What Makes for the Best Wedding Day Timeline
No matter what kind of wedding you’re having, one thing is for certain, TIMING IS EVERYTHING! With so many moving parts to the day, it’s imperative to have all the details mapped out.
It might sound silly, but we pride ourselves on our timelines! Our main focus - KEEP THE ENERGY UP! We’ve all attended weddings as guests with massive downtime and endless speeches that seem to drone on and on. These situations are a result of poor planning and bad timelines!
Below is what we consider when creating a Style-Architects Wedding timeline:
1. First thing we is consider whether you have any time limitations with your band or DJ. If the band is restricted to playing three hours of music over a five hour period for example, then we want to make sure to time dinner to ensure the band has time to fulfill their allotted performance time. For example, you wouldn’t want to start a dance in this case at 9pm as it wouldn’t allow for three hours of play with required breaks.
2. Next, “What time is sunset?” Factoring in the sunset time will ensure that you and your fiancé have time to run out for some golden hour photos. These photos typically take place anytime between 45 minutes to an hour before sunset. Depending on the time of year, you may have to jump out during dinner service and we want to ensure that your meal is served hot and is ready as soon as you return.
3. Based on the answers to 1 & 2, we help determine the ceremony time. From there we map out everything after the ceremony. 99% of our couples use the East Coast wedding timeline format. This includes dancing before guests are invited to sit for dinner and splitting up speeches and important dances throughout dinner service. Peppering toasts and dances throughout dinner service ensures that guests keep focused on what is going on and keeps things moving and the energy flowing in the room. When your guests sit too long, they start to lose focus and lose steam to join the dance after dinner.
4. What are your top three priorities for your wedding? If “guest experience” is important to you {and who doesn’t think that?} then we build that into the finer details of the timeline. Ensuring ushers are ready to greet guests as they arrive at the venue, having cocktails passed for quicker service during cocktail hour, and minimizing the time between transitions in the evening are just a few of the timeline adjustments we make.
5. Once the entire evening is planned out, we start from the ceremony and work backwards to the morning. Although the morning is typically crazy with getting ready, photos, and all of the emotions, we still want to ensure that all the details are accounted for including time for first looks with bridal party, parents and, of course, your fiancé, family and wedding party photos, and arrival times for vendors, wedding party, and guests. Wedding day timelines guide every move that day and having everyone and everything accounted for is important.
Of course, not all weddings are the same but we want the same things for each wedding day: keeping the day moving, keeping the day energized, and ultimately GETTING THESE TWO MARRIED!
If you are looking for advice on your wedding day timeline or are interested in a planning package, please feel free to fill our contact form here. We would love to talk and get your planning started!
What's worth splurging on!?
No matter the budget, couples are always bumping up against it. With bigger budgets come bigger expectations. Sound familiar? What’s worth the money and where would we say to splurge?
Below is a list of the best things we think are worth splurging on.
Photography
If there is one thing that really bums us out it is bad photos! This is one of the most important days of your life and it will go by in a flash, so it is well worth splurging on a talented, experienced photographer that will let you relive your special day over and over again. Not only will you be able to reminisce on the memories, but the gorgeous décor as well! Photos are a great way to share your day with those who were unable to attend as well such as aging grandparents. If you can make videography work into the budget - even better!
Entertainment
We love a band for the energy it brings, but if a band isn’t in the budget, there are some awesome (and some not so awesome) DJs out there. A bad DJ kills a party. Spend the money to get your pick of DJ!
Décor
Nice chairs and floor length linens are a must in our book and take any event and elevate it 10x! Banquet chairs just don’t cut it! Add fresh, beautiful florals and candles, and your event will turn heads! Having the proper lighting to highlight your venue is also important.
Statement Décor
It's also important to incorporate at least one show-stopping, jaw-dropping focal point to your wedding. Whether it be the backdrop to your ceremony, dressing up the head table or creating a gorgeous ceiling installation, spending a little extra here takes your décor to a whole new level! Stun your guests with a piece that makes them go, “WOW!”
You!
For how special this day is and will be to you for years to come, splurging on yourself is of course on this list. You want to feel and look your best (don’t forget you will be looking at these photos and showing them off for generations). Your dress, hair, and makeup are no place to skimp! You want to look back and think, “I deserved that” (Because you DO!)
Day-Of Planner
Of course a Day-of Planner! Even if you don't have room in your budget for a full-service planner, hiring a Day-Of Planner {like us!} will allow you and your family members to be stress-free while taking advantage of every moment! We hate the thought of the bride having to lay out linens or set up escort cards - or worse yet - strike the decor at the end of the night! The couple, wedding party, and family should be able to let go of all of the logistics of the day and be able to 100% kick their feet up and have fun!
