Need some help with timeline (XP reception ideas)

beachyone15

Hey ladies, would you all mind at taking a look at our timeline to make sure it is good? We are getting married at our church and the reception is at a golf club nearby. Thanks!

• 9:00am-12:30pm - Hair and makeup at mom’s house/serve light brunch
• 12:30-1:00pm – Travel to church
• 1:00 – 2:00pm – Vendors arriving for setup, eat lunch and get dressed at church (is this too much time at the church??)
  
• 2:30pm—Doors open/Guests begin to arrive/Pre-ceremony music starts
• 3:00pm—Ceremony starts
• 3:30pm—Ceremony ends
• 3:30pm—4:00pm – Church/family photos; guests travel to cocktail hour
• 4:00 – 4:15pm—Cocktail hour begins; Wedding party travels to reception
• 4:15 – 5:00pm – Outdoor wedding party photos
• 5:00pm—Cocktail hour ends; Bride/groom announcement
• 5:00 – 5:20pm - First dance and parent dances
• 5:30pm—Dinner served/toasts
• 7:00pm—Dinner ends, Dance floor opens
• 8:00pm—Cake Cutting/Dessert served (should we do this right after dinner instead??)
  
• 8:50pm—Last call
• 9:00pm—Reception ends

sarawifenow

It looks good, but I would do the cake cutting after dinner. Nothing squashes a good party like having to stop the dancing to do cake cutting.

RebeccaFlower

Things to think about:

1)Are you taking pictures prior to the ceremony? I highly suggest making good lists of posed pictures and do everything that you want that doesn't include you and you then-H (squee!!!) prior to the ceremony.

2)I think you should do cake right after dinner because you don't have a long time for dancing, you shouldn't interrupt it for cake. 

3) 3 spotlight dances shouldn't take 20 minutes. I tell people that you loose your audience after two and a half minutes. 

4) When are you greeting your guests? This happens in the form of a receiving line or table visits. If you eat your dinner first & quickly, you should be able to do them while your other guests eat. 

penguin44

RebeccaFlower said:

Things to think about:

1)Are you taking pictures prior to the ceremony? I highly suggest making good lists of posed pictures and do everything that you want that doesn't include you and you then-H (squee!!!) prior to the ceremony.

2)I think you should do cake right after dinner because you don't have a long time for dancing, you shouldn't interrupt it for cake. 

3) 3 spotlight dances shouldn't take 20 minutes. I tell people that you loose your audience after two and a half minutes. 

4) When are you greeting your guests? This happens in the form of a receiving line or table visits. If you eat your dinner first & quickly, you should be able to do them while your other guests eat. 

All of this. I would make a list of posed shots you want and ask your photographer how long they will take. You don't have much photo time scheduled.

How long does it take to get from the church to the reception site? Will the cocktails be ready when the first guest gets there?

I would do the cake cutting at 6:30. Then you'll have plenty of time for dancing. It won't take everyone 1.5 hours to eat dinner.

mschristie123

We did our cake cutting immediately after our first dance. Our venue said that they needed time during dinner service to cut the cake, so doing it right at the beginning helped the timing flow with the meal- everyone was served cake right after the main course.

beachyone15

We weren't planning on doing a first look, but could probably do bridal party pictures before the ceremony.

Yeah I think you guys are right about the cake cutting. Looks like we can move that up easily enough.

How much time should the spotlight dances take (first dance, dad-daughter, and mother-son)? I was thinking back-to-back would be the best way to do them rather than splitting them up.

We will be doing table visits (plated dinner), so I thought 1 1/2 hours would be enough time for us to eat quickly and then go visit our guests.

penguin44

beachyone15 said:

We weren't planning on doing a first look, but could probably do bridal party pictures before the ceremony.

Yeah I think you guys are right about the cake cutting. Looks like we can move that up easily enough.

How much time should the spotlight dances take (first dance, dad-daughter, and mother-son)? I was thinking back-to-back would be the best way to do them rather than splitting them up.

We will be doing table visits (plated dinner), so I thought 1 1/2 hours would be enough time for us to eat quickly and then go visit our guests.

I would push hair and makeup back 30 minutes-1 hour. Then you could get to the church a bit earlier and get some wedding party pictures out of the way. That will also give you some buffer time. Just in case.

We only had a first dance. But I would say each song will take about 2 minutes. It gets really awkward after a while. Well unless you are a pro dancer or something. I was glad the DJ cut the song early. I would also consider transitioning the father/daughter and mother/son dances. So they would come up before you are off the dance floor. Hope that makes sense.

beachyone15

penguin44 said:

beachyone15 said:

We weren't planning on doing a first look, but could probably do bridal party pictures before the ceremony.

Yeah I think you guys are right about the cake cutting. Looks like we can move that up easily enough.

How much time should the spotlight dances take (first dance, dad-daughter, and mother-son)? I was thinking back-to-back would be the best way to do them rather than splitting them up.

We will be doing table visits (plated dinner), so I thought 1 1/2 hours would be enough time for us to eat quickly and then go visit our guests.

I would push hair and makeup back 30 minutes-1 hour. Then you could get to the church a bit earlier and get some wedding party pictures out of the way. That will also give you some buffer time. Just in case.

We only had a first dance. But I would say each song will take about 2 minutes. It gets really awkward after a while. Well unless you are a pro dancer or something. I was glad the DJ cut the song early. I would also consider transitioning the father/daughter and mother/son dances. So they would come up before you are off the dance floor. Hope that makes sense.

Yes, that's helpful! Thanks!