Easy Wedding Planning in Georgia

We know how overwhelming wedding planning can be. Seriously.

Add in the mountain of Southern wedding traditions and pressure from friends and family and you can easily get yourself into a pickle on wedding day. Thankfully, we have decades of wedding experience on our staff and our experts are here to guide you along the way. We know what can help your day run smoothly and what will cause a hiccup along the way. That’s why we’re taking some time today to dish out the details for a sample wedding day timeline.

Wedding Day Timeline Overview

We’re assuming you want plenty of time for everything you’ve always dreamed of including decorating the wedding venue, getting that perfect makeup and gorgeous dress on, saying some vows, taking some photos, eating some yummy treats, cutting a cake, dancing the night away and a final departure. Whwew. Talk about a full day. But it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Here’s how.

11am Getting Ready

We typically open our gates for wedding days around 10:30 or 11am. That’s when the caravan of wedding decor and dresses usually arrives and starts to unload. Most brides begin their days explaining their vision for decor and flowers for the day so that the custom details can land in the correct spot. The good news is that much of our venue is already set up just like you’ll want it (have we mentioned we’ve been doing this for years??), so set up doesn’t usually take very long. Then, it’s time for the girls to head to the bridal suite to start primping.

Sometimes the guys arrive around this time. Occasionally they’ll fish before putting on their suits (or after!). And florists drop off flowers and caterers begin to heat food as this portion of the day ends.

Once everyone is dressed and ready, the photographer will want to shoot some bridal party photos and sometimes a first-look if that’s in your plans.

2pm to 5pm Ceremony Time

We’ve seen a growing trend in evening weddings (especially in the summer), but there are still some afternoon weddings. Either way, usually somewhere between lunch and dinner is the perfect time to seat guests and say some vows. Surprisingly, the most important portion of the day is often the shortest, as ceremonies rarely last longer than 30 minutes.

Where ceremony time can get lengthened is if you choose to take formal photos after the ceremony. This is a great time to grab all the uncles and aunts (if you’re having them in photos) because they’ll all be paying attention at the end of the ceremony and you won’t need to wait 45 minutes while everyone looks for Aunt Edna.  The number of formal photo sets you choose will impact how long this portion of the day will be.

3pm-6pm Reception Begins

Depending on when you began your ceremony, your wedding reception will soon follow. The flow of this time of day can vary (usually based on how long your group photos last and if you’re having a cocktail hour or not), but typically everyone waits for the bridal party to make their way up to the barn from the lake. The bridal party is announced and then you have the choice to eat first or dance first. We’ve seen it work both ways. This can also depend on your ceremony beginning time.

The Next Four Hours

After the food line starts to form or plates are served the party really starts to get rolling. Before you know it, you’ll be eating cake and throwing flowers. We know you’ll probably want to walk around and greet all your guests and then dance the night away. This is the real party portion of the day (that is quickly turning into night). Pretty soon, you’ll be walking through a crowd donning sparklers, then getting into a car and driving off into the night.