Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Wedding Lounge Podcast.
Today we've got a very excited Natasha, she loves it like me, loves all
things logistical, we are talking about timeline planning.
But the not so sexy side of wedding planning. I know, but it's the most important side of it,
because if you haven't got a wedding planner who's going to do your timelines for you,
all your suppliers need to be aware of what's going on. And you know, I think
today we're going to go into more of setting up your timings, but you need to make sure
you've got all your timings in there as well, so about time your haters are going to be arriving.
So your venue is aware what time they're going to show up, your florist, all of those times are
really important information that someone needs. The more information that you share around with
all your suppliers, the better the better your day is going to be. And I do find a lot of venues
will have like a final details meeting with you, maybe like six weeks out, and they like to have
a rough idea of what's going on. But if you're getting ready at home, the venue aren't going to be
worried about what time your hair and makeup artist is coming, what time the haters dropping off your
brunch for your bridesmaids, what time your car's coming to pick you up. Exactly, they're going to
be worried about what's happening at the venue. And just while we were talking about not having a
planner, I don't know if you find that with the people when I've spoken to suppliers,
the whole group always ends up sort of being the planner. And Katie was saying that we had her
on the week, she was saying that obviously when there isn't a planner, she ends up kind of
riding brides throughout the process, because not many suppliers are there all day.
No. And the photographer has, although they're focused on the photos, they're involved in every
aspect, whereas obviously the caterer is just food and drink. So although caterers are great
for recommending people, if you don't have a planner, like the photographer is really good for
overview of the whole day, because they're running and they're making sure the times go to
plan as well, guiding people and all of those things. That is often falls on the photographer and
it is not their responsibility. So if you can get a watertight line that you're venue or if you're
having a marquee at home, maybe a major one, or maybe someone not in your mind. I was just trying
to say that like I would maybe the rushes are probably quite a good person, like you could give
them each a time slot during the day that their response will for keeping things moving. The MCs
usually have quite a good one at keeping things moving, but you just, you want those important
people and the important suppliers to all be on the same page when you're day or run like clockwork,
whereas if you just kind of go and go, that was a florist coming at some point today.
No one knows when to chase things when it when something goes wrong. And I think that was kind of
raised when my, um, kebab van didn't turn up at my wedding all those years ago, because
with venue weren't interested in evening food because it wasn't their domain. I didn't have a
coordinator. I was the contact and I didn't know when something went wrong, so you can fix it.
Yeah. So I think it's really good. You need to put the work in beforehand to get all your timeline
in place. Yes. How do you start a timeline? That's, I mean it's, do you start it to my mind?
Let me start Natasha. So I tend to work backwards if there's an end time. Yes. So if you want all
your guests gone by one o'clock in the morning, you know, you want band to do two 60 minute sets.
That takes you back two and a half hours with a break in between. You can then work out what time
you want your evening guests to arrive. You can then work out how long your meals going to be,
then you can work out how long you want your drinks reception to be, and then you can work out
where your ceremony time is. Yeah. Like I see the other way around yet. You know what time you
want to get married. Yeah. Everything else can kind of fall around. But also, even if you know what time
your ceremony is, that's a good point to work backwards for the morning, for the morning. So there's
no point booking your hair or makeup lady to come at nine and then suddenly realizing we've got five
bridesmaids who need hair and makeup plus the bride plus the mother of the bride and the ceremonies at 12.
Like it's just, you know, they're going to either need to get a bigger team or start earlier. So it's
working backwards sounds a bit, but sometimes it's actually easier when you've got,
when you've got a deadline, you work back from that deadline, don't you? Yes. Exactly. And that
is the way to do it. So when you have your key times in place, everything else can kind of slot in
when you can move and maneuver things around that. One thing that's just really key to think about is
speak to your suppliers about how much time they need. Your caterer will know if you're having
a three-course sit-down meal, you know, they'll know what your menu is and how long that's going to take
for them to serve, for guests to eat, for them to clear. You know, if your caterer says it's going to
take two hours for the start of the mains and desserts to be served and cleared, plus them, you know,
they know what they're doing. If your caterer says actually you're only having mains and then putting
as a dessert station, they will adjust that time accordingly. So ask your suppliers, especially
people like caterers and photographers, they know and your makeup artists as well and hair in the
morning, like they are the best people and a good makeup and hair artist should ask you what time
your ceremony is. They should know that you want to be resting ready to go an hour before,
plus travel time, plus travel time, and then work backwards from there to work out what time they
need to be there in the morning, which might terrify the life out of you when it being six
o'clock in the morning. But then you know, and you can make the decision, who I want me and my
private party to be getting up at six o'clock in the morning, or do I want to spend some extra money
on an assistant so that we can have a bit more of a relaxed morning. Yeah, so multiple people are
getting ready at the same time. Yeah, exactly. And it's worth thinking about these things before
you come to that final meeting with your venue. Yes. I would suggest speak to your venue
to maybe three months before and say what information are you going to need from us.
