1
00:00:24,345 --> 00:00:28,745
 Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Wedding Lounge Podcast.

2
00:00:28,745 --> 00:00:32,425
 Today we've got a very excited Natasha, she loves it like me, loves all

3
00:00:32,425 --> 00:00:36,105
 things logistical, we are talking about timeline planning.

4
00:00:36,105 --> 00:00:43,545
 But the not so sexy side of wedding planning. I know, but it's the most important side of it,

5
00:00:43,545 --> 00:00:47,465
 because if you haven't got a wedding planner who's going to do your timelines for you,

6
00:00:47,465 --> 00:00:53,225
 all your suppliers need to be aware of what's going on. And you know, I think

7
00:00:53,225 --> 00:00:57,625
 today we're going to go into more of setting up your timings, but you need to make sure

8
00:00:57,625 --> 00:01:02,425
 you've got all your timings in there as well, so about time your haters are going to be arriving.

9
00:01:02,425 --> 00:01:08,265
 So your venue is aware what time they're going to show up, your florist, all of those times are

10
00:01:08,265 --> 00:01:15,305
 really important information that someone needs. The more information that you share around with

11
00:01:15,305 --> 00:01:19,945
 all your suppliers, the better the better your day is going to be. And I do find a lot of venues

12
00:01:19,945 --> 00:01:24,745
 will have like a final details meeting with you, maybe like six weeks out, and they like to have

13
00:01:24,745 --> 00:01:29,385
 a rough idea of what's going on. But if you're getting ready at home, the venue aren't going to be

14
00:01:29,385 --> 00:01:35,065
 worried about what time your hair and makeup artist is coming, what time the haters dropping off your

15
00:01:35,065 --> 00:01:39,545
 brunch for your bridesmaids, what time your car's coming to pick you up. Exactly, they're going to

16
00:01:39,545 --> 00:01:44,345
 be worried about what's happening at the venue. And just while we were talking about not having a

17
00:01:44,345 --> 00:01:48,825
 planner, I don't know if you find that with the people when I've spoken to suppliers,

18
00:01:48,825 --> 00:01:52,905
 the whole group always ends up sort of being the planner. And Katie was saying that we had her

19
00:01:52,905 --> 00:01:57,465
 on the week, she was saying that obviously when there isn't a planner, she ends up kind of

20
00:01:57,465 --> 00:02:01,225
 riding brides throughout the process, because not many suppliers are there all day.

21
00:02:01,225 --> 00:02:05,785
 No. And the photographer has, although they're focused on the photos, they're involved in every

22
00:02:05,785 --> 00:02:09,705
 aspect, whereas obviously the caterer is just food and drink. So although caterers are great

23
00:02:09,705 --> 00:02:12,905
 for recommending people, if you don't have a planner, like the photographer is really good for

24
00:02:12,905 --> 00:02:18,265
 overview of the whole day, because they're running and they're making sure the times go to

25
00:02:18,265 --> 00:02:24,505
 plan as well, guiding people and all of those things. That is often falls on the photographer and

26
00:02:24,505 --> 00:02:31,145
 it is not their responsibility. So if you can get a watertight line that you're venue or if you're

27
00:02:31,145 --> 00:02:36,265
 having a marquee at home, maybe a major one, or maybe someone not in your mind. I was just trying

28
00:02:36,265 --> 00:02:41,385
 to say that like I would maybe the rushes are probably quite a good person, like you could give

29
00:02:41,385 --> 00:02:47,865
 them each a time slot during the day that their response will for keeping things moving. The MCs

30
00:02:47,865 --> 00:02:53,865
 usually have quite a good one at keeping things moving, but you just, you want those important

31
00:02:53,865 --> 00:03:00,985
 people and the important suppliers to all be on the same page when you're day or run like clockwork,

32
00:03:00,985 --> 00:03:04,505
 whereas if you just kind of go and go, that was a florist coming at some point today.

