There are three groups of people who need to get to the wedding on time:
- The suppliers (don’t worry about them, they’re professionals and will get their butts their well before their official arrival time)
- The wedding party
- The guests
Today we’re talking about some practical things you can do ahead of time to make sure that groups 2 and 3 are at the wedding on time!! Because purely stating an arrival time is not enough.
The wedding party
The main goal here is to get both sides of the wedding party to the ceremony venue on time! Traditionally, half the group will arrive first and will be there to greet guests as they arrive. The second half will then come in, the ceremony begins and they walk down the aisle.
So, while the timing is different, the principles are the same.
The key is to create a wedding morning timeline – this way, you can plan how long each element will take, add it all up and then get to the ceremony location on time.
Start by working out how many bridesmaids you’ve got + how many hairstylists and makeup artists you’ve got. Talk to your hairstylist and makeup artist to work out how much time they will allocate to each bridesmaid. Ask how long it will take to get your hair and makeup done, and then add up all the times!
So if you’ve got four bridesmaids, who will get their hair and makeup done in tandem, while you are getting yours done, it might work out to be 1 – 2 hours of getting ready. Just check that figure based on your unique hair and makeup requirements.
Add in any other time-consuming activities:
Getting dressed takes you 2 minutes on a regular day, but getting buttoned into your dress, placing the veil on, and all the rest of it will take much longer on your wedding day.
Consider the time it’ll take to pose for photos, give your bridesmaids gifts or letters.
Factor in time to eat and drink.
And then add a buffer!
Now that you’ve got your figure – it might be 4 hours for example.
Begin with your ceremony time – let’s say it’s 2pm.
2pm minus your four hours means you need to begin by at least 10am.
BONUS tip: have someone in each wedding party group with the sole responsibility of keeping everyone on track. If it’s one hour in and only one bridesmaid is ready, that person can find out why and get everyone moving. It’s not your makeup artist’s job to hurry people along – let them focus on making everyone look beautiful.
The guests
If you state on your invitations that your ceremony begins at 2pm, you’ll have a group of people arrive at 1pm, most arrive before 1:45 and an embarrassing amount of people trickle in at or just after 2pm!
So here’s how to make sure everyone is seated and ready before you actually walk down the aisle:
Consider the hurdles – it may be something practical like a sketchy parking situation. If that’s the case, be clear about the parking and transport options so people can plan ahead of time. Let guests know where they can park, as well as how far away the car park is from the entrance to the venue. If there are any restrictions (such as limited parking and car pool being preferred) then tell guests with enough time for them to make other travel arrangements.
Invitation time vs actual time – You could tell people that the wedding ceremony begins at 2pm and then plan to walk down the aisle at 2:15pm. Just make sure you’ve welcomed everyone with a refreshing glass of lemon water and there’s music playing, so they have something to drink and something to do.
Bonus tip – Include the word ‘sharp’ on your invitation so your guests know you mean business (thanks Olivia Romeo for this tip!)