Most venues will have an Excel spreadsheet or document that they will get you to fill out
that will have all this information on. So if you have that in your hands, before you need to
have the answers, you've got that time who asks your suppliers rather than sitting in this final meeting
with your venue and going, oh my god, well, let's just pick a number out of the air. Be prepared. Be prepared.
Take your time with it. And then you can really fine tune it and fundamentally make it perfect for
you as well. And you can also know where the pitfalls are. So if you're choosing to have a twilight
wedding at four o'clock, when you want a three-course sit down meal, and you want a band, but your
venue's only there till 11 o'clock at night, you're not going to be able to fit everything in. So
something's got to give. Yeah. And you're better off knowing that further in advance than you are
getting closer to the wedding being like, oh, I thought I could, you know, have a half an hour
drinks reception for 150 people. No. It's also a good idea as well as asking your suppliers for
their timings is to consider your bless. And this is more I would say to do with the ceremony start time.
And herding cattle. Not cattle. That was quite easy to her. It's like herding cats. Yes, it is like herding
cats. Yes, take longer to do things. But when it comes to your ceremony time, think about if you're
expecting everyone to turn up at the church in midday, you're getting married in an hour away from
where most of your guests live. They're going to need time to travel. They're going to need time
to possibly get ready if they've come from further field. Just think about how that's going to work
and whether they're going to have time. So like a two o'clock ceremony, for example, people might
have time to come and have like a small bite to eat, a pub quickly get changed, freshen up and get
to the ceremony. So do, I know it's not about your guests, but do consider your guests and where they're
travelling from for the day, just loosely, you know, it's not going to fit everyone and everyone's
situation is going to be different, but just a rough idea, just to think about them because sometimes
ceremonies can be like right across lunchtime and it's, you know, just especially if you've got
lots of children. Yes, yeah. I mean, typically if you've got lots of children coming, it's because you
have your own children and you're at that stage of life. So you'll consider the fact that kids like
to eat at 12 o'clock on the dots and it'll just mean out, so you're not going to have a 12/30 ceremony.
That's not going to fit in with most the timings, but it's just those considerations that you need to
have. And again, if you're getting married really far away, so if you're choosing for all, say,
you're based in London, but you're choosing for all your guests to go to Scotland, you need to
consider whether or not everyone's going to be arriving on the day of your wedding or if everyone's
going to be getting a hotel the night before and check in times. Yes. Because, you know, most hotels
you can't check in until 12 o'clock. So those sort of considerations with your guests. That also applies
to a hotel venue, because if guests aren't able to stay the night before, but they're checking in,
there's sometimes you have wedding venues where they certainly started and then guests are having to
then check in like in the drinks reception and it can break up the days. It's just being aware of
sort of whole experience for you and your guests. Or factor into your timing, yeah.
So we've had the ceremony. Yes, you need to go and check in and then they can come back and have
the drinks reception. Exactly. So just make sure that you factor those moments in and like I was saying
earlier, guests are like herding cats. Yeah. It takes guests quite a while to move from one
location to another and you need to account for that. It's not going to take five minutes to see
150 people for your wedding breakfast. You need to allow at least 20 minutes for that to happen.
And also I find whether dependent. If it's really hot, people might want a drink before the ceremony
a drink. You know, there's people always, you know, before photos are being taken, as you've decided
to do ceremony straight to photos like family group shots. Someone's going to want to grab a drink.
I have someone ready for drinks, built in time for people to nip and do a wee off to the ceremony
before they have any photos or to re-touch up their hair or makeup complete. It's just considering,
I think really. Yeah. Everything. I think timelines don't necessarily flow from one thing
immediately to the next. It's a case of you've got your ceremony and you've got the time it's
going to take everyone to get to the next point and you've got your next point. So you've got
and you've got the drinks reception. So it's just making people aware I like to
kind. So if I've got a two o'clock ceremony and it's a church ceremony, it's about 45 to 50 minutes
long. So then you're kind of doing the confetti by about three o'clock. So realistically, no one's
going to be bracket the reception venue until depending on how far it is, an hour and a bit later.
But you want all your staff ready to go. Yeah. Two 45. So everyone knows of the reception venue.