33
00:03:04,505 --> 00:03:09,065
 No one knows when to chase things when it when something goes wrong. And I think that was kind of

34
00:03:09,065 --> 00:03:13,545
 raised when my, um, kebab van didn't turn up at my wedding all those years ago, because

35
00:03:14,105 --> 00:03:17,705
 with venue weren't interested in evening food because it wasn't their domain. I didn't have a

36
00:03:17,705 --> 00:03:22,025
 coordinator. I was the contact and I didn't know when something went wrong, so you can fix it.

37
00:03:22,025 --> 00:03:27,145
 Yeah. So I think it's really good. You need to put the work in beforehand to get all your timeline

38
00:03:27,145 --> 00:03:34,985
 in place. Yes. How do you start a timeline? That's, I mean it's, do you start it to my mind?

39
00:03:34,985 --> 00:03:41,545
 Let me start Natasha. So I tend to work backwards if there's an end time. Yes. So if you want all

40
00:03:41,545 --> 00:03:48,825
 your guests gone by one o'clock in the morning, you know, you want band to do two 60 minute sets.

41
00:03:48,825 --> 00:03:54,185
 That takes you back two and a half hours with a break in between. You can then work out what time

42
00:03:54,185 --> 00:03:59,385
 you want your evening guests to arrive. You can then work out how long your meals going to be,

43
00:03:59,385 --> 00:04:02,665
 then you can work out how long you want your drinks reception to be, and then you can work out

44
00:04:02,665 --> 00:04:07,065
 where your ceremony time is. Yeah. Like I see the other way around yet. You know what time you

45
00:04:07,065 --> 00:04:12,585
 want to get married. Yeah. Everything else can kind of fall around. But also, even if you know what time

46
00:04:12,585 --> 00:04:18,345
 your ceremony is, that's a good point to work backwards for the morning, for the morning. So there's

47
00:04:18,345 --> 00:04:23,145
 no point booking your hair or makeup lady to come at nine and then suddenly realizing we've got five

48
00:04:23,145 --> 00:04:27,545
 bridesmaids who need hair and makeup plus the bride plus the mother of the bride and the ceremonies at 12.

49
00:04:27,545 --> 00:04:33,305
 Like it's just, you know, they're going to either need to get a bigger team or start earlier. So it's

50
00:04:33,305 --> 00:04:38,025
 working backwards sounds a bit, but sometimes it's actually easier when you've got,

51
00:04:38,025 --> 00:04:42,025
 when you've got a deadline, you work back from that deadline, don't you? Yes. Exactly. And that

52
00:04:42,025 --> 00:04:48,025
 is the way to do it. So when you have your key times in place, everything else can kind of slot in

53
00:04:48,025 --> 00:04:54,825
 when you can move and maneuver things around that. One thing that's just really key to think about is

54
00:04:54,825 --> 00:05:01,945
 speak to your suppliers about how much time they need. Your caterer will know if you're having

55
00:05:01,945 --> 00:05:06,105
 a three-course sit-down meal, you know, they'll know what your menu is and how long that's going to take

56
00:05:06,105 --> 00:05:11,145
 for them to serve, for guests to eat, for them to clear. You know, if your caterer says it's going to

57
00:05:11,145 --> 00:05:15,705
 take two hours for the start of the mains and desserts to be served and cleared, plus them, you know,

58
00:05:15,705 --> 00:05:20,665
 they know what they're doing. If your caterer says actually you're only having mains and then putting

59
00:05:20,665 --> 00:05:26,185
 as a dessert station, they will adjust that time accordingly. So ask your suppliers, especially

60
00:05:26,185 --> 00:05:32,025
 people like caterers and photographers, they know and your makeup artists as well and hair in the

61
00:05:32,025 --> 00:05:37,065
 morning, like they are the best people and a good makeup and hair artist should ask you what time

62
00:05:37,065 --> 00:05:42,425
 your ceremony is. They should know that you want to be resting ready to go an hour before,

63
00:05:42,425 --> 00:05:47,065
 plus travel time, plus travel time, and then work backwards from there to work out what time they

64
00:05:47,065 --> 00:05:52,185
 need to be there in the morning, which might terrify the life out of you when it being six

65
00:05:52,185 --> 00:05:58,665
 o'clock in the morning. But then you know, and you can make the decision, who I want me and my

66
00:05:58,665 --> 00:06:03,545
 private party to be getting up at six o'clock in the morning, or do I want to spend some extra money

67
00:06:03,545 --> 00:06:09,865
 on an assistant so that we can have a bit more of a relaxed morning. Yeah, so multiple people are

68
00:06:09,865 --> 00:06:16,185
 getting ready at the same time. Yeah, exactly. And it's worth thinking about these things before

69
00:06:16,185 --> 00:06:22,665
 you come to that final meeting with your venue. Yes. I would suggest speak to your venue

70
00:06:22,665 --> 00:06:27,145
 to maybe three months before and say what information are you going to need from us.

