Can you help me planning my Wedding Day timeline?

[Backy]

Hi there, I am trying to put bits and pieces together, if I can get you girls help, that would be great. 

 

My ceremony is at 3pm 

 

I am doing a cruise reception at 4:30 for 2 hours. There will be DJ and cold hors d’ouevres are provided

 

Docking back at 6:30

 

Resort is offering me a private 1 hour cocktail reception for 1 hours with hot and cold hors d’ouevres . 

 

so my questions are, where should i cut my wedding cake, where do i do the bride/groom entry (probably at the cruise), where do i do the first dance, speeches....? Also, I think guests will not be full after the 1 hour private reception, so I am thinking to go to the resort restaurant and have dinner ( we may have to sit separately because my group is about 30 ppl) then head to the resort late night bar to drink and dance more for the young people.                                 

 

Do you girls have any suggestion on what goes in what order? Should i move the 1 hour reception before the boat cruise? but then the sun sets at 6:30 in jamaica, it will be so nice cruising through sunset during 4:30 to 6:30. 

 

anything helps! 

[AllieH]

hmmm interesting dilemma!

 

Questions for you:

--how long are you anticipating your ceremony to be?

--how much time do you need to get from the ceremony location to the dock where the cruise will leave?

--what type of boat is the cruise on? would there be a space flat (and safe) enough for you to do your dance? if so, I think I'd probably choose to do the entrance as you & your groom get on the boat, the first dance and speeches immediately. then you & your guests can enjoy the DJ, sunset and cruising for the rest of the time.

--can you host the resort cocktail on another day (welcome cocktail when guests arrive, or post-wedding send off)? If so, I'd probably choose to do it a different day - to your point, you (and your guests) will probably want dinner when you get back from the cruise, so rather than doing another cocktail w/ hors d'oeuvres when you get back, just go to dinner and then meet up at the lounge/bar/disco.

 

the timeline:

3pm - ceremony

4:30 - 6:30pm cruise

7pm - 9pm - dinner (perhaps split)

post dinner until-- meet up for celebration

 

those are my thoughts anyway.

[Backy]

Hi AllieH,

 

Thank you for your reply. So the ceremony will last about 15 minutes, the signing last about 10 minutes. If i am doing sand ceremony or some sort of ceremony, maybe another 5- 10 minutes, so I don't think the ceremony last more than 35 minutes. The dock of the cruise is actually inside the resort, so I assume at most 10 minutes to walk there from the ceremony location. The wedding planner is kind enough to have the cruise leaving from 5pm instead of 4:30pm. 

 

I dont think I will host the 1 hour reception another day, because the resort is offering me a pre-celebration/ rehersal welcome dinner as well which will take place the first or second we we arrive. 

 

I am not sure how big the cruise is, but the planner said that it can host about 100 people so it is pretty big, my group is about 30. There should be space to dance but i am not sure how comfortable we are dancing on the cruise without practice. However, the bride /groom entrance to the cruise is quite cool though i have seen some photos.

 

so maybe

 

3:00 Ceremony

3:30 - 3:50 - group photos

3:50 - 4:50 - 1 hour reception with hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, entrance, dances here? or speeches here? 

4:50 - 5:00 docking the boat - inside the boat, change to another gown? 

5:00- 7:00 sunset catamaran cruise - dance? more speeches perhaps? ... 

7:00 - 8:30 - change, have dinner in resort restaurant (split)

9:00 resort pub - dance through the night 

 

 

 

what do you or other girls think here? 

[brownsugarbride]

Hi AllieH, Thank you for your reply. So the ceremony will last about 15 minutes, the signing last about 10 minutes. If i am doing sand ceremony or some sort of ceremony, maybe another 5- 10 minutes, so I don't think the ceremony last more than 35 minutes. The dock of the cruise is actually inside the resort, so I assume at most 10 minutes to walk there from the ceremony location. The wedding planner is kind enough to have the cruise leaving from 5pm instead of 4:30pm.  I dont think I will host the 1 hour reception another day, because the resort is offering me a pre-celebration/ rehersal welcome dinner as well which will take place the first or second we we arrive.  I am not sure how big the cruise is, but the planner said that it can host about 100 people so it is pretty big, my group is about 30. There should be space to dance but i am not sure how comfortable we are dancing on the cruise without practice. However, the bride /groom entrance to the cruise is quite cool though i have seen some photos. so maybe 3:00 Ceremony 3:30 - 3:50 - group photos 3:50 - 4:50 - 1 hour reception with hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, entrance, dances here? or speeches here?  4:50 - 5:00 docking the boat - inside the boat, change to another gown?  5:00- 7:00 sunset catamaran cruise - dance? more speeches perhaps? ...  7:00 - 8:30 - change, have dinner in resort restaurant (split) 9:00 resort pub - dance through the night  what do you or other girls think here? 

Becky- One small concern that I had when I saw your timeline is that you may be underestimating the amount of time you'll need to take photos. Even if you and your FH decide to do a first look, 20 minutes doesn't seem like nearly enough time to get the formal shots that you might want (even if your focus is more on a photojournalistic style of photography). Just my 2 cents.

[Backy]

hello brownsugarbride,

 

 I hear you, i was thinking that our photographer would be taking pictures through out the days anyways. the dedicated 20 minutes would just be some formal stand together group shots in front of the the beach. But I will definitely keep that in mind when I finalize the programme

[brownsugarbride]

hello brownsugarbride,  I hear you, i was thinking that our photographer would be taking pictures through out the days anyways. the dedicated 20 minutes would just be some formal stand together group shots in front of the the beach. But I will definitely keep that in mind when I finalize the programme

Backy (apologies for misspelling your name earlier!): I would definitely talk to your photographer and your resort planner about your timeline. They have lots of experience with this kind of thing, and that's what you are paying for!