2 months to go and i'm losing my mind! Help

Try to stay calm. Make lists on lists to keep yourself in check. I have an excel spreadsheet of all my vendors, payments made & payments still needed. I have lists for decor, separate list for bar items and alcohol, and another list for my DIY projects. A list for things I still need to buy & what I already have. Try to set deadlines for yourself. I also printed out a calendar for 1mo before the wedding which is in September for me. I wrote out different tasks that need to get done. Ex: buy alcohol & drinks, fold napkins, iron table cloths, etc.

Also make a day of timeline and also factor in what time vendors will need to arrive. Can you ask someone you know to act as a day of coordinator, or at the very least be there to open the doors for vendors?

View Quoted Comment I have a partial timeline done but i have no idea of how long things take. I know cocktail hour and apps while we're getting pics is about an hour but when are toasts done when do people eat dinner do we eat with them or after? do we dance first or after dinner? those things i'm deer in the headlights. I think the venue will kinda help day of because they are catering but not 100% how much and they are hard to communicate with because it's wedding season. ugh.

Hey Kelly! I'm also 2 months out and started feeling like I'm missing something or wondering what I'm missing. Have you gone through the check list on wedding wire? I double checked the tasks and then referenced another checklist to be safe. I reached out to my vendors last month and said that they'll be reaching out a month prior the wedding to go over final details. Does your venue have a maitre d? I know at our venue, he will be in charge of ensuring everything goes smoothly day of. We will be speaking with him a month prior to the wedding to go over the day of schedule and menu. I was told the photographer helps give guidance on timing. I reached out to mine on a time schedule. Then I went into excel and made a timeline. I added in when vendors (hair & makeup artists, dj, pastor, and other vendors) arrive and leave. I also plugged in when we're leaving hotel and heading to the venue and other key dates. On another page, I listed expenses. I listed deposits paid, amount owed, and final payment date. Is your wedding a lot of DIY? Feel free to message if you wanna chat more about it or need any help!

View Quoted Comment My timeline for the reception:
3pm cocktail hour & apps
4pm grand entrance straight into the first dance. Toasts, blessing of the food4:30 dinner. Me & groom eat right away then go to tables to greet guests. 5:20 father daughter dance & mother son dance5:30 cut the cake & serve/greet guests6pm money dance then open dance floor. 7pm garter toss & bouquet tossOpen danceReception over @ 9pm
The timeline can be anything you want. Do what makes the most sense to you. To me the most sense is grand entrance straight into first dance. I also want to make time to greet guests and I want lots of open time to dance. Some of these things might get switched around such as the special dances, might move them up right after our first dance, but my flow makes sense to me.

View Quoted Comment Lol now im considering moving things around. Its always good to have a partial timeline because sometimes you look back on it & decide it doesn’t make as much sense or you see a better way for the timeline to flow.

View Quoted Comment Great advice from all PPs. I agree with Meghan that the photographer is very helpful with timelines and your DJ will help move events along with announcements.

View Quoted Comment Yes my wedding is a lot of DIY, i'm doing all the centerpieces and florals with a mix of my florist. I'm also doing all the signage and favors and photo booth myself. I went thought and edited the checklist in wedding wire because we cut out some traditional things, but like i bought my dress and sent it to alterations, and totally forgot about shoes! She's like, where are your shoes?! ummm on amazon?!
I got the bridesmaids outfits, and forgot about hair and make up lol I got the Dj, and don't even have a playlist yet. I got the photographer, but have no idea what pics i want, with who etc... I'm just now getting to the alcohol and finally decided on beer and wine only. I just feel like i'm missing all the teeny tiny details that are important that wouldn't be on a big checklist per se. I'm pretty sure the venue will help run things smoothly i think i'm just starting to have anxiety 😥 I definitely will get in contact with my vendors as a check in to make sure we're all on track!