71
00:06:27,145 --> 00:06:34,185
 Most venues will have an Excel spreadsheet or document that they will get you to fill out

72
00:06:34,185 --> 00:06:40,425
 that will have all this information on. So if you have that in your hands, before you need to

73
00:06:40,425 --> 00:06:47,145
 have the answers, you've got that time who asks your suppliers rather than sitting in this final meeting

74
00:06:47,145 --> 00:06:53,545
 with your venue and going, oh my god, well, let's just pick a number out of the air. Be prepared. Be prepared.

75
00:06:53,545 --> 00:07:01,305
 Take your time with it. And then you can really fine tune it and fundamentally make it perfect for

76
00:07:01,305 --> 00:07:06,985
 you as well. And you can also know where the pitfalls are. So if you're choosing to have a twilight

77
00:07:06,985 --> 00:07:12,905
 wedding at four o'clock, when you want a three-course sit down meal, and you want a band, but your

78
00:07:12,905 --> 00:07:17,305
 venue's only there till 11 o'clock at night, you're not going to be able to fit everything in. So

79
00:07:17,305 --> 00:07:23,065
 something's got to give. Yeah. And you're better off knowing that further in advance than you are

80
00:07:23,065 --> 00:07:26,425
 getting closer to the wedding being like, oh, I thought I could, you know, have a half an hour

81
00:07:26,425 --> 00:07:33,465
 drinks reception for 150 people. No. It's also a good idea as well as asking your suppliers for

82
00:07:33,465 --> 00:07:39,385
 their timings is to consider your bless. And this is more I would say to do with the ceremony start time.

83
00:07:39,385 --> 00:07:46,105
 And herding cattle. Not cattle. That was quite easy to her. It's like herding cats. Yes, it is like herding

84
00:07:46,105 --> 00:07:52,585
 cats. Yes, take longer to do things. But when it comes to your ceremony time, think about if you're

85
00:07:52,585 --> 00:07:57,385
 expecting everyone to turn up at the church in midday, you're getting married in an hour away from

86
00:07:57,385 --> 00:08:01,465
 where most of your guests live. They're going to need time to travel. They're going to need time

87
00:08:01,465 --> 00:08:06,985
 to possibly get ready if they've come from further field. Just think about how that's going to work

88
00:08:06,985 --> 00:08:10,905
 and whether they're going to have time. So like a two o'clock ceremony, for example, people might

89
00:08:10,905 --> 00:08:16,185
 have time to come and have like a small bite to eat, a pub quickly get changed, freshen up and get

90
00:08:16,185 --> 00:08:20,905
 to the ceremony. So do, I know it's not about your guests, but do consider your guests and where they're

91
00:08:20,905 --> 00:08:26,025
 travelling from for the day, just loosely, you know, it's not going to fit everyone and everyone's

92
00:08:26,025 --> 00:08:31,065
 situation is going to be different, but just a rough idea, just to think about them because sometimes

93
00:08:31,065 --> 00:08:36,025
 ceremonies can be like right across lunchtime and it's, you know, just especially if you've got

94
00:08:36,025 --> 00:08:40,585
 lots of children. Yes, yeah. I mean, typically if you've got lots of children coming, it's because you

95
00:08:40,585 --> 00:08:46,345
 have your own children and you're at that stage of life. So you'll consider the fact that kids like

96
00:08:46,345 --> 00:08:52,905
 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.

