Making the day run smoothly
Although you don’t want to turn the wedding day into a military exercise, it can sometimes help to have an idea of what needs to happen when, in order to make sure you don’t forget anything.
The timing plan below gives you an idea of a running order for the Mother of the Bride’s day based on a 1 o clock service – you can adapt this to your own timings.
07:00 |
Get yourself up and showered and into your underwear and dressing gown and get the kettle on so you can gather your thoughts before the day. |
07:30 |
Start preparing a breakfast for everyone and greeting the bridesmaids as they arrive organising them into the right rooms. Bridal Mum’s Tip: Get paper plates and plastic glasses so you can throw them away afterwards and don’t have to spend time clearing up. |
08:00 |
Make sure the bride is up and everyone (including yourself) has something for breakfast. |
08:30 |
Whilst the bride is having her shower now is the time to get the hairdresser and the makeup artist to prepare you or alternatively to do these jobs yourself. |
09:30 |
The florist should be arriving at this point. Have a look at the checklist to see you’ve got everything you expected including your corsage. |
10:00 |
Now’s the time to get into your outfit so you’ve got time afterwards to help your daughter into hers. Make sure there are no ladders in your tights and you don’t ruin your hair or make up as you put your outfit on. Attach your corsage to the right side of your outfit. |
10:30 |
You now need to spend time helping everyone else – help the bride into her dress, make sure the bridesmaids are ready and make sure your husband looks as he should (buttonhole on the left). |
11:30 |
The photographer/videographer are likely to arrive now if you have invited them to the house so make sure you have done everything you need to and give yourself time for final adjustments to hair and make up. |
12:30 |
You need to gather everything to take with you and get the bridesmaids ready to leave. |
13:00 |
Ushers should escort you in to the ceremony |
14:00 |
Photographs. You will probably be needed for a lot of the photographs so make sure you are on hand. In between time remember you are the host and should take time to introduce yourself to people you don’t know and thank everyone for coming. |
15:00 |
Drinks and canapés – Everything should now be in the hands of the reception venue, if something is not going to plan speak to the best man rather than hassle yourself. |
16:00 |
Enjoy the wedding breakfast – after the food work your way round guests chatting to the people you haven’t yet had a chance to talk to. |
18:30 |
You may want to take half an hour now to go and change, touch up your makeup, or rest before you need to be at your best again ready for the evening. |
19:00 |
Make sure you’re on hand to greet evening guests direct them to the bar and present table. |
20:00 |
Your work is now complete – enjoy the evening entertainment, relax and let your hair down! |