View Quoted Comment I have wedding ceremony at 4 and cocktails at 430-530 and after that i'm like uhhhhhhhhhhhh cake food and dancing lol 😂

View Quoted Comment Well you can look up wedding reception timelines based on how long your reception is and use my timeline I described as a reference. My reception is 6hrs. I am doing everything DIY. Setup & take down ourselves so I wanted the reception to end early and most guests are driving out of town (30-1hour drive) so i figured 10pm isnt too late for people to get home & people may stay until the end of our reception.

View Quoted Comment Yes us too we are 1-2 hours away from the venue and have to be out by 11 but i think i'm going to end it about 1030 even thought the venue will take care of cleaning. We're staying on site so we can spend more time with out of town family after

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Omggggg i know!!! I'm trying to find shoes by Wednesday for my alteration appointment lol. I'm off Monday so gonna be driving all over trying to find a pair. If I don't bring my shoes, I'll get charged $50. Also have to figure out jewelry.

Would you be able to ask your florist to set up the centerpieces? We don't have any floral centerpieces, we're using candles, and since our florists will be setting up the ceremony area she said she'll also do the centerpieces.

For the DJ, he/she will help you come up with a list. Ours said if we don't have one, he will provide us with a generic list he has. Maybe your dj has one that you can review?

I use pinterest A LOTTTT and found some shot lists for the photographer and even playlists. I would reach out to both (and your venue) to see when you can touch base on wedding day details. They're there to help you so you don't have to do it all .

I think it's a good idea to do beer and wine only! Think that'll help you keep things simple and everyone would enjoy. Will you have any champagne for toasts?

Can your bridal party help you assemble the favors?

Know it's overwhelming, but it sounds like a lot of little details so do think you're on track. I would say reach out to vendors for an ease of mind (it really helped having a time frame of when I'd hear from them). Then maybe make a list of most important items to least important (ex. beverages on top and then extra photo booth items last).

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Also THINKKKK I replied back to your message but I can't tell if it went through or not lol!

View Quoted Comment Lol i don't think i got it! I think i will do one round of bubbly for toasts but everything else just beer and wine. I'm going to total wine soon to check it all out! They came highly recommended. All my favors are done, I did some from etsy, the others I did a little each night when i was off work lol. they took forever! I made a tiktok about it 😂 I definitely will start emailing all my vendors and just get a better timeline going, i think that will really help ease my piece of mind!!!

View Quoted Comment And $50 for no shoes?! What the heck?' My lady just had me stand on my tippy toes!! 🤣

View Quoted Comment That's the problem, idk what makes sense anymore lol. But i like your timeline, maybe after i solidify soon with my vendors it will all come together

View Quoted Comment Lol well eventually you are going to have to figure it out. Maybe set one day aside to just focus on timeline. Do a little research then sit down w a pen & paper & write things down. Figure out what parts of the reception you are most excited about & when you would like them to happen. Are you planning to do all the typical reception traditions or are you cutting some out. At first I wasn’t going to do a bouquet toss, but then i found a perfect toss bouquet for $5. As PP have mentioned, the DJ may be able to provide the most suggestions for the timeline. I just wanted everything out of the way so the last part of the reception was completely open for dancing

View Quoted Comment I know you want a general guideline but remember it's your wedding and you can create it any way you want . Imagine there is no right or wrong way to do it just your way. I would recommend familiarizing yourself with others recommendations but then visualizing every aspect of your day and see how you want it to go then write it down. Are u going to do a first look? If not you need more time for cocktail hour because photos will take longer. Definately plan on eating its important ask the Caterer to make sure you and your husband get plates. While your eating depending on size of crowd and how you you serve food should budget a minimum of 1 hour max of 2. If you like you can do speeches during dinner and if it's a long dinner due to lots of guest have the cake cutting where guests can stay seated and still see it. If all guests can see you can also do any games as well as the 1st dance ,mother dance ect during this time. Ask your dj if they will help you plan out timing. They usually make announcements ect and some include it to their contracts.

View Quoted Comment Thanks monica you've been really helpful today!!! 💗

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much!