97
00:08:52,905 --> 00:09:00,505
 That's not going to fit in with most the timings, but it's just those considerations that you need to

98
00:09:00,505 --> 00:09:06,985
 have. And again, if you're getting married really far away, so if you're choosing for all, say,

99
00:09:06,985 --> 00:09:12,505
 you're based in London, but you're choosing for all your guests to go to Scotland, you need to

100
00:09:12,505 --> 00:09:18,025
 consider whether or not everyone's going to be arriving on the day of your wedding or if everyone's

101
00:09:18,025 --> 00:09:24,105
 going to be getting a hotel the night before and check in times. Yes. Because, you know, most hotels

102
00:09:24,105 --> 00:09:30,505
 you can't check in until 12 o'clock. So those sort of considerations with your guests. That also applies

103
00:09:30,505 --> 00:09:36,185
 to a hotel venue, because if guests aren't able to stay the night before, but they're checking in,

104
00:09:36,185 --> 00:09:41,865
 there's sometimes you have wedding venues where they certainly started and then guests are having to

105
00:09:41,865 --> 00:09:47,145
 then check in like in the drinks reception and it can break up the days. It's just being aware of

106
00:09:47,705 --> 00:09:52,985
 sort of whole experience for you and your guests. Or factor into your timing, yeah.

107
00:09:52,985 --> 00:09:57,225
 So we've had the ceremony. Yes, you need to go and check in and then they can come back and have

108
00:09:57,225 --> 00:10:02,425
 the drinks reception. Exactly. So just make sure that you factor those moments in and like I was saying

109
00:10:02,425 --> 00:10:08,425
 earlier, guests are like herding cats. Yeah. It takes guests quite a while to move from one

110
00:10:08,425 --> 00:10:14,985
 location to another and you need to account for that. It's not going to take five minutes to see

111
00:10:14,985 --> 00:10:22,185
 150 people for your wedding breakfast. You need to allow at least 20 minutes for that to happen.

112
00:10:22,185 --> 00:10:28,105
 And also I find whether dependent. If it's really hot, people might want a drink before the ceremony

113
00:10:28,105 --> 00:10:32,665
 a drink. You know, there's people always, you know, before photos are being taken, as you've decided

114
00:10:32,665 --> 00:10:37,865
 to do ceremony straight to photos like family group shots. Someone's going to want to grab a drink.

115
00:10:37,865 --> 00:10:42,505
 I have someone ready for drinks, built in time for people to nip and do a wee off to the ceremony

116
00:10:42,505 --> 00:10:47,625
 before they have any photos or to re-touch up their hair or makeup complete. It's just considering,

117
00:10:47,625 --> 00:10:54,665
 I think really. Yeah. Everything. I think timelines don't necessarily flow from one thing

118
00:10:54,665 --> 00:11:00,745
 immediately to the next. It's a case of you've got your ceremony and you've got the time it's

119
00:11:00,745 --> 00:11:05,145
 going to take everyone to get to the next point and you've got your next point. So you've got

120
00:11:05,145 --> 00:11:10,185
 and you've got the drinks reception. So it's just making people aware I like to

121
00:11:10,665 --> 00:11:17,385
 kind. So if I've got a two o'clock ceremony and it's a church ceremony, it's about 45 to 50 minutes

122
00:11:17,385 --> 00:11:23,945
 long. So then you're kind of doing the confetti by about three o'clock. So realistically, no one's

123
00:11:23,945 --> 00:11:29,625
 going to be bracket the reception venue until depending on how far it is, an hour and a bit later.

124
00:11:29,625 --> 00:11:36,745
 But you want all your staff ready to go. Yeah. Two 45. So everyone knows of the reception venue.

