one behind him.
It's actually a built in bar, not tables.  Like I mentioned before, really hard to draw our reception site.

Karen: Escort cards or seating chart?
I'm going to be doing a seating chart, but I think I'm just going to prop it up on the guest book table.  Haven't actually finalized this detail yet, but it's something I need to do on our next visit.

Karen: And I assume there's no slideshow? You'd need a separate table for the projector.
Nope, not doing a slideshow.


Karen: If you're using floor-length linens, you need to indicate the table sizes here, too, so whoever is ordering your linens gets exactly the right sizes.
I bought the linens myself so I don't have to worry about that.  

Genevieve: Is the dance floor in the middle?
Yup, we're just leaving the area in the middle open for dancing after dinner.

Genevieve: Will the tables by the DJ move after the dinner?
No, we will not be moving those tables.  This area is kind of an alcove so there's plenty of room for the dance floor.  I'm worried about the noise from the DJ though, so I'm going to have to think that through a little more.

Anna: Will you need a separate table for punch, coffee, etc?
I'm going to put the dispensers for punch up on the bar so people can go up and serve themselves.  I haven't decided if we're going to serve coffee or not.

Thanks for the questions everyone and please keep them coming!

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AN Planning/Organization, Venue