Is this too Crammed?

I would do all the dances together so the photographer can capture them or have her stay 15 more minutes. Keep in mind timelines can change so it could end up being pushed back even more past 8 if for say dinner service runs over.

If you do want to do them later so you can change I would say 45 minutes is a long time to greet people and maybe you can do the dances before greeting your guests

1. We're doing the same thing and I don't think it's weird at all. Our introduction to the reception will go right into our first dance, then after dinner we'll do the father/daughter and mother/son dances.

2. Not sure how you're doing your tables, but I would break it down into how much time you plan on spending at each table. If you're doing round tables with 8 guests each that only gives you 1-2.5 minutes per table depending on if you end up with 180 or 250 guests. I think you might need more time there, especially for tables with older folks who like to talk your ear off lol

3. It just depends on if you want to have your father/daughter dance pictures in your first dress or second dress, totally up to you.

4. I think two hours might be a little lengthy for guests to wait for dinner after the ceremony. They may not be super hungry, but I do think people would get tired of doing the same thing for two hours.

5. You can probably ask your photographer to stay longer if you're willing to pay for extra time, but I would probably just try to scoot things up a little if you're not interested in having any "party time" photos.

I really think you could save a lot of time (cut down on the gap) by taking some photos before the ceremony. FH and I aren't doing a first look either, but we'll basically be doing all other photos that don't involve us seeing each other before the ceremony and combined photos afterwards. I would also say that I would take photos with the bridal party and family immediately after the ceremony so they can go and stay at the cocktail hour, rather than cutting them loose and having to track them down to bring them back over for photos (at that point they may have already spilled a drink or dropped food on themselves). Then do the bride and groom solo portraits.

Here's my rough draft timeline that my DOC has partially approved (she's going to make a few tweaks here and there) if you want to compare to yours!

1:15 Pre-wedding photos (bride/dad first look, bride/family, groom/family, wedding parties)
2:15 Finish photos to return to bride/groom suites
2:30 Early bird guests start to arrive
3:00 Invite time
3:10 Ceremony Begins (to accommodate late comers if necessary)
3:35 Ceremony Ends/Guests move to reception area
3:40 Cocktail Hour/Post Ceremony Photos
4:40 Introduction of Bride & Groom/First Dance
4:50 Welcome (Father of the Bride)
4:55 Prayer from Grandfather of the Groom
5:00 Dinner begins (buffet style)
5:45 Toasts
6:00 Father/Daughter & Mother/Son Dances
6:10 Dancing/Sunset Photos
7:00 Cake cutting
7:15 Bouquet/Garter Toss
7:45 Last Dance
8:00 Send Off

We had about 90 people at our wedding and decided to greet our guests at their tables also—we allowed about 40-50 minutes to greet them, and we weren’t able to see everyone because everyone wanted to talk with us. We didn’t even make it to every table by the time we had to leave. I’d suggest having someone pull you from table to table on a specific schedule. if you end up going with greeting guests 😊

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This was super helpful, thanks so much!

1. We are not doing a first look per FH's request Awesome decision, we didn't do a first look either and were sooo glad!

2. Greeting each guest is very important to me- I went back and forth between having a receiving line and going to each table during dinner but decided on doing it during dinner to save a bit of time. Is this the right decision? Yep I think this is the right decision. A receiving line will hold everyone up and you'll be rushed through greeting everyone anyway. Wait until dinner and then take your time.

3. Photographer end time is 8pm That's good unless you care about photos of people dancing? If so I'd extend by an hour.

4. The majority of our bridal party pictures will be done before the ceremony, so we will only need one more group shot, is 10 mins too long Yes I think 10 mins is too long, but it might take that long if you're accounting for the time it would take to gather them after you send them to go get drinks. I would NOT send anyone to go get drinks before you are done with them... you will waste SO much time trying to get them back, LOL. Bridal party photo should take 5 mins. Just have your family wait while that one is getting done. Then send your bridal party to enjoy cocktail hour. Then do your family photos, and then send them to enjoy cocktail hour. Then you can take your time with photos of you and your husband.

My concerns:

1. Is it weird to do the first dance right away and then the father/daughter & mother/son Later in the night? I don't think it's "weird" but it may be easier to do it all at once while you have everyone's attention, and would break up the night less. I would just do father/daughter and mother/son right after the first dance.

2. Is 45 Mins enough time to go around to our guests? (we are planing on 250 but expect to end up around the 180 mark) It seems a tad rushed but it's probably adequate. We greeted 100 guests (12 tables) in about 20-25 minutes.

3. I am changing dresses but want to have my first dance with FH in my ceremony gown. Should I change right before the father daughter dance (it only takes about 10 mins if that for me to change dresses.. I've practiced ) I would do the father/daughter dance before you change. Can you change during the mother/son dance, maybe? Idk if you'd want to miss it, but that could be a good way to save you some time and miss less of your reception!

4. I know that 2 hours between ceremony and dinner is a bit of a wait but we will be having yard games and other entertainment and some food. Should we worry about guests leaving before the reception before getting to thank them for coming? I doubt anyone would leave before the reception, but people may start to get antsy and hungry for dinner. In your timeline it looks like only 90 minutes though? (3:30-5?) unless I'm missing something

5. If my photographer is leaving at 8 and father daughter dance is at 8 should I ask her to cover just 15 mins longer? And is 8 PM too late do be doing those things? I would just do the father daughter dance right after the first dance. I would not feel right about asking your photographer to stay another 15 minutes without paying her for that time.

