5 Simple Mistakes That Can Make Your Wedding Run Late & How to Avoid Them!

Your wedding is just around the corner! You’ve been planning for years! You have imagined every detail of how this day will unfold since you were a child. Despite our best efforts, life still happens. In the last 13+ years, I’ve learned a few things about photographing weddings, and I’d like to share them with you. My hope is that they will be helpful for you on your big day!

Wedding Day Mistakes

1. Hair & Makeup: It is my personal belief that hair and makeup should be viewed as an artistic process. Taking care of your hair and makeup for your wedding is an entirely different experience. Be prepared; this can take much longer than you expect. Consult your stylist when planning your day. They will be able to tell how long they will need. A side note: You should definitely keep the products they use on hand for touchups.

2. Seating: Getting everyone seated at a larger wedding can take some time. You should take this into consideration when putting your arrival time on your invitations. Make sure your hosts have ample time to seat everyone. You should try to seat people as early as possible since people tend to trickle in.

3. Organization: Being very well organized can help you avoid a lot of mess and confusion. You might want to hire a wedding planner or day coordinator to help you keep your wedding day organized. I have seen brides hand out packets with precise instructions to those participating in the wedding. This is a great idea to keep the bridal party organized.

4. Family: I suggest telling some family members to arrive early. It is all too common for a family member to stroll in nonchalantly as the bride walks down the aisle. It has also happened to me that weddings have run behind due to the absence of the family matriarch.

5. Last-minute photo requests for the photographer. As a wedding photographer, I see and deal with this quite often. My suggestion is to plan for this by allowing yourself additional time to shoot photos with family and friends. Feel free to speak with your wedding about the images you want. That way, they can prepare accordingly.

Bonus Tip

Bonus: Leave a 15+ buffer between each activity on the wedding day to allow for more flexibility. It would be possible to resolve all of the above tips if there were buffer times in the schedule.

These are just a few of the many issues I have seen over the years. I hope this helps you. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me! I am happy to help.