WDYT: Rough Timeline

KST_

So, I know I still have a year, but making my lists, etc, has always been my favorite way to procrastinate from real work and also is oddly a stress reliever for me.We have to do our send-off from the reception (and reception ends) 3:45-4 pm to have time for cleanup. So I tried figuring out my timeline working backwards from there.7 AM - hair & travel to dressing site8        - makeup and getting dressed9        - travel to ceremony site9:45   - pictures11      - guests arrive11:30 - noon ceremonynoon  - travel to reception1 PM - Eating2:15   - toasts2:30   - cake3        - dancing3:45   - couple send off/reception endsI know there isn't much time in there for dancing, but our schedule is just really going to be tight. Plus, we're mostly white folks who don't dance much and there won't be lots of alcohol to provide the dancing confidences.As for the hair - I haven't talked to either my current hairdresser or the other person I have in mind yet. I had been thinking of going in to the salon since I can't really afford the extra expense of having someone come to me. However, what's your opinion on finding someone willing to do hair at 7AM on a Sunday?

Aleighy617

I would contact the Jean Juarez school.  Often times those girls love to have the extra work, since they are still in school and not getting paid regularly.  I have a frend of mine who went there and she is going to do my hair at the venue before the ceremony.  You might be able to even go into the school and have them do a "test run" before the wedding.  And being that they are not yet certified, the prices are great!  and, on top of all that, since they will be doing this as an add on, they might be willing to travel to you, then you dont have to work around salon hours.

melissa82

I don't think you're allotting enough time for hair and makeup. I'd put at least an hour for each of those and THEN add in travel time and getting dressed. If you have a corset back or lots of buttons, getting dress could take longer than you think.Also, toasts are after eating?

whit940

Are you the only person getting hair/makeup done? How far are you traveling between hair and makeup sites? There doesn't seem to be much wiggle room in case things run over the estimated time. I agree with Melissa, hair and makeup easily took an hour each without travel time. What time do you have to be out of the reception hall?

emilyasiegel

Like the other people, I agree definitely not enough time for hair and makeup. Also your toast will probably run longer than 15 minutes, especially if there are any unplanned toasts, which there usually are.

KST_

Thanks for the tip about the Gene Juarez school, I'll check them out.I'm not having my makeup done but am just planning on doing it myself so don't have to worry about their timeline, etc. It only takes me 15 minutes when I do full on makeup. Still haven't quite picked the dress, but all three candidates are zipper (no buttons, no corset).As for the toasts, we are planning a buffet tea party style reception. So we'll have be having tea, coffee, some fun punches along with little tea sandwiches, scones, tea breads, and fruit. Our budget doesn't look like we can add in much in the way of alcohol, so we'll only have champagne for the toast. My thought was that champagne then goes nicely with dessert. Also, we might want to take some pictures after the ceremony if we have a few we missed earlier and I wouldn't want the guests to have to wait to eat until we get there.

melissa82

I would still do the toasts first. (Depends, of course, on what the norm is in WA in terms of order.) But I would need someone to tell me it's OK to eat because I'd be waiting for the toasts to be polite. Also, I wouldn't really want champagne after having had coffee or tea. Maybe my stomach is just weird. =)One tip I've received is always to allot more time than you need. If something comes up or there's a delay for one reason or another, you'll be happy you did. And if you stay on schedule, you'll have a few bonus moments to sit and relax.

KST_

I'll keep that in mind, thanks Melissa. I've been to weddings where the champagne was mid-meal. Really, I just wouldn't want everyone to be hungry (most people probably won't have eaten lunch) and waiting around for us. We actually left a reception recently before the cake because we had to wait and hour and a half for the BP to show up and have the food put out on the buffet because they were taking pictures and the reception was across the street from the church. I was planning on having someone there make sure everyone knows to not wait for us to eat. Toast before would make everyone wait. Would toasting mid-meal be weird?

heatherandbradley

We're toasting after the meal and most weddings I have been to around here are that way. I don't think there is anything wrong with it as guests will just eat until someone tells them to do otherwise. What type of food are you doing and how many guests? If you are doing a buffet I would worry some people will barely get through the line in an hour, let alone eat before toasts, and then they are going to dive right into cake. Maybe have your first dance and father daughter dance before cake to allow more time in between. Then do cake cutting. Are you doing bouquet toss or garter toss? I do agree with the other girls about hair and makeup not being long enough. Even if you are doing your own makeup you will want to take the time to do everything very carefully and have time to fix it if you make mistakes. I went to sephora and had them create a look for me and then purchased some of their Makeup Forever HD makeup which is supposed to be better for photographs. I am very happy I had someone else to help me at least decide on what I wanted to do. HTH!