125
00:11:36,745 --> 00:11:42,425
 Two 45 is when we can expect that first guest. There's always one guest who's desperate for a drink

126
00:11:42,425 --> 00:11:47,545
 and will leave church immediately and go straight to the reception. I'll be like, I want the best

127
00:11:47,545 --> 00:11:52,345
 parking spot and I need a drink and something to eat. Thank you so much. Thank you so much because

128
00:11:52,345 --> 00:11:57,065
 get rushing through the service. Oh gosh. Yeah. So it was, you know, our headinsters are just

129
00:11:57,065 --> 00:12:02,665
 quickly ringing going, right? Everyone ready? They're on their way. Oh, when we spoke about weather plans

130
00:12:02,665 --> 00:12:06,505
 and if you have suddenly not doing the confetti shot at the church, people might be getting

131
00:12:06,505 --> 00:12:11,865
 back to the reception quicker. So filled in extra time, but also as you say, make sure everyone's aware

132
00:12:11,865 --> 00:12:17,385
 that be prepared early because things happen. Another thing to consider is if you're

133
00:12:17,385 --> 00:12:23,145
 within your ceremony and your reception in different places is we've obviously mentioned travel time

134
00:12:23,145 --> 00:12:28,345
 but building in time for parking. People don't just finish the confetti shot. They're in their car

135
00:12:28,345 --> 00:12:33,945
 driving. Yeah, it takes about five or ten minutes to wander back, chat to people, get to their cars,

136
00:12:33,945 --> 00:12:38,745
 swap their heels for their flats to drive, drive to the reception, then the other end, they're putting

137
00:12:38,745 --> 00:12:43,305
 their heels on, they're retouching their lipstick, they're straightening their shirts on their tie.

138
00:12:43,305 --> 00:12:48,905
 You know, everything takes a bit longer than you think. People aren't just going to be ready instantly.

139
00:12:48,905 --> 00:12:55,305
 I love traffic. I love the versions. There's finding parking spaces. All of these things that do

140
00:12:55,305 --> 00:13:01,145
 take time and as you rightly said, you want your staff ready for the first people so that no one's

141
00:13:01,145 --> 00:13:07,305
 turning up to a half-ready room, but you've also got to be aware that you've left time the

142
00:13:07,305 --> 00:13:12,425
 stragglers. Yes, exactly. And I think it's just it's staggering that arrival. Have a few drinks ready

143
00:13:12,425 --> 00:13:18,265
 to go and then you can kind of start slowly bringing them out as more and more. Yes, arrive. Yes.

144
00:13:18,265 --> 00:13:23,945
 One of the important times that you need to consider quite early is your evening guests? Yes,

145
00:13:23,945 --> 00:13:31,865
 before you send time by. Yes. So I think knowing the basics of what time you want your evening guests

146
00:13:31,865 --> 00:13:37,225
 to arrive is something that you should have sorted quite early. Yes. So even if you've got a really

147
00:13:37,225 --> 00:13:43,625
 basic timeline talked through with your caterer or your photographer quite early on, just to give

148
00:13:43,625 --> 00:13:48,745
 you an understanding of what time to ask your evening guests for. So the last thing you want

149
00:13:48,745 --> 00:13:54,905
 is them showing up in the middle of dinner or speech or speech or halfway through your first dance.

150
00:13:54,905 --> 00:13:58,425
 You want them to kind of be there for those important moments that you want them there for.

151
00:13:58,425 --> 00:14:03,465
 We have mentioned before like a tell out, you know, especially if you're at a venue where there's

152
00:14:03,465 --> 00:14:10,265
 a turnaround time for the room, you know, it's a really good way to have that sort of offer, I guess,

153
00:14:10,265 --> 00:14:15,305
 that the evening guests are turning up. If you've run a bit late, it's not the end of the world,

154
00:14:15,305 --> 00:14:19,465
 because there's like a drinks receptions ready to welcome them, even if like the last

155
00:14:19,465 --> 00:14:23,545
 because the desserts are being cleared somewhere else. And then there's a buffer so that if they

156
00:14:23,545 --> 00:14:27,545
 are running a bit late, they're there and then walking in on your first dance. Yeah. It's quite a

157
00:14:27,545 --> 00:14:35,385
 nice way to do it. I think if I run you through what a typical in inverted commas

158
00:14:35,385 --> 00:14:43,305
 timeline would be for a wedding. So for a two o'clock ceremony. Yeah. All on one site. So you haven't

159
00:14:43,305 --> 00:14:48,025
 got to think about transport between the two. That is something important to factor in.

