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Since you were a child you dreamed of your Wedding
Day. It will be special, magical. The sun will
shine, music will play, people will laugh, dance
sing. There will be talk for years of how a good
time was had by all. It can all happen, but it
takes the planning of a Movie Producer, the discipline
of General Patton and the patience of a saint.
And guess what? You can do it. And you can have
FUN too. All it takes is some planning and organization.
I'm going to take it for granted that you have, at
this point, done all the necessary ground work to
make your Grand Production happen…the hall,
the caterer, the church, the photographer, the music,
the flowers, etc.Now lets get down to the nitty gritty
of the Schedule of the Day.
TRUTH #1…TIME IS YOUR ENEMY
You have a lot to do in a short time during your
wedding day. If you can develop a good schedule
and stick to it you can accomplish a lot. Work
backwards from the time you and your caterer have
decided you should arrive at the reception. This
is a critical time point because all of the reception
activities will follow this point. Remember your
schedule at the reception is fairly fixed and will
usually follow a tried and true script set out
by the caterer. Keep in mind that if you have booked
a five hour reception that begins at noon and is
set to end at 5:00 PM, you can usually assume that
at 5:00 the lights will come on and the caterer
will begin to turn over the hall for the 6:30 reception
coming in after you.
If you are a half hour late getting to the hall,
either the dinner will begin to get cold, or other
activities will be rushed. Not a good thing if you
are trying to relax and enjoy yourself. By the way,
if the hall offers you a separate room for the Bridal
Party to hide in during the cocktail hour, let your
bridesmaids and ushers use it, but your time and
interests are best served by mingling with the guests.
This will leave you more time later for dancing and
playing rather than the mandatory table visits when
the music is too loud anyway.
TRUTH #2…TRAVEL EATS UP TIME
Many couples forget to include this into their estimates.
You may spend as much as an hour or more in the
limo during course of the day. And god help us
all if one of the bridal cars gets lost. It is
often a good idea to hire a party bus to transport
the critical attendees. Nobody gets lost and, unlike
the traditional limo, you can all have fun together.
TRUTH #3…GOOD PHOTOGRAPHY TAKES TIME
When you see disaster footage on the local news,
victims are always shown looking for their most precious
keepsakes…the family photographs. Not their
vcr's or hot tubs. Those are the important memories
you are looking to preserve. The FORMAL PORTRAITS
(not a dirty word) are an important historical record
and as such you should devote some time to creating
them. You will appreciate them more as you pass them
on to your children and grandchildren. You should
generally allow about a half hour for them and they
are best done right after the ceremony. All the important
players are there already, assembled and freshly
attired. The worst place to try to get these is at
the reception where trying to get people off the
dance floor does nothing but eat up time. Receptions
are for informal and fun photos.
TRUTH #4…RECEIVING LINES WASTE TIME
After all you will be seeing each of these guests
at the hall anyway, right? Why throw away as much
as 20 good minutes that you could spend at the
cocktail hour.
TRUTH#5…START YOUR DAY EARLY
It's easier to spend a little time waiting for the
show to start while lounging in the limo than it
is to make up for lost time. This means you should
plan to leave for you hair appointment early. If
you plan to meet your bridesmaids at your house
beforehand and go together, give them an earlier
time. Plan a little slack into the schedule early,
you will appreciate it later.
TRUTH#6…NUTRITION IS POWER
Yeah, I know this sounds like your mom talking, but
it is true. When you don't eat you loose energy…and
you can't have any FUN if your tired and hungry.
Plan a good breakfast. Even if you think you can't
eat a thing, at least drink a diet shake. Have
one of your bridesmaids compile a snack basket
for everyone to pick at during the day. Soft pretzels
work great…no mess and they soak up alcohol.
Give the basket to your limo driver to attend to.
By the way, Alcohol early in the day is usually
a BAD idea. Hangover at the reception…not
FUN.
TRUTH#7…YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER IS THE CRUISE
DIRECTOR
He will be with you from the beginning of your day
until the cake is cut. If you work with him to
realistically plan your schedule he will keep you
on track and maximize your FUN. Believe it or not
this is in his best interest. When you are relaxed
your photographs look best.
By Tony Porreca
Zanadu Photography
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