Timelines for the big day

modmuffin

Hi,

Im getting married in a month or so and just getting into the finer details. I havent been to too many weddings so i'm not 100% certain of the timelines required, particularly for the dinner/speeches and what time to get the band starting at.

This is the timing I am thinking:

2pm Mass
3.30/3.45pm Leave church for hotel
4.15pm Arrive at hotel/. Take some photos, attend drinks reception etc
5.45pm Call for evening meal
8.15pm conclusion of meal and speeches
9pm Band
11.30pm DJ

Anyone with more experience than me have any comments?

kandr10

That sounds reasonable enough to me tbh.
Just to add - when we went to our reception venue, all we had to do was decide the time of the meal. They made great recommendations about all the other stuff and how it all ties together. Run your ideas by your venue. They've done a lot of weddings (presumably!) and would be in a much better position to tell you if that timeline suits the venue etc. Best of luck!

deelite

What time is the band going to start setting up at? Just wondering because I was at a wedding and the band was booked for 9:00 p.m. so they didn't get started until nearly 9:45 ish (they had to set up and do sound checks etc.)

kandr10

Good point!
You should ask the band about how long it takes them to set up and co-ordinate with hotel so they've time to clear tables etc.

sweetie

Depending on the venue a band will often not be able to setup until the area for the stage is cleared away. This is where the top table is usually. Obviously some venues will have a seperate stage that they can setup on whilst the meal/speeches are finishing but generally a band/dj will be ready to start and do a first dance before the couple are. I dj with a wedding band and have seen them begin their sets as early as 9 but that's in the minority. Some have started as late as 11 or afterwards. I would advise to get the speeches out of the way before the meal as then they will tend to be shorter due to people being hungrier.

City boy turned country

We are getting married at 1:30 so I would estimate that we will be sitting at 5pm at the very latest. Would it?

I would hope that the band would be set up by 9:00 at the very latest. We will be cleared out of the room so that the hotel can set it up for evening part so that should allow plenty of time for the band to be set up.

I am not sure about the speeches being before the meal though, would this not mean that people would be moaning about being hungry?

Borderfox

I prefer speeches after the meal, its a long day for the guests and they always seem in better humour after the meal especially if they drag on..

In all the weddings I have worked at the first dance (when the band has set up) has never been before 9.30pm and most average around between that and 10pm

About an hour and a half is about right for the church but there is a delay depending on the amount of guests congratualting the bride and groom which can eat into the time for the rest of the day

Group shots take about 30 minutes all things going well and its nice to have 30 minutes with the bride and groom on their own

BC

Timelines look good.
We also had a 2pm wedding and then a 6pm dinner. Our venue was only a 10 minute drive from the church but we still didn't have too much time between the ceremony and dinner, its amazing how fast the time goes.
The meal & speeches went on till around 9 (longer than expected speeches!). It took the band around 30 mins to set up and then we had the first dance around 9.45.