Don’t be late!

The best way to ensure you don’t miss out on anything is to be well planned and try to stick to a schedule.

A lot of people think the bride should arrive 15-20 minutes later than scheduled.  In practice this is not ideal.

The best thing will be to arrive on time, remembering dresses will need to be straightened out, lipstick will need a touch up and a veil will need to be laid out.  Photographers will no doubt take photos of you getting out of the car, and of the bridal party before they walk down the aisle. All this takes time.

So even though it seems traditional to arrive late, it’s more appropriate to arrive on time and allow 5-10 minutes to prepare for the ceremony.  You don’t want to be in a rush, and you don’t want to keep guests waiting too long (remember they will have arrived typically 30-45 minutes before you).

If there is a delay (eg. with taking photos) this will affect what time guests are seated, what time entree is served, what time speeches are, what time the cake is cut, etc. Most venues will work around such issues as they arise.  The difficulty is that the end time of the reception will not be adjusted in response to time delays.  This ultimately means running late will result in less time for dancing and socialising, which is naturally an important part of the celebration!

So our advice is to set and keep to a schedule on your wedding day, both for the sake of yourselves and your guests.