WHY YOU SHOULD ADD BUFFER TIME TO YOUR WEDDING TIMELINE!
A TRUE STORY ON WHY ADDING BUFFER TIME TO YOUR WEDDING TIMELINE IS IMPORTANT.
Dun, dun, duuun…
Picture this, a lovely sunny day and my bride and groom (let’s call them, erm, Jenny and Sam – just fyi, that’s not them above!) have just got wed outside in a relaxed ceremony with the sun overhead.
It’s time for group shots, but Sam’s granny was in the loo so the people that were rounded up for them have now all wandered off to chat, get drinks etc. When granny eventually came out, we finally got everyone else rounded up that had gone to the bar while they were waiting for her and got all 8 group shots done in record time.
Perfect, time for couples portraits.
Just as we’re about to go off to do them, the caterer then comes out because it’s the scheduled time for the meal already. He tells the bride and groom their food is waiting to be served and is going cold… Dilemma for the Jenny and Sam – get everyone indoors to eat the food they’ve paid £50 a head for, or get the couples portraits they desperately want? It’s completely their call, but they decide as I’m there all day that they would eat now and do the portraits in the time allocated for the second set later on. I would have done the exact same.
Weather wise, that beautiful sunny day came to quite an abrupt halt. While they were eating, the clouds gathered overhead and the sky got darker and darker until there was a full on thunderstorm and heavy rain that was still going strong when I curled up in bed at home that night. We still did some portraits later that evening of course, but they had to be indoors, not completely out of eyeshot of their guests and we were very limited with locations because outside the venue had turned in to a giant mud puddle.
Jenny and Sam had spent the lead up to the wedding imagining photos of them laughing in a field in the hazy sunset light. They still adored their photos and were over the moon when they received them, but they were a little bit different to what they had imagined for the past year.
What I’m trying to illustrate with that story is that had they left some buffer time between the ceremony/groups/portraits, then they probably would have got those lovely sunny photos they had been hoping for. Just adding in ten minutes here and there to mingle and chat does the world of good!
I don’t want you to stress about timings not going to plan when you’re dressed in your Sunday best. Think about it now and know that when the day comes to tie the knot, you’ll be able to relax and laugh for the duration without giving it a second thought. Yeah? You can always email me if you need help 🙂
Big love, Emily x
P.S. If you’ve stumbled across this post first, make sure to have a read of this one too as they go hand in hand: Planning your Wedding Day Timeline!