Our Favorite Thing

Every wedding coordinator has a favorite thing they love about their job. We recently did a post on the importance of a wedding day timeline. What we failed to mention was exactly how much this Colorado wedding planner LOVES and geeks out over timelines! So we decided to go a little more into detail by sitting down with Blue Linden wedding planning wizard Wanda, talking about her favorite thing, and seeing exactly what about wedding day timelines gets her so excited!

I geek out over timelines, and every wedding has one. I love writing down the order of every "happening" throughout the day and assigning a time when things should be occurring. From the ladies leaving their hotel to get their hair done in the morning, to the bride putting on her dress in the afternoon. Or from the officiant meeting with the groom before the "I do's," to the very last dance. I don't like surprises on wedding day, and I want things running as smoothly as possible.

The vendors shouldn't be tripping over each other or waiting on one another to get things done. If the invitation says the ceremony is at 5:00 pm, then the groom should be walking down the aisle at 5:00 pm. This allows everyone to be relaxed, with no rush, and free to enjoy every last minute of the day.

A solid timeline also greatly helps the catering team and your DJ. Not only does catering need to serve the meal hot, they also need to know when the toasts are so they can have the champagne poured. Too early, it gets warm and flat; too late, not all 150 guests will have a glass when the best man gives his toast. The caterers also need to know when the cake cutting is taking place so enough staff is available to cut the pieces of cake for all those guests.

Naturally, the DJ also needs to know this information because (most of the time) he also serves as the emcee for the wedding. A thorough wedding day timeline will not only help out the emcee duties - to keep guests informed of what's coming up - but will also help out the DJ duties - to keep the dance floor full at all the right times.

If you don't have a proper wedding day timeline, or it isn't structured well, your day may fall apart, creating confusion on two levels. The most obvious: what is happening when? And, just as important: who is in charge? Who decides when the toasts are occurring - the couple, the DJ, the planner? At a point where there's no designated coordinator, egos can get in the way and cause undue stress for the couple (who, let's be honest, doesn't want to make decisions on their wedding day). If a timeline is given to and followed by all the vendors, with a clear boss-lady set from the start, the expectations are clear and disasters can be avoided.

Can you tell why our wedding planner extraordinaire Wanda loves timelines? Blue Linden is in the business of making sure your wedding goes off without a hitch, and that means a well-timed, properly structured, seamless day. So, all hail our favorite thing: the wedding day timeline! Are you in the planning process and have your own favorite thing that you "geek out" over? Share it with us by using the social media buttons below! We'd love to hear from you!