Creating a timeline for day of your wedding is not only important but essential.  It will give you details of all the moving pieces that will come into place on your big day. I have put together 5 tips to creating a timeline that will keep you stress-free:

1.INCLUDE THE NAMES OF YOUR VENDORS AND CONTACT INFORMATION

Have your wedding vendors contact info noted; include cellphones and names of people who will be in charge to make a delivery or set up the day of your wedding.  Confirm arrival time to the venue or ceremony site and give them a point of contact in case of last minute questions.  Make sure to discuss beforehand, the rules they must follow at the church and venue sites (never make assumptions!)

2. INCLUDE ALL MILESTONE EVENTS (AND CREATE MORE THAN ONE TIMELINE, FOR YOU AND FOR EACH VENDOR)  

By this I mean to include important happenings for the day, see an example below:

3. INCLUDE IMPORTANT NOTES LINKED TO THE MILESTONE EVENTS

This information is critical! Going back to our timeline above for the First Dance, the DJ needs to know what song to play and if you will dance with your parents as well. He would also need to know the names of your bridal party and the order of entrance (and what songs to play!).

4. PROVIDE THE TIMELINE TO YOUR VENDORS 

A helpful piece of advice here is to give your vendors only what they need to know. Don’t give the DJ information about your ceremony; he needs to know the timeline essentials such as the big moments where he is directly involved. The photographer also needs a “high level” timeline so they know when and where they need to be at any given moment.  The best vendors will actually ask you questions about the timeline and will have it handy on your wedding day!

5. HAVE SOMEONE MANAGE THE TIMELINE

If you hired a day of wedding planner or a day-of coordinator, you are in good hands.  Relax and have fun the entire day! A professional wedding coordinator really takes more than “a day” to learn all the details and logistics of your wedding. They usually work with you from six weeks to one month in advance to get to know your vendors, their requirements and your expectations.   The best wedding coordinators will carefully listen to you but will also ask the right questions (things you may be missing!). Also, they will be in charge to create the most detailed master timeline and vendor timeline (yay!).  If you have decided that you will have a good friend handling the timeline, that’s completely up to you.  Keep in mind that your friend may have the best intentions but no experience at doing this!  Be flexible and grateful even if something does not go as expected.

If you would like to get more helpful wedding planning advice, please download my free eBook: 7 Smart Ways to Keep your Sanity While Planning your wedding.

Happy STRESS-FREE planning!

Esme

PS. This blog was written for The Mantilla Company . Gloria Franklin, the shop owner, is a wonderful wedding professional who sells the most gorgeous Spanish mantillas! Check them out and you’ll see what I mean.