Check my timeline

spockforprez

8 months out is way too early for a firm timeline. I know. *cries* My type-A personality can't control itself sometimes. However, if you could humor me and take a quick look at what I've got I would appreciate it! All feedback welcome.

Some notes -

• The wedding venue is my parents' home and they are taking on the clean up (I don't think they are actually doing it themselves - the food will be cleaned up by caterers, rentals will be picked up by the companies the day after, and they will hire cleaners), so there is no timeline for ending the party, breakdown, or cleanup included. We don't have a grand exit planned either.
  
• FH and I will be staying together the night before and separating for getting ready.
  
• We want to have at least some beverages available as guests arrive for ceremony (FH wants alcohol and light food available too but logistics may prevent that) and these will also be available to WP during any down time before/after ceremony.
  
• We are having a first look and want to get as many photos done as possible in the hour beforehand, then take any additional family photos in the 30-45 minutes of cocktail hour.
  

Here's the doc: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1THRat1PZoqC2BhKhyZmVlJrJg9EM_dFvTzrbzBMzmOo/edit?usp=sharing

I hope everything is clear. I'm looking for feedback on things I forgot or not enough/too much time in certain places. Thanks!

lyndausvi

how big is your band?  I work a lot of weddings I see the band start setting up HOURS before the event starts.     It's not unusually for them to start setting up at noon for a 7pm start time.   Moving all the equipment takes times and energy.   Then they take a break to get presentable.

lyndausvi

and what's with all the moving around.

For example you have bride and BM's at your cousin's to get ready.  Then 2 hours later you are at your brother's.     Keep it simple.  No one wants to be hoping from place to place if they don't have to.

ETA - never mind.  I see you swapped the bride and groom from one line to the other.   Got confused. I am drinking beer afterall.

spockforprez

lyndausvi said:

and what's with all the moving around.

For example you have bride and BM's at your cousin's to get ready.  Then 2 hours later you are at your brother's.     Keep it simple.  No one wants to be hoping from place to place if they don't have to.

Sorry, that may have been my formatting - it's supposed to go across the day, time, who, where, and what but it may be unclear in places. The ladies are at my cousin's house the whole time from 10-2. The men will be at my brother's from whenever to 2. (I don't think they need as much time to get ready so I assume they'll be somewhere else beforehand, probably shooting guns knowing my FH and brothers lol. As long as everyone's clean and dressed by 2 we're good!) 

For the band, it's a 4-piece bluegrass band. The setup time is listed in our contract so they should hopefully be good with it!

lyndausvi

Well they show up at 3pm and your guests start arriving at 3:30pm.     That is way too tight for my liking.    It doesn't take much of a delay for them to be setting up when guests start arriving.   

 Where were I work we required EVERYTHING to be setup at least 15 minutes before guests arrive.  There are always early birds and this keeps them from feeling uncomfortable because they walked into people setting up.

Plus you said it was at your parents place.  I assume they have limited parking. You want all the band stuff out of the way before guests arrive.

I assume you are having a tent?  Or does your family's house have a ballroom for the band?

spockforprez

@lyndausvi - it's at my parents' farm, so lots of space. Guests will park in the front field. Ceremony is in the front yard. It's not far from parking to the house, and we're hoping based on location and proper communication that guest dress will be casual, but we're still considering golf carts to haul people there. My main concern with golf carts is drunk people driving them at the end of night.

Anyway, band will be around back setting up. Not sure where they'll be parked though - maybe they can unload, then move their vehicle? Hmm, will think some more on that. I don't want to sound redneck but I'm not sure I care if the guests see the band's van in the side driveway haha. But, it's a good point about allowing enough time for setup. Bluegrass bands need amplification but not much else, no keyboards or sound bars or foot-pedal-thingies (my knowledge of music is awe-inspiring, I know). My contact person originally wanted a 4pm sound check, but I moved it earlier as I'd like them to be done with sound by 3:30 when guests will start arriving. We'll have regular prelude-style music in the front yard at that time and I don't want "check 1, check 2" over it haha. We just finalized the timing this week, but a little closer to the day I'll check in with her and press for more details on what they need and how long it will take.

