When Your Wedding Goes Off Schedule

Putting together a wedding schedule takes military precision. From the time breakfast arrives, to coordinated transportation, to when the cake cutting happens. The problem is weddings are a day-long live event, which means something is bound to go wrong. This was the case with Carissa and Randy’s special day. 

Wedding Schedule Disaster

Most weddings are usually running 10-15 minutes behind. Flowers were late, make-up took too long, someone took a wrong turn. It happens! If you have a great wedding planner they’ll plan for little delays here and there. It’s what they do. 

Unfortunately for Carissa and Randy, they ended up being over an hour behind schedule!

The original plan was for pictures and video of the bridesmaids getting ready and the first look to start at 11:30. We’d spend an hour shooting and then head to the ceremony at 12:30 and the bridesmaids’ shuttle bus would leave at 12:45 for a 1pm ceremony. 

It was 12:45 when I headed to the church, not to bad. Then the wait began. 

1:00pm, 1:15pm, 1:30pm. No bridesmaids. Worry sets in and questions start. Come to find out that the shuttle bus broke down on the way to the bridesmaids and the back-up shuttle did as well. Around 2:10 the pastor let us know that the bridesmaids were on the way and they’d be walking off the shuttle and into the church. 

Shot of Carissa and Randy during their wedding ceremony

While the wedding went off with no problem once the bride arrived, there was a scheduling issue. The rest of the day was now behind by an hour and a half. This meant the photo session, both at the church and reception, was going to have to run a lot faster. Why? The reception venue and DJ are expecting us at a specific time. Plus, the reception has it’s own schedule and set end time!

Luckily it worked out. We worked with the photographers to make sure that the family members needed for photos where lined up and ready to go so it expedited the process. We also alter how we shot to compliment what the photographer needed, cutting the photo session time down. While dinner did start a little late, once the reception and dancing was underway, no one remembered that we were running behind and everyone had an amazing time. 

While you want to make sure you plan for little delays make sure the wedding vendors you’re working with have the flexibility and personalities that allow for quick thinking if things go very wrong. This is one reason we don’t have a set amount of hours we’re with you. We cover the day because we’re there to not only capture your day but to help it go smoothly. And sometimes that means adjusting quickly to disasters!

Contact us today to see how we can help make your day even more special. 

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