160
00:14:48,025 --> 00:14:52,665
 Definitely. It's the distance. It's going to take you and all you'll get to get from a ceremony

161
00:14:52,665 --> 00:14:58,425
 location to. So for a two o'clock ceremony, makeup and hair is typically going to start seven,

162
00:14:58,425 --> 00:15:03,145
 eight o'clock in the morning. Yeah. If you and your bridal party are all being done. Normally they say

163
00:15:03,145 --> 00:15:08,505
 about half an hour for bridesmaids, make up. Yeah. Longer possibly for hair. Yeah. And obviously the

164
00:15:08,505 --> 00:15:13,385
 bridal hair and makeup will take longer because that's an hour and a half. That's everyone's priority.

165
00:15:13,385 --> 00:15:18,825
 Find that out from your. Yeah. You also at that point you don't want to be the first. You don't want

166
00:15:18,825 --> 00:15:22,665
 to be the last. Yes. You want to be in the middle because you don't want to be the one getting

167
00:15:22,665 --> 00:15:27,385
 up at seven o'clock in the morning and then you're having to have touch-ups anyway. But you need to

168
00:15:27,385 --> 00:15:32,105
 make sure that you are the priority. Yes. You don't want to be the last ones. Yeah.

169
00:15:32,105 --> 00:15:38,265
 Sarah's hair is taken longer and then the makeup artist or hair dresser is mushing you. Yeah. You want

170
00:15:38,265 --> 00:15:44,505
 to be done. Be ready early. And like we've said a few times before, you want to be ready an hour before.

171
00:15:44,505 --> 00:15:53,705
 I would suggest if one of you or your partner is going to be at the wedding venue ready to meet your

172
00:15:53,705 --> 00:15:59,545
 guests, they want to be there an hour before. Because you always have one or two guests who turn up

173
00:15:59,545 --> 00:16:05,305
 early and you don't really want them arriving before everything's ready. So then you want to be aware,

174
00:16:05,305 --> 00:16:10,905
 everything needs to be set and ready to go an hour before. You've got someone there, even if it's

175
00:16:10,905 --> 00:16:17,785
 some ushers or a prize made, someone is there to greet your guests an hour before. Because if you're

176
00:16:17,785 --> 00:16:22,025
 both walking in, you obviously can't be there to greet them before. But you want to have someone

177
00:16:22,025 --> 00:16:26,905
 there from your bridal parties to greet your guests or a member of staff there to greet your

178
00:16:26,905 --> 00:16:32,185
 guests. You then go at your two o'clock ceremony, which usually lasts about half an hour if it's a

179
00:16:32,185 --> 00:16:37,545
 register or a celebrant wedding. Yeah. We're obviously not going for church of England ceremony.

180
00:16:37,545 --> 00:16:41,385
 In this example, just because that would into a travel time. But obviously religious ceremonies

181
00:16:41,385 --> 00:16:45,305
 at different occasions would have different lengths and travel time. Yeah. Think about.

182
00:16:45,305 --> 00:16:51,945
 So you've got your half an hour ceremony finishing about who 40? I would give it because you're

183
00:16:51,945 --> 00:16:55,865
 going to be five minutes late and you've all got to walk him. Yeah. So give yourselves that little bit of

184
00:16:55,865 --> 00:17:02,505
 buffer. So 240, end time, everyone comes out and you're probably going to be starting your drinks

185
00:17:02,505 --> 00:17:07,785
 reception at about three o'clock. Yes. Because then you've got confetti, possibly as people are leaving

186
00:17:07,785 --> 00:17:13,305
 the ceremony area. Yeah. People want to say hello. So your drinks reception will realistically start

187
00:17:13,305 --> 00:17:18,185
 about three o'clock. And there's typical drinks reception. So you've got drinks and canapace

188
00:17:18,185 --> 00:17:24,185
 is an hour and a half. Yes. So you've got an hour and a half there. So that takes you to 430,

189
00:17:24,185 --> 00:17:30,265
 which may include some speeches, may include photographs. You might be making off for 20 minutes of

190
00:17:30,265 --> 00:17:35,305
 family group shots or couples portrait. Yes. That will be built in, but it's just a talk for about that.