Yes, we will have a large rented tent for the tables/chairs, as well as several smaller gazebo-style tents for cocktail food and miscellany. Main buffet, and probably dessert, will be under one of the large sheds. I promise this is not quite as redneck as it's coming off haha. It'll be all cuted-up Pinterest-style with bistro lights and such.

[Deleted User]

I like how organized you are, props for that. In regards to the band, they will probably need to set up way before you have. You want them set up, sound checked & dressed well before the guests show start showing up & you will have guests who possible start showing up as early as 3:30pm. I would also talk to photographer about how much time they think you should leave for photos. Depending on the size of your wedding party and how many different combinations of photos you need with them and then the family shots, you may need more time. Also you may want to have your dessert table set up before dinner, if need be have a privacy screen in front of it if you are worried about people going for it before dinner. Trust me, you don't want to be sitting there eating your dinner watching the coordinator trying to set up the cake, the topper and all the other stuff and trying to get it all set up & looking pretty in 15 minutes. If she does that during dinner, she'll become the dinner entertainment because everyone will be watching her set up. It's unaviidable, we are curious individuals by nature, want to see what she is setting up for us to eat next.  Overall, your schedule looks great. The other thing is if you are having a hair dresser and/or makeup person come to you, you will wont to confirm with them that based on how many people are getting their hair/makeup down & the types of styles, how much time will they need to comfortably get everyone ready. I know we got 7 people done in less then 90 minutes, but we were at a salon and had 5 stylists.

spockforprez

Erikan73 said:

I like how organized you are, props for that. In regards to the band, they will probably need to set up way before you have. You want them set up, sound checked & dressed well before the guests show start showing up & you will have guests who possible start showing up as early as 3:30pm. I would also talk to photographer about how much time they think you should leave for photos. Depending on the size of your wedding party and how many different combinations of photos you need with them and then the family shots, you may need more time. Also you may want to have your dessert table set up before dinner, if need be have a privacy screen in front of it if you are worried about people going for it before dinner. Trust me, you don't want to be sitting there eating your dinner watching the coordinator trying to set up the cake, the topper and all the other stuff and trying to get it all set up & looking pretty in 15 minutes. If she does that during dinner, she'll become the dinner entertainment because everyone will be watching her set up. It's unaviidable, we are curious individuals by nature, want to see what she is setting up for us to eat next.  Overall, your schedule looks great. The other thing is if you are having a hair dresser and/or makeup person come to you, you will wont to confirm with them that based on how many people are getting their hair/makeup down & the types of styles, how much time will they need to comfortably get everyone ready. I know we got 7 people done in less then 90 minutes, but we were at a salon and had 5 stylists.

Thanks for the feedback! I want to trust that my band knows when they should arrive and set up as they have done many weddings before according to their reviews, but I appreciate the input that they should have more time and can definitely understand why that could be an issue. I honestly don't care how early they arrive except to account for the gap - I offered to provide refreshments and a cool place to sit for the hour's gap between sound check and the end of the ceremony and they seemed fine with that, but not sure how they would feel if it was more than that (in other words, would they want more money). When we get closer and the timeline is a little more reliable, I'll reach back out and wiggle it around if needed.

Our dessert is pies and a cheesecake - I think I would want them to be cooled or at least indoors so they don't melt or get flies on them or whatever. I don't know about eating food at 7:15 that's been sitting outdoors since 4pm, especially cheesecake. Thoughts? At 6:30 (an hour after supper starts) we'll start the bonfire and the band will start up again. So, at 7 when the coordinator sets them up, that's 1.5 hours after dinner and most people should be done eating and sitting around the fire or playing music, I would think. I don't know, I feel like there's always some behind the scenes stuff going on, like when the caterer breaks down/cleans up the buffet area. It's not the most elegant, but it's gotta be done!

