Help me with my timeline!

morenachica110 · August 2012

So here is what I have so far:

Ceremony at 5:30

Cocktail hour 6-6:30 (while we take a few photos)

Bride and groom entrance at 6:30

First dance at 6:30 (as soon as we come in)

Dinner served 6:35-ish

Cake cutting at 7

Father daughter dance at 7:10-ish

Now, we're not doing a first look and we want to cut the cake asap (but not before dinner bc that feels weird to me). The photog and Fi and I would love to get some sunset pictures. Well, I JUST thought today to look at the times for sunset. 7:25pm. Holy Jesus crackers.

Invites are sent. No changing ceremony time. What can we do???

em105 · August 2012

We're just sneaking out for a few minutes for a few pics with the photog- like 10-15 minutes right around sunset.

It's going to be in between all major things-we-need-to-be-there-for and my fiance is looking forward to it as a few minutes to just relax and be alone.

ETA: Looked through this again and... is 25 minutes going to be enough time to serve and dinner? I mean, even if you totally chow down, 25 minutes isn't a lot of time. Have you maybe thought about pushing back your cake cutting time- even to like 8??

My FMIL mentioned to me that the cake cutting is when a lot of 'older' guests take the opportunity to leave and the children (if they will be there) are put to bed right after. My personal two cents is that I'm paying damn good money for that food and cake and you bet your butt I'm trying to make sure people enjoy it and don't rush.

morenachica110 · August 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_september-2012-weddings_help-me-with-my-timeline?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:a464c18c-2e4d-469b-8eae-3865079cb9cfDiscussion:4c647562-b08f-4346-9732-85d5341a5d6ePost:99ce9c4d-f586-4802-9558-d74f32a74f0f">Re: Help me with my timeline!</a>:
[QUOTE]We're just sneaking out for a few minutes for a few pics with the photog- like 10-15 minutes right around sunset. It's going to be in between all major things-we-need-to-be-there-for and my fiance is looking forward to it as a few minutes to just relax and be alone. ETA: Looked through this again and... is 25 minutes going to be enough time to serve and dinner? I mean, even if you totally chow down, 25 minutes isn't a lot of time. Have you maybe thought about pushing back your cake cutting time- even to like 8?? My FMIL mentioned to me that the cake cutting is when a lot of 'older' guests take the opportunity to leave and the children (if they will be there) are put to bed right after. My personal two cents is that I'm paying damn good money for that food and cake and you bet your butt I'm trying to make sure people enjoy it and don't rush.
Posted by em105[/QUOTE]

<div>I'm a little worried that since it's buttercream and it's in a barn with no ac unit (well ventilated but still...) that the cake may start to melt. I was thinking that once we come in, we would have our plates ready for us. Eat, say hello to a few people, and while they are still eating we would cut the cake. Weird?</div>

doublenn · August 2012

Your cocktail hour seems short. Could you extend it a bit? Because if you're making an entrance at 6:30, everyone will have to be seated before that, and it might take 10 minutes depending on your number of guests.

calindi · August 2012

Everything seems rather compressed - could you have the cake kept in the back and brought out for cutting, rather than on display the whole time? Otherwise, keep the cutting at the same time, but expect it to be in the middle of dinner - people can watch from their seats, and then the cake can be brought back to be cut up and served after they finish their meals. Push dancing back to at least 8pm.

It's not so much that YOU will be rushed as your guests - that's not very much time to be served & eat before it's time to eat cake.

And you should also expect your cocktail hour to probably go a few minutes over - 30 minutes is not much time for photos, especially as you aren't having a first look, and it's hard to get people to feel like they've finished cocktail hour in 30 minutes - and corralling a group to do something before it feels done is tough.

So I'd say cocktail hour should be around 45 minutes at least, then why don't you have dinner served right away, and you guys do your entrance while they're eating dinner, and your first dance while they're eating? I've been to a wedding where that happened before, and it was quite nice actually. That gives everyone more time to eat, and gives you guys time to take more pictures.

Then you immediately cut the cake, and grab something to eat yourself before sneaking out for some sunset pictures. Then give it about an hour or so, so 8pm, and then do the father-daughter dance to start the dancing again and get people up from dinner.