191
00:17:35,305 --> 00:17:41,145
 And then I tend to allow about half an hour for guests to come in and sit down. That's for a wedding

192
00:17:41,145 --> 00:17:48,105
 of about 120 people. If you've got 250 people, you're going to want to allow longer. If you've got 50

193
00:17:48,105 --> 00:17:52,985
 people, you don't need as long. So you've got your half an hour buffer for people to sit down

194
00:17:52,985 --> 00:17:57,225
 and for you guys to walk in as well. Because you want your nice big moment and your entrance.

195
00:17:57,225 --> 00:18:02,905
 Definitely. So you're in and seated by around five o'clock, just after five o'clock.

196
00:18:02,905 --> 00:18:07,465
 Yeah. And then you've got the wedding breakfast. Which for three course, you know, it's say you are

197
00:18:07,465 --> 00:18:13,465
 going to have starter and not plated. Yes. Stater. Stater needs clearing, mains,

198
00:18:13,465 --> 00:18:18,745
 needs clearing and a sat down dessert. Yeah. That could take about two hours.

199
00:18:18,745 --> 00:18:24,825
 Yes. So you start as normally about half an hour with eating and then 10 to 15 minutes each side

200
00:18:24,825 --> 00:18:32,425
 of laying and clearing. Then your main course is about 45 minutes with again 10 minutes either side

201
00:18:32,425 --> 00:18:35,625
 and then your pudding is about half an hour as well. That's coming up about two and a half hour.

202
00:18:35,625 --> 00:18:40,105
 Yeah it is. Yeah. It's just going into detail. Just in case. Because if someone's not having a pudding,

203
00:18:40,105 --> 00:18:45,385
 they then know how much time they can take out. Yeah. So that's taken you from five o'clock.

204
00:18:45,385 --> 00:18:49,785
 But half seven. Your brain's working quicker than mine today.

205
00:18:49,785 --> 00:18:57,545
 I'm on 90. 40% speed here. Oh gosh. So about half seven you're finishing your meal and your

206
00:18:57,545 --> 00:19:04,025
 guests are slowly getting up. What we've not included is speeches, speeches, which do after the meal

207
00:19:04,025 --> 00:19:08,825
 was then it won't upset your food time. So after your meal, you can have your speeches. Yeah.

208
00:19:08,825 --> 00:19:13,625
 Which going back to our last episode, if you're having three traditional speeches,

209
00:19:13,625 --> 00:19:18,905
 there are about 15 minutes each. 45 minutes. So you've gone from half our seven to eight,

210
00:19:18,905 --> 00:19:24,665
 15 before you've even got to the dance floor. And before you've even got an evening guest turning up.

211
00:19:24,665 --> 00:19:29,785
 Yeah. You then need to think about if you're cutting the cake. If you are doing a first dance,

212
00:19:29,785 --> 00:19:33,705
 you know, when your band is going to start playing and where all the evening guests are going to turn up.

213
00:19:33,705 --> 00:19:39,465
 So I mean, cake cutting. You might want to do it. I often build like a 15 minute window.

214
00:19:39,465 --> 00:19:44,665
 And obviously the actual cutting the cake doesn't take 15 minutes. But by the time you've kind of got

215
00:19:44,665 --> 00:19:50,985
 your meal finished, you've got your photographer, videographer, they're ready. You've found all the key people

216
00:19:50,985 --> 00:19:57,385
 through as well. How where to stand, how best to do it. It does take its time, doesn't it? Yeah.

217
00:19:57,385 --> 00:20:02,265
 I like to time it with the first dance. Yes. Yeah. So those two things kind of go hand in hand

218
00:20:02,265 --> 00:20:08,185
 so have it on or near the dance floor and then it can be moved out the way. Or when you come in.

219
00:20:08,185 --> 00:20:13,225
 Yes. Or you've even said before in the drinks reception. Yeah. Nice. I think allow about 15 minutes

220
00:20:13,225 --> 00:20:17,945
 for your cake. Yeah. Just to get it organised. Obviously you're not standing there for 15 minutes

221
00:20:17,945 --> 00:20:24,425
 cutting up cake, but it's just to make sure I'm up and ready. You will find that as we said already,

222
00:20:24,425 --> 00:20:30,185
 moving guests on a wedding day is really hard. It is really hard because people don't want to always

223
00:20:30,185 --> 00:20:34,185
 do what they're told. They might be enjoying their drink and it's hard to interrupt people's conversation.

