Definitely every wedding is different! And it depends on culture as well as individual preference. Indian weddings usually have the ceremony starting early in the morning, I think because that time is auspicious (so it can mean the bride is awake from 3am getting ready). Church weddings usually happen early afternoon (because there's sometimes services happening in the morning, and because making your guests show up fully dressed at 9am on a Saturday can seem like a big ask).
In terms of the actual document brides have given me, there's definitely a range. Some people go for spreadsheets with multiple tabs (one for each vendor), and some people literally tell me, "The ceremony is at [location] at [time]. See ya!"
The variation isn't just a matter of one's taste for micromanagement. It's a function of: how complex the wedding is; how much has been delegated; and how much won't just take care of itself.
For instance:
- Are there suits to pick up at the last minute?
- Do you need to arrange transportation for guests from place to place?
- How do the flowers get to the church, and then go to the reception?
- Who's in charge of carrying tissues, makeup, bride's cellphone, etc?
- Is there any printed material (for instance, a program for the church, or a canvas for the reception)? If so, who's transporting it and/or handing it out?
- Are there any petals/bubbles/rice/confetti? (Although many churches won't allow you to throw anything that needs cleaning.)
- Gifts for guests at reception, nametags, table decorations.
- How do bride and groom get to the church -- in which cars are they travelling?
- What music is played when, who's in charge of playing it, and how do they do it (what's the AV system)?
- Are there any videos or slideshows to play at the venue? (Who's got the USB stick, how do they play it?)
- Is there an afternoon tea or any refreshments for the guests after the ceremony?
- Are there any refreshments for bridal party before the photoshoot (the hire car company sometimes supplies these)?
- Are you going straight from the reception to your honeymoon? If so, how do your travel bags get to the reception?
Sometimes there are obvious answers to these questions, and sometimes there aren't, so the level of detail changes accordingly.
Anyway, here's how to create kind of a standard runsheet for a one-day Catholic/Protestant church wedding.
Start with the date and the couple's names at the top of the page.
List the key addresses: bride's house, groom's house, ceremony, photoshoot location(s), reception.
Write contact phone numbers. Key ones are: bride, groom, a responsible groomsman and bridesmaid (because B&G might not answer their phones), photographer, videographer, hired car, venue manager. If you like, include other suppliers, like celebrant, florist, musicians.
Then the schedule. Start by writing down what timings are set in stone, and then work out the other times around those, based mainly on travel time from one location to another.
Here's a typical example:
- 8am: hair and makeup arrive at bride's house. How early they need to get there mostly depends on how many people have to go through, and on how many hair and makeup artists there are.
- 8:30am: flowers get delivered to bride's side, which usually means bouquets for bride and bridesmaids, boutonnières (buttonhole flowers) for guys, and occasionally other things, like flower crowns, flower bracelets, petals for flowergirl (or for guests to shower the couple with). Sometimes there's one bouquet for carrying down the aisle and a separate bouquet for throwing. Now, normally it's the florist themselves who sets up decorative flowers at church and venue, and sometimes they also make a separate trip to give the groom his flowers, but if they're not doing that, then you'd need to enlist a relative or friend to help.
- 11am: photographer arrives at groom's house. All the groomsmen should aim to be there before the photographer arrives.
- 12pm: photographer leaves groom's for bride's
- 12:30pm: photographer arrives at bride's
- 12:50pm: hired cars arrive at groom's
- 1pm: groom departs for church
- 1:15pm: photographers/videographers need to leave bride's house at least 15-30 minutes before she does
- 1:20pm: hired cars arrive at bride's house. Sometimes it's the same limo transporting groom and bride, so you may need to adjust the schedule so that there's enough time for the limo to take groom to church and then go back to bride's.
- 1:30pm: groom arrives at church; most of the guests arrive at church; bride departs house
- 2pm: bride arrives; ceremony commences
- 3pm: you're now married! Allow 30 minutes for hugs with guests and group photos.
- 3:30pm: travelling to photoshoot location
- 4pm: usually around a one-hour photoshoot. This can involve: solo photos of each member of the bridal party, then bride with each of bridesmaids and groom with each of groomsmen, group shots in different combinations, then around 30 minutes with just the bride and groom. Sometimes there are two or three locations to travel between, so timing can be tight.
- 5pm: travel to venue
- 5:30pm: some photos at venue before guests arrive, then photographers/videographers will want to get "detail shots" of the room and decorations, and to set up audio and cameras, etc
- 6pm: canapes for guests; bridal party goes to a green room or a hotel room for an hour; sometimes bride changes outfit
- 6:30pm: open doors; guests seated
- 7pm: bridal party entrance. The MC will want to know the names of each person, and the order in which people are entering.
- 7:05pm: entrees, mingling, "table shots" (couple goes to each table and takes photos)
- 8pm: entertainment
- 8:15pm: main course and speeches at same time (usually: father of bride, father of groom, bridesmaid, groomsman, groom)
- 9pm: cake cut, first waltz, open dance floor
- 9:30pm: dessert served
- 9:30pm-11pm: sometimes there's a night-time shoot with the photographer for 20 minutes; otherwise, it's just dancing and mingling
- 10:30pm: last drinks at bar
- 11pm: bouquet and garter toss, and then exit. The normal exit options are: farewell circle, farewell arch or sparklers.
- 11:30pm: end
Notes
- You don't need to put in your runsheet time the musician gets to the church or when the DJ or the photobooth get to the venue. Just coordinate with them in advance.
- Receptions never run according to schedule, but write a schedule anyway. It's up to the MC to adjust timings around when things don't go according to plan (for instance, table shots go longer than expected).
- The caterers/venue will have requirements in terms of how long it takes to prepare each course, etc.
Got questions?
Feel free to get in touch for anything photo- or video-related. I'm happy to talk through options, or just point you in the right direction.
Thanks for reading, and all the best for your wedding day!