Two 45 is when we can expect that first guest. There's always one guest who's desperate for a drink
and will leave church immediately and go straight to the reception. I'll be like, I want the best
parking spot and I need a drink and something to eat. Thank you so much. Thank you so much because
get rushing through the service. Oh gosh. Yeah. So it was, you know, our headinsters are just
quickly ringing going, right? Everyone ready? They're on their way. Oh, when we spoke about weather plans
and if you have suddenly not doing the confetti shot at the church, people might be getting
back to the reception quicker. So filled in extra time, but also as you say, make sure everyone's aware
that be prepared early because things happen. Another thing to consider is if you're
within your ceremony and your reception in different places is we've obviously mentioned travel time
but building in time for parking. People don't just finish the confetti shot. They're in their car
driving. Yeah, it takes about five or ten minutes to wander back, chat to people, get to their cars,
swap their heels for their flats to drive, drive to the reception, then the other end, they're putting
their heels on, they're retouching their lipstick, they're straightening their shirts on their tie.
You know, everything takes a bit longer than you think. People aren't just going to be ready instantly.
I love traffic. I love the versions. There's finding parking spaces. All of these things that do
take time and as you rightly said, you want your staff ready for the first people so that no one's
turning up to a half-ready room, but you've also got to be aware that you've left time the
stragglers. Yes, exactly. And I think it's just it's staggering that arrival. Have a few drinks ready
to go and then you can kind of start slowly bringing them out as more and more. Yes, arrive. Yes.
One of the important times that you need to consider quite early is your evening guests? Yes,
before you send time by. Yes. So I think knowing the basics of what time you want your evening guests
to arrive is something that you should have sorted quite early. Yes. So even if you've got a really
basic timeline talked through with your caterer or your photographer quite early on, just to give
you an understanding of what time to ask your evening guests for. So the last thing you want
is them showing up in the middle of dinner or speech or speech or halfway through your first dance.
You want them to kind of be there for those important moments that you want them there for.
We have mentioned before like a tell out, you know, especially if you're at a venue where there's
a turnaround time for the room, you know, it's a really good way to have that sort of offer, I guess,
that the evening guests are turning up. If you've run a bit late, it's not the end of the world,
because there's like a drinks receptions ready to welcome them, even if like the last
because the desserts are being cleared somewhere else. And then there's a buffer so that if they
are running a bit late, they're there and then walking in on your first dance. Yeah. It's quite a
nice way to do it. I think if I run you through what a typical in inverted commas
timeline would be for a wedding. So for a two o'clock ceremony. Yeah. All on one site. So you haven't
got to think about transport between the two. That is something important to factor in.
Definitely. It's the distance. It's going to take you and all you'll get to get from a ceremony
location to. So for a two o'clock ceremony, makeup and hair is typically going to start seven,
eight o'clock in the morning. Yeah. If you and your bridal party are all being done. Normally they say
about half an hour for bridesmaids, make up. Yeah. Longer possibly for hair. Yeah. And obviously the
bridal hair and makeup will take longer because that's an hour and a half. That's everyone's priority.
Find that out from your. Yeah. You also at that point you don't want to be the first. You don't want
to be the last. Yes. You want to be in the middle because you don't want to be the one getting
up at seven o'clock in the morning and then you're having to have touch-ups anyway. But you need to
make sure that you are the priority. Yes. You don't want to be the last ones. Yeah.
Sarah's hair is taken longer and then the makeup artist or hair dresser is mushing you. Yeah. You want
to be done. Be ready early. And like we've said a few times before, you want to be ready an hour before.
I would suggest if one of you or your partner is going to be at the wedding venue ready to meet your
guests, they want to be there an hour before. Because you always have one or two guests who turn up
early and you don't really want them arriving before everything's ready. So then you want to be aware,
everything needs to be set and ready to go an hour before. You've got someone there, even if it's
some ushers or a prize made, someone is there to greet your guests an hour before. Because if you're
both walking in, you obviously can't be there to greet them before. But you want to have someone
there from your bridal parties to greet your guests or a member of staff there to greet your
guests. You then go at your two o'clock ceremony, which usually lasts about half an hour if it's a
register or a celebrant wedding. Yeah. We're obviously not going for church of England ceremony.
In this example, just because that would into a travel time. But obviously religious ceremonies
at different occasions would have different lengths and travel time. Yeah. Think about.
So you've got your half an hour ceremony finishing about who 40? I would give it because you're
going to be five minutes late and you've all got to walk him. Yeah. So give yourselves that little bit of
buffer. So 240, end time, everyone comes out and you're probably going to be starting your drinks
reception at about three o'clock. Yes. Because then you've got confetti, possibly as people are leaving
the ceremony area. Yeah. People want to say hello. So your drinks reception will realistically start
about three o'clock. And there's typical drinks reception. So you've got drinks and canapace
is an hour and a half. Yes. So you've got an hour and a half there. So that takes you to 430,
which may include some speeches, may include photographs. You might be making off for 20 minutes of
family group shots or couples portrait. Yes. That will be built in, but it's just a talk for about that.
