Timing Is Everything

While I strive to get each and every one of you to keep MARRIAGE at the center of your wedding plans, I still get brides worrying and stressing over this perfectly planned event. You want to impress your family and friends. You want your wedding to be the most memorable wedding they've ever been to. And so you ask, "What can I have at my wedding to ensure my guests have the very best time?"

Many will answer with food, more alcohol, a better DJ, a photobooth, more activities to do throughout the evening, and so on.

But my answer is even better...at least in my eyes.

After hundreds of weddings planned at all different budgets, the one thing that you can do to ensure your guests have the very best time is timing.

That's right, timing. The timeline you plan for your day! Isn't it great that the best way to give your guests a memorable event doesn't cost you a penny? Yes, guests love good food but the majority will honestly not remember what they ate even a couple weeks later. You spend thousands and thousands of dollars on the perfect meal and it doesn't even stay in their memory?? What a waste!

But the one thing that guests will remember (good or bad) is the flow of the wedding day.

The Big No-No's of the Wedding Timeline

- Don't give your guests an hour of waiting time between the ceremony and reception, when it is only five minutes away!

- Keep the wedding flow going, so there is always something for them to do or see.

- Don't ever let your guests have enough time to think, "Soooo, what are we supposed to do now?"

- Don't leave four hours of "just dancing" time at the end of the evening. One hour to an hour and a half is just perfect!

Time and time again, I have couples who want to extend their night to 7, 8, 9, or even 10 hours. I know you just want to keep the party going but there just aren't enough activities in a wedding to actually keep your guests satisfied for that long! And even if you plan a full day of activities, that is just way too long to keep their attention, let alone tiring!

So keep your wedding day to around 5 or 6 hours long and that's just enough time for everything you'll have planned. Keep the flow of the day going and never leave your guests questioning what they are supposed to be doing. By hiring a coordinator to plan your day out and a DJ who is great at keeping your guests informed and entertained, you'll have no problem having the most memorable wedding of the year.

And it won't cost you a penny.

If you need any help mapping out your day, you can refer to this wedding day timeline to use as a reference guide. And even this one is as far stretched out as you should have it!

The Raw Footage

Time and time again I hear brides asking their potential videographers and photographers, "Will I get to keep the raw footage?" You know, it really sounds like a reasonable question to ask. If you are paying them to be there for eight hours, why wouldn't you be able to receive everything that is captured, right??

"Snuggled up on a Monday evening, my new hubby and I are going to watch all that was captured from beginning to end," said I. Personally, I didn't care about receiving thousands and thousands of photos but I did care about getting all of the footage from my videographer. And I made that happen.

So the wedding came and went. We loved our photos and loved every minute of our wedding video. And then it was time to watch the rest of the footage that was captured.

Video 1...click.

We're about 10 seconds in...30 seconds in...1 minute in...and all we've seen is what looks like room full of girls just chatting away, nothing really happening. It wasn't exciting, to say the least.

That room full of girls was my bridesmaids getting ready. And it was BORING.

To make a long story short (well, really a very short story shorter), we clicked around on a couple of the videos that were captured and it wasn't exciting at all. And we've never touched it since!

It is an art.

Your photographer and videographer are artists. Not only do they capture beautiful images, but much of the work that you pay them to do is behind the scenes! They edit, make sure the color is right, pair up the right music, and ultimately, tell a story.

Everything they do on the wedding day is reflected in the final product, but that final product is what makes it so special, so unique. It is what makes you tear up and get the chills just reliving your day!

The Duplicates

Do you know how many photos a photographer takes on your wedding day? Of course, it varies from photographer to photographer and wedding to wedding...but thousands and thousands of images are captured.

But let's be real, you don't look beautiful in every single one. From just one single "pose" (for lack of a better word), a photographer may capture 3 or 5 or even 10 of the same image! In half of them you are not paying attention, a couple of them haven't got the lighting perfect, and another one just doesn't tell the story right. And the last one is just perfect!

When the photographer gets back to his or her studio, all of the "bad ones" are deleted so you don't have to scroll through them all. The best of the best are kept and given to you. Because who needs 10 of the same image anyways?