I'm doing my own makeup and a bridesmaid is going to do my hair - nothing elaborate, I'll be wearing it down - so no worries about a stylist. Thank you very much for the thorough check of the timeline!!!! I appreciate getting fresh eyes to see things I hadn't thought about.

spockforprez

Oh and yes, on the time for photos. We've only scheduled about 1.75-2 hours, split up before/after the ceremony. So that could be a little tight. I'm hoping to have all wedding party photos completely done before the ceremony, as well as immediate family. Then after the ceremony do the extended family stuff. But I'll work with my photographer on that!

Viczaesar

dreadpirateroberts said:

Erikan73 said:

I like how organized you are, props for that. In regards to the band, they will probably need to set up way before you have. You want them set up, sound checked & dressed well before the guests show start showing up & you will have guests who possible start showing up as early as 3:30pm. I would also talk to photographer about how much time they think you should leave for photos. Depending on the size of your wedding party and how many different combinations of photos you need with them and then the family shots, you may need more time. Also you may want to have your dessert table set up before dinner, if need be have a privacy screen in front of it if you are worried about people going for it before dinner. Trust me, you don't want to be sitting there eating your dinner watching the coordinator trying to set up the cake, the topper and all the other stuff and trying to get it all set up & looking pretty in 15 minutes. If she does that during dinner, she'll become the dinner entertainment because everyone will be watching her set up. It's unaviidable, we are curious individuals by nature, want to see what she is setting up for us to eat next.  Overall, your schedule looks great. The other thing is if you are having a hair dresser and/or makeup person come to you, you will wont to confirm with them that based on how many people are getting their hair/makeup down & the types of styles, how much time will they need to comfortably get everyone ready. I know we got 7 people done in less then 90 minutes, but we were at a salon and had 5 stylists.

Thanks for the feedback! I want to trust that my band knows when they should arrive and set up as they have done many weddings before according to their reviews, but I appreciate the input that they should have more time and can definitely understand why that could be an issue. I honestly don't care how early they arrive except to account for the gap - I offered to provide refreshments and a cool place to sit for the hour's gap between sound check and the end of the ceremony and they seemed fine with that, but not sure how they would feel if it was more than that (in other words, would they want more money). When we get closer and the timeline is a little more reliable, I'll reach back out and wiggle it around if needed.

Our dessert is pies and a cheesecake - I think I would want them to be cooled or at least indoors so they don't melt or get flies on them or whatever. I don't know about eating food at 7:15 that's been sitting outdoors since 4pm, especially cheesecake. Thoughts? At 6:30 (an hour after supper starts) we'll start the bonfire and the band will start up again. So, at 7 when the coordinator sets them up, that's 1.5 hours after dinner and most people should be done eating and sitting around the fire or playing music, I would think. I don't know, I feel like there's always some behind the scenes stuff going on, like when the caterer breaks down/cleans up the buffet area. It's not the most elegant, but it's gotta be done!

I'm doing my own makeup and a bridesmaid is going to do my hair - nothing elaborate, I'll be wearing it down - so no worries about a stylist. Thank you very much for the thorough check of the timeline!!!! I appreciate getting fresh eyes to see things I hadn't thought about.

Yes, that's definitely a bad idea.

MandyMost

First, I think you should give yourself a full hour for cocktail hour. Anything else will seem rushed, for you as well as your guests. You can just join the cocktail hour when you're finished with pictures.

In my experience, that seems like too long for pictures, with too many people involved at the different times. I suggest you keep the before-wedding picture timeline as-is, and assuming you don't want the same picture in a ton of different locations you'll be fine. Think about how many shots you'll actually want when it's over--you don't need 40 pictures of your bridesmaids in 40 different backgrounds. 

