Mes Invités The big day timeline, hour by hour
The big day timeline starts from the time of the ceremony and is built forwards and backwards: getting ready, travel, photos, drinks reception, entering the room, courses, evening. Each supplier must receive their own times, at the latest a week beforehand.
Starting from the fixed times
The time of the town hall or ceremony, the time the venue closes, the time the caterer sends out the first course: these are your fixed points. Everything else is placed between them.
Realistic durations
- Getting ready, hair and dressing: allow plenty of time, this is where delays creep in.
- Journeys: add the time to get everyone on and off.
- Group photos: a few minutes per group, with a list drawn up in advance.
- Drinks reception: an hour and a half to two hours.
- Dinner: a seated service with entertainment easily takes three hours.
A quarter of an hour of slack between two highlights absorbs most delays.
What each supplier needs to know
The caterer needs the time guests enter the room and the time of each speech, so as not to send out a hot dish during an entertainment. The DJ needs the running order of entrances and music. The photographer needs the places and times of the moments not to be missed. Send each person what concerns them, not the whole file.
A point person, and a rain plan
On the day itself, you should no longer be answering the phone. Appoint a trusted person who has the timeline, the numbers of all the suppliers and the authority to decide. Also write the rain version: where the ceremony moves to, who makes the decision, and at what time.