Wedding Day Timelines: When to arrive and What Happens During Setup?
Wedding Day Timelines: When to arrive and What Happens During Setup?
When to arrive?
Our best advice is to arrive on time to your church of wedding venue, whatever time that is! One of the worst things that can happen on your special day, that you’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on and countless hours planning, is that you arrive late and miss precious time with your photographer and wedding party. The amount of times we see this happen in a given month is unfortunate. Many times wedding party members are from out of state, and if you’re late to arrive, you’re sure to begin the day stressing out and missing out on quality time with them.
One of the main reasons brides are late to their wedding venue is that their hair and makeup appointments weren’t booked early enough in the day to account for any unforeseen delays. From experience, we do not recommend hiring the same hair and makeup expert for both the bride and the wedding party, unless there are only a couple girls in the wedding party. It’s best to have multiple stylists so everyone finishes around the same time.
What Happens During Setup?
1) What Does the Couple Need to Do?
- Ask your church or wedding venue if someone can drop off your items for your ceremony in advance of your arrival. If you’re unsure about all the details to consider for your ceremony, check out our “Ultimate Wedding Ceremony Checklist”.
- You should have already given your photographer a list of “requested photos”, so they can jump right in and maximize all of the photo taking time you hired them for.
- Know the timeline for the day, but hand off the responsibility of maintaining that timeline to your Maid of Honor, Best Man and Event Coordinator at your venue.
- Arrive on time for pre-ceremony photos, the ceremony, and the reception, in order to enjoy every moment of your day, and minimize stress.
2) What Does Your Wedding Venue, Wedding Planner/Coordinator, Designers, or Vendors Need to Do?
Venue or Event Coordinator Responsibilities
- Prepare all setup that is included in the venue rental or package
- Ensure all vendors know what time to arrive and any rules and procedures they must follow
- Ensure all detail items are set in place
- Greet and direct all of the vendors.
- Become the director for when the following happens:
- Decor Rental Dropoff
- Decorating Team Shows up to Setup (Ceremony & Reception)
- Wedding Flowers are dropped off
- Photographer’s arrive
- Videographer arrives
- Lighting professionals arrive
- Wedding Cake is dropped off
- Candy or Dessert Table Vendor arrives
- Officiant Arrives
- DJ arrives to setup
- Catering is Dropped off or Setup
- A Band?
- Photo booth vendor
- Event Coordinator Conducts a Meetings with staff and all vendors for smooth execution
Planners and Designer’s Responsibilities
- Setup all of the fine details
- Decorate Ceremony & Reception Ballrooms
- Clean up before the bride arrives
Photographers are to Capture Photos of:
- The Bride’s photo requests
- Bride getting ready
- Wedding Dress
- Accessories, shoes, rings, veil, tiara,
- Flat Lays
- The Bride alone shots in her dress
- Bridesmaids alone with bride
- Groomsmen alone with groom
- Same sex couples alone with their wedding party
- Groom getting ready
- Groom’s alone shots in tux or suit
- Fun photo shots with wedding party
- Family photos with bride and groom alone
- Photos with your children
- Celebratory Drink shots
- A First Look
- If choosing a “first look”, many formal photos can be taken during set up
Vendor Responsibilities
- Vendors should have previously contacted the venue or church to comply with set up times and rules or procedures.
- Arrive on time
- Coordinate with the Event Coordinator
Summary
The set up time for your wedding is one of the most important to get right! You don’t want to start your day off running late and feeling stressed. Delegate your timeline management to someone you can count on, hand off all of the detailed set up to someone else, and enjoy being pampered before you arrive so you’re sure to look and feel your very best.
While researching Wedding Venues in Denver, ask yourself if you want a DIY option or an all-inclusive venue. If a DIY option, and all of the stress that’s potentially involved in that is not for you, come check out The Bella Sera Event Center.
Benefits of our All-Inclusive Denver Wedding Venue
You’re going to get a different type of experience here at The Bella Sera Event Center because everything is taken care of for you. Our planning process is fun, customized to each couple, and eliminates all of the hassle of trying to coordinate multiple vendors who have never worked together before.
When our brides arrive on their wedding day, everything is fully decorated for them!
Overall, our all-inclusive wedding venue and process will streamline the planning process for you, save you time and money, and provide a more cohesive and enjoyable experience for both you and your guests. Our couples want something UNIQUE and CREATIVE, and they value our expertise in creating Wedding Day celebrations that everyone will love and remember.
Our approach delivers:
Expertise and Experience
Reduced Stress
Cost Savings
Time Savings
Convenience and Ease
Consistency in Service from a well-run Team
Customization Options
Guest Experience is fun
Peace of Mind
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Written by owner Elisabeth Montoya – All-Inclusive Denver Wedding Venue
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