Amid the frantic planning before your wedding, we often forget the most important planning of all – the actual Wedding Day schedule.
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You deserve to have the most stress-free and memorable day of your life, so to help you get things organised, we’ve put together a pre-ceremony schedule that will guide you through exactly what should be done, when.
7am: Rise and Shine
The Bride should be up to tackle her important day (but not without a coffee and a healthy breakfast to get her going)!
8am: The Arrivals.
The Bridesmaids, makeup artists and hair stylists should be making their way to the Bride’s home, ready for beauty preps. As a guide, this is how long each member of the Bridal party will take.
Bridal Makeup – One Hour
Bridal Hair – One Hour
Bridesmaid Makeup – 45 minutes
Bridesmaid Hair – 30 minutes
Flowergirl Hair and Makeup (combined) – 30 minutes
8:30am: Beauty and the Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids should be getting their makeup started.
Tip: make sure you ask if your makeup artist can bring along one or two assistants. This ensures you’re not on such a tight time-frame.
8:35am: Get Your Hair On
Meanwhile, the Bride should be getting her hair styled, while her best girls are getting their ‘faces did’.
9:30am: Hair 2.0
Hopefully, the hair stylist can finish up the Bride’s look within an hour and get started on the Bridesmaids’ ‘dos.
Tip: if you’ve got more than two Bridesmaids, ask your hair stylist to bring along an assistant.
10am: Bridal Beauty
The Bridesmaid makeup should almost be done now, so it’s the Bride’s turn to get beautified.
11am: Picture Perfect
The photographer and videographer should be making their way to the Bride’s house so that the can capture the final touches of the hair and makeup on camera, as well as start shooting the Bridal gown (on the rack) and the Bride’s accessories.
12:00pm: Lunch
Don’t forget to organise a light lunch or some snacks to keep the energy levels up!
12:30pm: White and Bright
The Bride should be getting dressed (cue the squeals and gasps), along with the Bridesmaids in their gowns. This is the perfect time to be taking pre-ceremony photos, with close family and friends.
1:15pm: Limo
Depending on how far away your ceremony location is, you should be leaving at about now. Give yourself an extra 15-20 minutes of travel time, just in case there is major traffic, or even more if it’s a long trip (you might need a nervous bathroom stop on the way)!
*This schedule should serve as a guide only. We’ve constructed it around a 2pm Ceremony start and a Bridal Party that includes one Bride and two Bridesmaids.
Main image from Nicole and Raymond’s Wedding. Photography by Simon Gorges