And then I tend to allow about half an hour for guests to come in and sit down. That's for a wedding
of about 120 people. If you've got 250 people, you're going to want to allow longer. If you've got 50
people, you don't need as long. So you've got your half an hour buffer for people to sit down
and for you guys to walk in as well. Because you want your nice big moment and your entrance.
Definitely. So you're in and seated by around five o'clock, just after five o'clock.
Yeah. And then you've got the wedding breakfast. Which for three course, you know, it's say you are
going to have starter and not plated. Yes. Stater. Stater needs clearing, mains,
needs clearing and a sat down dessert. Yeah. That could take about two hours.
Yes. So you start as normally about half an hour with eating and then 10 to 15 minutes each side
of laying and clearing. Then your main course is about 45 minutes with again 10 minutes either side
and then your pudding is about half an hour as well. That's coming up about two and a half hour.
Yeah it is. Yeah. It's just going into detail. Just in case. Because if someone's not having a pudding,
they then know how much time they can take out. Yeah. So that's taken you from five o'clock.
But half seven. Your brain's working quicker than mine today.
I'm on 90. 40% speed here. Oh gosh. So about half seven you're finishing your meal and your
guests are slowly getting up. What we've not included is speeches, speeches, which do after the meal
was then it won't upset your food time. So after your meal, you can have your speeches. Yeah.
Which going back to our last episode, if you're having three traditional speeches,
there are about 15 minutes each. 45 minutes. So you've gone from half our seven to eight,
15 before you've even got to the dance floor. And before you've even got an evening guest turning up.
Yeah. You then need to think about if you're cutting the cake. If you are doing a first dance,
you know, when your band is going to start playing and where all the evening guests are going to turn up.
So I mean, cake cutting. You might want to do it. I often build like a 15 minute window.
And obviously the actual cutting the cake doesn't take 15 minutes. But by the time you've kind of got
your meal finished, you've got your photographer, videographer, they're ready. You've found all the key people
through as well. How where to stand, how best to do it. It does take its time, doesn't it? Yeah.
I like to time it with the first dance. Yes. Yeah. So those two things kind of go hand in hand
so have it on or near the dance floor and then it can be moved out the way. Or when you come in.
Yes. Or you've even said before in the drinks reception. Yeah. Nice. I think allow about 15 minutes
for your cake. Yeah. Just to get it organised. Obviously you're not standing there for 15 minutes
cutting up cake, but it's just to make sure I'm up and ready. You will find that as we said already,
moving guests on a wedding day is really hard. It is really hard because people don't want to always
do what they're told. They might be enjoying their drink and it's hard to interrupt people's conversation.
Sometimes you need to get things moving. Yeah. And that's what your venue team and your wedding
planner or your caterers are there. What do they help do? Or your MC is there to do. Keep things moving.
So we've got to about 830. 830 go for cutting of the cake and first dance. Everyone's on the dance floor
by 845. Boom. And then you've got typically if you've got a band, it's two one-hour sets with
every 20 minute break in between. Well sometimes 345 minutes sets. Yeah. With breaks in between as well.
So you've kind of got 845. 930. 930. 940. 945 minutes. 940. 945. They come back on again. 1030. 1030. 1045.
1130. In the evening. If you're new. Exactly. Or a DJ afterwards. Yeah.
And then plan your evening food in a planned break. Yes. Yeah. You don't want to be,
you especially don't want your evening food coming out in that worst land set because
everyone's going to be able to dance floor. Yeah. Try and get it coming out as you say sort of towards
the end of one of their sets. By the time people notice it is the break. Yeah. Because you're not
going to bring it out and everyone go wrong. Unless you're me. So maybe bring it out towards the end
of one of their sets so that people are noticing and then they're feeling comfortable enough to
go up and grab some food when the band are playing. I'm going to stick on our Instagram breakdown
of the timeline that we've just gone through. Yeah. So it's all written down and you haven't
got to try and write it down in your notes. But hopefully this is all bit helpful when it comes
to planning your timeline. And it's something that is I love. I think I'm yeah alone in that. But
I really like doing it. I'm just struggling right now to
I need to see it written. I'm trying to picture a laptop with that timeline on. Yeah.
That's great. Here's your rough idea of your timings. And things to consider when you're planning
your timelines or your wedding. Obviously you'll have travel time, you're maybe entertainment,
you won't be taking out some golden hour photos as a couple. All things you need to build in
with the basics of getting your hair and makeup done, getting ready, getting to ceremony,
drinks, reception, meal, speeches and then you're caking your
band and evening food. Then that is what to consider. And again, it's a guide. If you're not having
a sit down meal, your timeline is going to be totally different. So when you speak to your catering
here, it's all food for thought. So next week we are going to be joined by Lydia from Ella Parisa,
who is a wedding planner who specialises in multi-cultural weddings. She's going to be talking to
us all about the other religious ceremonies. Thank you for it to her. See you then. Bye.