A Year in Review
As 2018 comes to a close, I have spent some time reflecting on the weddings that made this year so wonderful. I often get asked what is my favorite part of a wedding and that question is impossible to answer. Of course that moment when the two people I care about and have worked closely with get married is always top of the list. But with each wedding I have the honor of planning, my {other} favorite moments shift. They don’t always involve the most gorgeous photos or the most perfect decor. They are moments that strike me, excite me, or hold the most meaning. These moments make the planning process so beyond worth it. Below I have complied some of my favorite moments from my weddings this past year. Enjoy and Happy New Year!
Photographers: Tarah Elise Photography / Erin Johnson Photography / Lovely Day Fleur / Onona / Cadence & Eli / Vick Photography
A Day in the Life of a Wedding Planner
People often wonder what we do on the day of a wedding, so we thought we'd create a timeline using one of our Real Weddings to give you a behind-the-scenes look. While all weddings are different, the steps we take to make a couple's special day come to life generally remain the same. From the ceremony to the post reception clean-up, here's a look into a day in the life of a wedding planner!
Event Planning + Design: Style-Architects Weddings + Events | Photography: Kavella Wedding Photography | Venue: Machine Shop | Catering: D’Amico Catering | Coffee Cart: Coffee Cart Mpls | Cake: Farina Bakery | Gown: Tara LaTour | Florals: Munster Rose | Event Rentals: Après Party & Tent Rental | Acrylic Columns: Linen Effects | Hair: Wesley Cayler, Karen Ebort, & Anna Wells | Makeup: Andrea Holton Bridal | Bridesmaids dresses: Show Me Your Mumu | Band: Northstar | String Quartet: Lake Minnetonka String Quartet | Calligraphy: Rosann Konieczny | Paper Design: Judith Kostroski Designs | Letterpress Printing: Old Printing | Transportation: Grayline Trolley | Uplighting: Phos Events
Wedding Coordinator vs. Wedding Planner
We hear it all the time, “I don’t need a wedding planner. The venue provides one.” While venue coordinators are extremely helpful during the planning process, they have a different set of responsibilities. The main difference: the venue coordinator works for the venue, while a wedding planner works for you.
Venue Coordinator
A venue coordinator's responsibilities revolve around ensuring that your experience with the venue goes smoothly. They work for the venue, acting as a liaison between you and the venue staff.
Though responsibilities vary depending on whether catering is provided in house or not, typical duties include:
- Contracting with you for necessary rooms and amenities.
- Providing catering menus and pricing.
- Arranging menu tastings and helping you decide on food and beverage choices.
- Assisting with space planning.
- Coordinating service staffing and security.
- Processing venue payments.
- On the day of your wedding, venue coordinators are there to turn on the lights, set out the tables and chairs, ensure the drinks are poured, and the space is cleaned up at the end of the night.
- They are not there, for example, to ensure the cake is delivered or that the DJ knows the run of events for the day.
In fact, it's not uncommon that the venue coordinator you work with is not on site the day of your wedding, leaving that responsibility to an event captain you likely will not have met. If they are on site, they usually leave after the meal has been served. Contact with the venue coordinator usually cuts off once the contracts are signed, and they are not involved in the planning process again until about a month or two before the wedding. Although venue coordinators can provide catering and vendor referrals, these recommendations are not based on the style of wedding you are planning or your budget and the venue’s involvement often ends at the referral. Their main focus is to ensure that they provide all of the items outlined in the venue contract in a smooth, efficient manner, not to give feedback on how to best style the space.
Wedding Planner
As a wedding planner, we are hired by and work for you as a consultant throughout the planning process. Of course, the level of planner involvement varies based on the services for which we were hired. However, we get the opportunity to truly experience your story throughout the planning process, and are therefore able to give feedback on how to use this event as a way to capture your personality and incorporate details that align with what you are most passionate about.
Our typical responsibilities that are not provided by the venue coordinator include:
- Regular consultations and guidance.
- Budget and timeline development and management. This includes a final wedding timeline for the day of the event.
- Vendor recommendations that are based on your specific budget and style.
- Guidance with selection of all visual elements of the wedding including décor, fashion, invites, favors, and cake.
- Vendor management and scheduling of, and attendance at, all vendor appointments.
- Arranging of hotel blocks and group transportation.
- Final audit of all planning to ensure all the final details are in place.
- Final calls with all vendors to ensure counts, timing and other details are accurate and confirmed.
- On-site coordination from the very start of set-up, all the way until the end of tear down.
We work with you to ensure you get the wedding of your dreams, with minimal stress. Then, day of, we do everything from keeping emergency kits on hand in case of tears or stains, to ensuring every vendor delivers an amazing experience for you and your guests.
In our opinion, every bride {and her mother!} needs at least a day-of coordinator to take care of all the details on the wedding day. That's why we offer multiple planning packages to cover every need and budget. Happy planning!