Your family and bridal party will not be interested in doing more than one photoshoot. It's not fun to stand there and wait until you step into a pic, then step out of a pic, and then turn one way for a pic, then another, etc. Let them be done after the first photoshoot, and after the ceremony just do a few more bride and groom portraits. 

spockforprez

MandyMost said:

First, I think you should give yourself a full hour for cocktail hour. Anything else will seem rushed, for you as well as your guests. You can just join the cocktail hour when you're finished with pictures.

In my experience, that seems like too long for pictures, with too many people involved at the different times. I suggest you keep the before-wedding picture timeline as-is, and assuming you don't want the same picture in a ton of different locations you'll be fine. Think about how many shots you'll actually want when it's over--you don't need 40 pictures of your bridesmaids in 40 different backgrounds. 

Your family and bridal party will not be interested in doing more than one photoshoot. It's not fun to stand there and wait until you step into a pic, then step out of a pic, and then turn one way for a pic, then another, etc. Let them be done after the first photoshoot, and after the ceremony just do a few more bride and groom portraits. 

Hi, thank you for looking over the timeline!! I will definitely take a look at the cocktail hour - there is no travel involved other than walking about 25 yards so cocktail hour starts immediately. The band said they'd play for 45 minutes so that's why it was that long. I could take a look at pushing the set to 60 minutes or setting up the music to start playing after the 45 minutes. 

I'm all about simple when it comes to photos LOL. It is just one location. Our immediate families and the WP will all be there before the ceremony so I'm hoping to have all those photos done in the hour before the ceremony. Then, after the ceremony, have my (gigantic) extended family photos and his extended family photos as well. Then let all go to the cocktail hour and do any additional couple photos. If we finish the WP photos before the ceremony, they won't have to hang out during that 2nd "photoshoot" - they can head over to the cocktail hour right away (although 50% of the WP is also family/extended family lol).

Maybe it's AWish but I'd really like to be introduced into the reception. I have a plan for something for the emcee to say that will be a small surprise for my FH and it would be hard to let go of that. I am sad to miss the cocktail hour though, because I think there's gonna be meatballs haha. Maybe I will have a BM snag me a plate  

Maggie0829

Viczaesar said:

dreadpirateroberts said:

Erikan73 said:

I like how organized you are, props for that. In regards to the band, they will probably need to set up way before you have. You want them set up, sound checked & dressed well before the guests show start showing up & you will have guests who possible start showing up as early as 3:30pm. I would also talk to photographer about how much time they think you should leave for photos. Depending on the size of your wedding party and how many different combinations of photos you need with them and then the family shots, you may need more time. Also you may want to have your dessert table set up before dinner, if need be have a privacy screen in front of it if you are worried about people going for it before dinner. Trust me, you don't want to be sitting there eating your dinner watching the coordinator trying to set up the cake, the topper and all the other stuff and trying to get it all set up & looking pretty in 15 minutes. If she does that during dinner, she'll become the dinner entertainment because everyone will be watching her set up. It's unaviidable, we are curious individuals by nature, want to see what she is setting up for us to eat next.  Overall, your schedule looks great. The other thing is if you are having a hair dresser and/or makeup person come to you, you will wont to confirm with them that based on how many people are getting their hair/makeup down & the types of styles, how much time will they need to comfortably get everyone ready. I know we got 7 people done in less then 90 minutes, but we were at a salon and had 5 stylists.

Thanks for the feedback! I want to trust that my band knows when they should arrive and set up as they have done many weddings before according to their reviews, but I appreciate the input that they should have more time and can definitely understand why that could be an issue. I honestly don't care how early they arrive except to account for the gap - I offered to provide refreshments and a cool place to sit for the hour's gap between sound check and the end of the ceremony and they seemed fine with that, but not sure how they would feel if it was more than that (in other words, would they want more money). When we get closer and the timeline is a little more reliable, I'll reach back out and wiggle it around if needed.