volleygurl0306 · August 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_september-2012-weddings_help-me-with-my-timeline?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:a464c18c-2e4d-469b-8eae-3865079cb9cfDiscussion:4c647562-b08f-4346-9732-85d5341a5d6ePost:8023ed9e-0cc7-49e2-8da9-13b3a5d20ecd">Re: Help me with my timeline!</a>:
[QUOTE]Everything seems rather compressed - could you have the cake kept in the back and brought out for cutting, rather than on display the whole time? Otherwise, keep the cutting at the same time, but expect it to be in the middle of dinner - people can watch from their seats, and then the cake can be brought back to be cut up and served after they finish their meals. Push dancing back to at least 8pm. It's not so much that YOU will be rushed as your guests - that's not very much time to be served & eat before it's time to eat cake. And you should also expect your cocktail hour to probably go a few minutes over - 30 minutes is not much time for photos, especially as you aren't having a first look, and it's hard to get people to feel like they've finished cocktail hour in 30 minutes - and corralling a group to do something before it feels done is tough. So I'd say cocktail hour should be around 45 minutes at least, then why don't you have dinner served right away, and you guys do your entrance while they're eating dinner, and your first dance while they're eating? I've been to a wedding where that happened before, and it was quite nice actually. That gives everyone more time to eat, and gives you guys time to take more pictures. Then you immediately cut the cake, and grab something to eat yourself before sneaking out for some sunset pictures. Then give it about an hour or so, so 8pm, and then do the father-daughter dance to start the dancing again and get people up from dinner.
Posted by calindi[/QUOTE]

I agree with most of this. I would probably have someone (mainly your WP) start dancing towards the end of dinner to get the guests going before the father-daughter dance (I believe after the first dance the dance floor is game) so guests are distracted while you sneak out for your sunset pictures. I've been to a few weddings where we just wait and wait after dinner to start dancing for the bride and groom (whether it be because of pictures or them saying hello to people) and it is kinda a downer. I like a reception that moves quickly to get to the dancing personally.

Also, are you having toasts? When would these take place? These can take a bit and people want to hear them (as long as they are concise haha) so make sure to factor in some time for that because it is a photo opportunity and you don't want to be eating during.

Lastly, I want to share a tid bit I learned from my brother's wedding (which was just on Saturday), if the place doesn't have a/c, take a few precautions (not sure if your ceremony space is the same but still). His ceremony site did not have a/c and my now SIL passed out twice during her ceremony and we had to call the paramedics because she lost consciousness the second time! I don't want to scare you and it is totally doable (plus I hope September weather is nicer than July) but make sure everyone <u>eats </u>and <u>drinks a ton of flat water</u> (she had seltzer which does not hydrate you) before. Make sure there is ample water available to your guests as well as some fans. I definitely assume the weather won't be as hot but it certainly threw off what she had in mind for her perfect day and don't want anything like that to happen to you.

cinderellasjc · August 2012

It does seem rather compact. I'm not sure if your giving yourself enough time to enjoy everything.

We are cutting our cake after our first dance. This way our venue will have time to cut the cake while dinner is being served. This might be a great way to keep your cake out of the heat.

cronin85 · August 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_september-2012-weddings_help-me-with-my-timeline?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:a464c18c-2e4d-469b-8eae-3865079cb9cfDiscussion:4c647562-b08f-4346-9732-85d5341a5d6ePost:dd346716-d633-4be5-8fe2-92e814867438">Re: Help me with my timeline!</a>:
[QUOTE]It does seem rather compact. I'm not sure if your giving yourself enough time to enjoy everything. We are cutting our cake after our first dance. This way our venue will have time to cut the cake while dinner is being served. This might be a great way to keep your cake out of the heat.
Posted by cinderellasjc[/QUOTE]

Same here. Cutting cake after first dance.

morenachica110 · August 2012

Thanks for all the tips ladies! There's no back area to keep the cake. It's all out in the open except for the bridal suite off to one side. I think I'm going to just talk with the people who are making the cake and see what the recommend as far as lasting time. The end of September is usually pretty nice weather wise and the Farmer's Almanac says that it'll be unseasonably dry and cool. Plus it will be evening and there's no ac, but there are huge fans on the ceiling.

And, PP, thanks for the tip about passing out. I actually passed out at my first dress fitting (

) so we're already making a list of ways to keep me (and others) from having problems. And the caterer is supplying ulimited cold water the whole night.

Peaceflower17 · August 2012

This is my tenative timeline for me....

Wedding is at 4 guests leave around 445-5 to go to reception for cocktails and we stay to do pics!

5:00 p.m. Guests head into the cocktail hour and the reception and find their seats.
5:30 p.m. Your emcee begins introducing the wedding party and the first dance.
5:45 p.m. Dinner is served. The emcee asks guests to take their seats. Music should be low enough so guests can talk at their tables. – Father/Daughter dance and Mother/Son dance near the end of dinner
6:45 p.m. The music volume starts to increase gradually to get people who finished their meals out onto the dance floor.
7:30 p.m. The bouquet toss, followed by the garter toss, if you’re doing them. Followed by more dancing.
7:45 p.m. The cake cutting.
9:00 p.m. The final dance set. Time to play those songs you felt funny playing while all the elderly guests were still there!

What do think ladies? I wanna make sure I have everything in there because my photographer is only around for 4 hours!

Help me with my timeline!

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