Also, are you allotting 25 minutes for toasts? If so, I would definitely tell people to shorten their toasts lol. Generally you don't want toasts to go more than 15 mins total at the most. People will get very bored.

There’s way too much downtime for your guests here, I think everything just needs to be tightened up a bit. Realistically, your guests are not going to stay seated for over an hour after dinner waiting for your table visits. Once they’re done eating, they’re gonna want to get up/move around/dance/mingle etc. So, I think you’ll need to rework the table visit plan & timeline a bit. Take every opportunity of downtime to visit a table. You can continue table visits throughout the night while dancing is happening, even though people will be up and moving around and you may have to track some down. You’ve allocated a ton of time for the dinner, and depending on the structure of your meal it may not take that long, so I think you have to be ready to entertain guests (like with the dance floor) earlier than 8pm. It’s not at all weird to separate the first dance and the parent dances like that— it’s actually a pretty great way to reopen the dance floor to get the dance party started. 2 hours is really too long for a cocktail hour. Even with games, drinks and snacks, your guests will start getting antsy. We also skipped a first look, so we made sure to keep photos to a tight timeline. Your photographer can help, and keeping groups well organized will also help speed this along. [ I actually would recommend (partially as per my own photographer’s advice)— DONT release your bridal party to the bar before doing those photos — you’ll lose them, and will lose time rounding them back up. Knock out the group photos ASAP after the ceremony, and then take the couples photos when you can take your time and progress through them at your leisure, and finish when you feel you’re ready, without having to worry about anyone else. We were so antsy to get to our party after photos!] We also had lawn games but tbh they really didn’t occupy our guests’ attention for long. Some people had fun with them, but they didn’t really change the overall dynamic of the cocktail hour. Our guests were definitely ready to move to the party before an hour was up (and frankly, so were we!). We made an appearance during our cocktail hour, so we knocked out all our photos in well under the hour, though because of our desire to join the party, I really simplified shot list and kept groupings to the basics instead of getting every family and bridal party combo pic under the sun — and I still have plenty of photos, more than I have any idea what to do with, and all
Important pics are accounted for. I know photos are the thing that you get to keep at the end of the day, but remember the moments with your guests are even more precious, and the day will move SO quickly. So, try to keep cocktail hour under 2hrs. 90 minutes should be an absolute maximum. I definitely recommend tightening the timeline so that all of your spotlight dances are done before your photog’s 8pm departure (you could ask her to stay longer, but it would likely cost more money, and there’s really no reason you can’t get these photo ops done during the time that she’s there) even though it might mean organizing your table visits a little differently — maybe a couple earlier, maybe a couple later. My recommendation would be to organize them strategically: older guests and family guests first; saving younger friends/ peers for later, presuming they’re more inclined to stay longer to party.
Changing dresses right before parent dances is perfect, it’s an ideal re-introduction in a new dress opportunity.

1. No. We did our first dance right when we entered. Parent dances were later right before the dance floor opened.

2. While dinner is being served, I'd go around & great guests. Then go back to your table during toasts. Then back out. This gives you more time. Ask the caterer to have your meals at your seats when you sit down so you can take a few bites before.

3. I only wore one dress, so I'm not sure about this. I would assume your dad would want pictures in your wedding gown so maybe change after?

4. So there is no cocktail hour between 4:40 and 6:10?

5. I'd pay for an extra 30 minutes if you can.

I also think there are a lot of places here that you can save time easily. For example, you have everyone meeting at the hall at 6:10 but not making the entrance until 6:25. Sure it takes a few to get everyone organized, but this is a lot of dead minutes. If you do do group photos first, you can give everyone involved in the grand entrance a Hard Time to meet outside there— say 6pm. Have a point person to organize the group, so then when you guys show up from couples’ photos are the listed 6:10 rendez vous time, you’re ready to walk in the door right then — doing couples photos last would allow multitasking there . And if that’s the case, you can start shepherding guests to the reception area around 5:45 to give everyone time to move and find their spots and get settled & grab any last drinks before the entrance. That simple move could save a whole 15 minutes

I personally don’t think that 45 minutes will be enough time to greet that many guests at the tables. I was just at a wedding where they had just under 200 guests & the bride/groom were doing the receiving line for 45 minutes. You’re going to get much more chit-chat by going around to the tables & unless you have someone there to pull you to the next table or are forceful about keeping moving, it’s going to take much longer IMO. Plus by that time, people are going to be done eating and will be up getting drinks, in the bathroom, outside, etc and you’ll likely miss people.

We originally opted out of the receiving line. Once the ceremony was over we headed inside and went straight to the bar with the bridal party. The guests followed very quickly and before we knew it were doing an accidental receiving line at the bar. lol it was a quick "hi hello congrats thanks for coming" type of thing but it took just a couple minutes for 110 guests including kids. I also went around to each table after dinner to thank everyone for coming. i would suggest keeping the dances somewhat together around the toasts. that way you aren't breaking up the dancing once dinner is over