Hi!
I am trying to work through the wedding morning getting ready/photography timeline in order to nail down timing for the photographer and transportation company. I'm hoping for some feedback on my general outline to make sure I'm not totally missing anything/not leaving enough time/leaving too much time/etc.
Let me know your thoughts!
Some important details -
-Between BM's, moms, and sisters, (and me) there will be 10 women getting hair done with 2 stylists; 5 will also be getting makeup done, but that's a separate stylist so we can overlap. All of this will be done at the hotel where we're getting ready.
-We will not be doing a first look, so we're trying to get as much of the girls only/guys only pics done pre-ceremony so we can focus on full WP + B/G during cocktail hour.
-The church is 30 min away from the reception, and doors for cocktail hour will open 30 min after ceremony end-time so there will be no gap; cocktail hour will technically be an hour and a half long.
Timeline -
9:00 AM - WP starts arriving at respective hotel rooms
1:00 PM - Groomsmen pre-wedding pics ("getting ready" + portraits)
1:45 PM - Groomsmen leave for church
1:45 PM - BM pre-wedding pics ("getting ready" + portraits + detail shots)
3:30 PM - BM leave for church
4:30 PM - Ceremony
5:00 PM - Ceremony ends, WP/family pics at altar
7:00 PM - WP arrives at reception
Re: Getting Ready Timeline
Is your photographer solo, or do they have a second shooter? We had a second shooter so they GM and the BM all got ready at roughly the same time (we started a little earlier, and they left slightly earlier because they got ready at a house instead of the hotel), and we all met at the church 30 minutes before it started.
@levioosa what I got from the OP was it’s a 30min drive from ceremony to reception and an hour and a half cocktail hour...so I guess 5-5:30 guests get from ceremony to reception and 5:30-7 cocktail hour...so no gap. (Personally an hour and a half is pushing it for a cocktail hr...it better be multiple stations, plenty of passed hors d’ouvres, tons of seating and full open bar.) But I don’t believe there’s a gap.
The GM are arriving to the church so early because we have a single H2 hummer, so it will still need to drive 30 minutes back to the hotel and then another 30 minutes to take us to the church. So while the guys won't get there until 2:15-2:30 (depending on if they leave right on time or need a few minutes to gather their things), the girls won't get to the church until 3:45-4:00. I'd be hesitant to leave any less cushion.
The church has a lounge-like room for the guys with a large TV, X-Box, etc. and my FI will be providing snacks and drinks, so they'll be OK to hang out there and relax for a bit.
Girls and guys will both start getting ready around 9 (starting with breakfast/mimosas/beer for the guys), the girls just have the extra hour while the guys are driven to the church and the limo comes back for us.
Thoughts on the amount of time I have allotted for getting ready and the pictures? I'm mostly concerned with whether or not the time for getting ready and photos seems suitable for the size of groups.
Edit: We have a single shooter for photographs.
I would rather drive myself than kill time merely because of a school bus limo schedule, just saying. But if the guys think they'll have fun at church, whatever. It's just not necessary in any way (the limo trip or the early roll call). That's a long time to ask their SOs to do without them for no actual reason, but it's not wrong, per se.
You really don't need that many pictures. What you have is fine. Also, if it takes your group more than nearly 5 hours to get ready, Lord help you.
On the pre-ceremony pics, 45 minutes is enough time for each group. You really can push down the BM pics to start at 2:30 or 2:45. Nearly 2 hours is overkill.
10 women getting hair done by two stylists (so five each) shouldn’t take more than 5 hours. I recommend you get yourself towards the beginning, just bc you may feel anxious if things are suddenly rolling forward and you’re in a stylist chair.
ETA spelling
The guys will need about an hour to get ready. Tops. Starting their day at 9am for a 4:30pm wedding is crazy.
Here's what I'd do (assuming you'll get a special car for yourself):
9:30 - BMs arrive at hotel/stylists & MUA arrive and set up their stations
10:00-2:00 - stylists do hair for 10 and MUA does make-up for 5 (estimating just under an hour for each)
12:00 - serve lunch to BMs
1:30 - photographer arrives at bridal suite and takes detail pics (dress, shoes, accessories, etc.), old/blue/borrowed/new exchange pics, and candid getting ready pics.
1:45 - GMs arrive at hotel
2:00 - dresses on (photographer leaves while women change)
2:00 - photographer goes to GMs suite and takes detail pics (cuff links, etc.) and candid getting ready/hanging out pics
2:30 - photographer back to bridal suite for bride getting into dress and polished group bridal party photos
2:30 - suits/tuxes on and boutonnieres pinned
3:00 - photographer back to GM suite for polished group GM party photos
3:30 - groom, GMs and BMs in the limo/bride, MOH and mom in their car
3:45/4:00 - wedding party arrives at church, groups go to their own waiting rooms to pee, freshen up, have a couple snacks and wait for ceremony
4:30 - ceremony
5:00-5:45 - WP/family photos at altar
5:45 - family leaves to join cocktail hour
5:45-6:15 - B&G photos
6:15 - WP to limo for ride to reception venue
5:30-7 cocktail hour for guests
7:00 - B&G/WP intros
7:15 - spotlight dances
7:30 - dinner (table visits for B&G)
8:30 - cake cutting
9:00-end - party
"Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."