When it comes time to hire your photographer and videographer, just forget about the raw footage or making sure you have every single image that is captured. Believe me, you don't need it. They are artists and are hired by you to tell your story as best they can. They are there to capture the emotions and highlights of the day and to present it to you in perfect form. So let them do their work, and you just focus on having the best time of your life!

Dispensable Wedding Expenses

Traditions + Weddings = $$$

I am a firm believer in traditions but am also a firm believer in starting a marriage with no financial debt. And clearly, these two do not mesh well. Item after item, tradition after tradition, it all adds up to a pretty penny when you lay it all out.

So today, we're going to explore the expenses that I believe every couple can cut from their budget! This will not only help you save money, but save a whole lot of time!

Favors

Christopher Todd Studios

Most often than not, they're just trinkets and toys - from wine stoppers to figurines and most commonly edible items, you'd never believe how many of these favors get thrown out or even left behind!

We recently had a beautiful wedding in Malibu and their favors were wine stoppers. And they were beautiful! I even took one for myself after the wedding was over! But as I began cleaning up the venue, table by table, I found AT LEAST two favors left on each of the tables. Now there were 18 tables and one favor per couple...that's 55% of the favors that were just left there. And I have no idea how many of those ended up in the trash!

All of that money just went down the drain! And for what reason?

Being a wedding guest, having a delicious dinner, and an amazing night of dancing is more than enough as a thank you to your guests so your wedding favors are definitely an item that can be cut out of that budget.

The Wedding Cake

Christopher Todd Studios

No one eats the cake. I know you think that YOUR guests are cake lovers, but is simply doesn't happen. Bride after bride wants a huge cake just in case they run out, with extra sheet cakes in the back! And time and time again, pounds and pounds of cake are thrown out at the end of every single wedding.

Yes, I love keeping the tradition of cutting the cake so here are some money saving options for you:

1. If you love the look of a large cake and definitely want to have a cake cutting, order a large Styrofoam cake with the top layer being a real cake. Believe me, no one will ever know! Cut the top layer and you're good to go!   

2. Order a small, elegant cake for the looks and have a sheet cake in the back!

So as you see, you can still have your cake and eat it too...but spend thousands of dollars less on something that will otherwise end up in the trash!

Escort Cards

I am a firm believer in assigning tables, but that is a whole different story. And for those of you who have given your guests the chance to choose their meal, then I would advice against this next piece of advice.

But if you are having a buffet, or all of your guests are being served the same meal, then escort cards (otherwise known as seating cards), are a time-consuming expense that is just not necessary.

Instead, have a large poster-board-size chart with a list of all of your guests in alphabetical order And next to each name, write their table number. Voila! You're done!

If you absolutely have to have escort cards, then save yourself some time and money by listing couples and families on one card, instead of giving every individual their own!

Programs & Menus

I know, I know. They look so pretty! And there are so many cute ideas out there! But if you're looking to save a couple hundred bucks (that could be spent on a honeymoon flight?), then you can nix the ceremony programs (because no one reads them and they all end up in the trash) and the dinner menus (because no matter what is listed there, the meal is already chosen!).

Hosted Bar

Christopher Todd Studios

My husband and I so badly wanted to provide alcohol all night long for out 165 guests. But when the quote came to over $8,000 JUST for the hosted bar, we quickly nixed that idea. For those of you who think it is un-classy to allow guests to pay for their drinks, think again. It is totally normal and totally the norm.

But if you want some options, here you go!

1. Host the bar for an hour and let your guests pay for their drinks the remainder of the night.
2. Host beer and wine and let guests pay for hard liquor.
3. Put a couple of bottle of wine on each table for guests to enjoy during dinner.

It's not like you are forcing them to drink! If they want to spend the money, that is their choice and their choice alone. So don't feel bad - I promise that all of these options (and not hosting at all) is completely and 100% normal!


We're all looking to save a buck or two so when it comes to the unnecessary expenses, just let them know and remember that it is not the end of the world if your guests don't know the Best Man's name, or if they don't know what they will be eating an hour from now. Save yourself time, money, and a whole lot of energy!