224
00:20:34,905 --> 00:20:39,705
 Sometimes you need to get things moving. Yeah. And that's what your venue team and your wedding

225
00:20:39,705 --> 00:20:45,785
 planner or your caterers are there. What do they help do? Or your MC is there to do. Keep things moving.

226
00:20:45,785 --> 00:20:52,105
 So we've got to about 830. 830 go for cutting of the cake and first dance. Everyone's on the dance floor

227
00:20:52,105 --> 00:20:58,905
 by 845. Boom. And then you've got typically if you've got a band, it's two one-hour sets with

228
00:20:58,905 --> 00:21:04,985
 every 20 minute break in between. Well sometimes 345 minutes sets. Yeah. With breaks in between as well.

229
00:21:04,985 --> 00:21:18,025
 So you've kind of got 845. 930. 930. 940. 945 minutes. 940. 945. They come back on again. 1030. 1030. 1045.

230
00:21:18,025 --> 00:21:24,745
 1130. In the evening. If you're new. Exactly. Or a DJ afterwards. Yeah.

231
00:21:26,185 --> 00:21:31,465
 And then plan your evening food in a planned break. Yes. Yeah. You don't want to be,

232
00:21:31,465 --> 00:21:35,385
 you especially don't want your evening food coming out in that worst land set because

233
00:21:35,385 --> 00:21:39,465
 everyone's going to be able to dance floor. Yeah. Try and get it coming out as you say sort of towards

234
00:21:39,465 --> 00:21:44,505
 the end of one of their sets. By the time people notice it is the break. Yeah. Because you're not

235
00:21:44,505 --> 00:21:51,465
 going to bring it out and everyone go wrong. Unless you're me. So maybe bring it out towards the end

236
00:21:51,465 --> 00:21:55,225
 of one of their sets so that people are noticing and then they're feeling comfortable enough to

237
00:21:55,225 --> 00:22:01,785
 go up and grab some food when the band are playing. I'm going to stick on our Instagram breakdown

238
00:22:01,785 --> 00:22:05,065
 of the timeline that we've just gone through. Yeah. So it's all written down and you haven't

239
00:22:05,065 --> 00:22:09,545
 got to try and write it down in your notes. But hopefully this is all bit helpful when it comes

240
00:22:09,545 --> 00:22:16,105
 to planning your timeline. And it's something that is I love. I think I'm yeah alone in that. But

241
00:22:16,105 --> 00:22:19,385
 I really like doing it. I'm just struggling right now to

242
00:22:22,745 --> 00:22:28,505
 I need to see it written. I'm trying to picture a laptop with that timeline on. Yeah.

243
00:22:28,505 --> 00:22:33,705
 That's great. Here's your rough idea of your timings. And things to consider when you're planning

244
00:22:33,705 --> 00:22:40,025
 your timelines or your wedding. Obviously you'll have travel time, you're maybe entertainment,

245
00:22:40,025 --> 00:22:44,265
 you won't be taking out some golden hour photos as a couple. All things you need to build in

246
00:22:44,265 --> 00:22:49,225
 with the basics of getting your hair and makeup done, getting ready, getting to ceremony,

247
00:22:49,785 --> 00:22:54,185
 drinks, reception, meal, speeches and then you're caking your

248
00:22:54,185 --> 00:22:59,385
 band and evening food. Then that is what to consider. And again, it's a guide. If you're not having

249
00:22:59,385 --> 00:23:04,265
 a sit down meal, your timeline is going to be totally different. So when you speak to your catering

250
00:23:04,265 --> 00:23:12,185
 here, it's all food for thought. So next week we are going to be joined by Lydia from Ella Parisa,

251
00:23:12,185 --> 00:23:17,065
 who is a wedding planner who specialises in multi-cultural weddings. She's going to be talking to

252
00:23:17,065 --> 00:23:22,745
 us all about the other religious ceremonies. Thank you for it to her. See you then. Bye.