Our dessert is pies and a cheesecake - I think I would want them to be cooled or at least indoors so they don't melt or get flies on them or whatever. I don't know about eating food at 7:15 that's been sitting outdoors since 4pm, especially cheesecake. Thoughts? At 6:30 (an hour after supper starts) we'll start the bonfire and the band will start up again. So, at 7 when the coordinator sets them up, that's 1.5 hours after dinner and most people should be done eating and sitting around the fire or playing music, I would think. I don't know, I feel like there's always some behind the scenes stuff going on, like when the caterer breaks down/cleans up the buffet area. It's not the most elegant, but it's gotta be done!

I'm doing my own makeup and a bridesmaid is going to do my hair - nothing elaborate, I'll be wearing it down - so no worries about a stylist. Thank you very much for the thorough check of the timeline!!!! I appreciate getting fresh eyes to see things I hadn't thought about.

Yes, that's definitely a bad idea.

Unless fun for you equals everyone vomiting or shitting their brains out.

spockforprez

Maggie0829 said:

Viczaesar said:

dreadpirateroberts said:

Erikan73 said:

I like how organized you are, props for that. In regards to the band, they will probably need to set up way before you have. You want them set up, sound checked & dressed well before the guests show start showing up & you will have guests who possible start showing up as early as 3:30pm. I would also talk to photographer about how much time they think you should leave for photos. Depending on the size of your wedding party and how many different combinations of photos you need with them and then the family shots, you may need more time. Also you may want to have your dessert table set up before dinner, if need be have a privacy screen in front of it if you are worried about people going for it before dinner. Trust me, you don't want to be sitting there eating your dinner watching the coordinator trying to set up the cake, the topper and all the other stuff and trying to get it all set up & looking pretty in 15 minutes. If she does that during dinner, she'll become the dinner entertainment because everyone will be watching her set up. It's unaviidable, we are curious individuals by nature, want to see what she is setting up for us to eat next.  Overall, your schedule looks great. The other thing is if you are having a hair dresser and/or makeup person come to you, you will wont to confirm with them that based on how many people are getting their hair/makeup down & the types of styles, how much time will they need to comfortably get everyone ready. I know we got 7 people done in less then 90 minutes, but we were at a salon and had 5 stylists.

Thanks for the feedback! I want to trust that my band knows when they should arrive and set up as they have done many weddings before according to their reviews, but I appreciate the input that they should have more time and can definitely understand why that could be an issue. I honestly don't care how early they arrive except to account for the gap - I offered to provide refreshments and a cool place to sit for the hour's gap between sound check and the end of the ceremony and they seemed fine with that, but not sure how they would feel if it was more than that (in other words, would they want more money). When we get closer and the timeline is a little more reliable, I'll reach back out and wiggle it around if needed.

Our dessert is pies and a cheesecake - I think I would want them to be cooled or at least indoors so they don't melt or get flies on them or whatever. I don't know about eating food at 7:15 that's been sitting outdoors since 4pm, especially cheesecake. Thoughts? At 6:30 (an hour after supper starts) we'll start the bonfire and the band will start up again. So, at 7 when the coordinator sets them up, that's 1.5 hours after dinner and most people should be done eating and sitting around the fire or playing music, I would think. I don't know, I feel like there's always some behind the scenes stuff going on, like when the caterer breaks down/cleans up the buffet area. It's not the most elegant, but it's gotta be done!

I'm doing my own makeup and a bridesmaid is going to do my hair - nothing elaborate, I'll be wearing it down - so no worries about a stylist. Thank you very much for the thorough check of the timeline!!!! I appreciate getting fresh eyes to see things I hadn't thought about.

Yes, that's definitely a bad idea.

Unless fun for you equals everyone vomiting or shitting their brains out.

lol... not at all. The bolded was me trying to be polite letting the commenter know I thought setting up the dessert early was a bad idea.