me, rachel

Time. Now there's something I could use more of! Right up there with dresses and chocolate. There are so many things that demand my time: classes, work, more work, homework, eating, wedding planning, fiance', and sleep, to name a few. I've come to the conclusion that something's gotta go. I wish it could be classes, or at the very least work, but if I quit the work, I'd have to quit the classes...which would in turn leave me without an education and working a fast food counter for the rest of my life.

"Would you like fries with that?"

Yeah. So I've decided sleep's gotta go. And I'll keep thinking that until I fall asleep. Then I'll pick something else to ignore.

But, as much as I'm sure you all care about my busy/crazy/hectic/insane schedule, that's not the time I want to talk about. I'd like to talk about wedding time.

Yesterday, Dave and I were looking at vows (which we REALLY need to figure out!), and what all we want to go into our ceremony. As I said in the previous post, I haven't spent much time thinking about the ceremony, because the reception and other over-all concerns have been filling my wedding-plate. While we were discussing this, we realized that we didn't really know what all was supposed to go into a ceremony! We know we don't want it to be too short (march in, I do, I do, big smooch, march out) but we don't want it to be too long either (mosey in, special music, special reading, more music, congregational sing, pastor's five point applicational sermon followed by an alter call, more special music, hand-written vows, traditional vows, big smooch, hug every guest on the way out).

All that to say, we don't know what to incorperate into our own ceremony! We like the idea of traditional vows, and don't feel the need to share personal vows with all our guests. However, we haven't looked at any music at all (processional through recessional), much less special music. We also haven't discussed if we want any Bible or poetry readings, or what we want our officiant to speak on in his charge to the couple.

I do believe we will encorperate the unity candle ceremony, but beyond that (and the traditional vows, the particulars of which we have not yet decided on), we don't really know what we're doing.

Do you have an example ceremony timeline from your wedding? We're looking for the ceremony to be 30ish minutes long, but we're open to any suggestions that will help us out!

Besides the ceremony, I also need to come up with a timeline for the reception, as well as a pre-wedding timeline (for the day of) so that I know we can get all the girls' hair done, get some lunch, take the pictures, set up the reception, etc. all before the ceremony. Hopefully we can do that without getting up before the sun. I am not a morning person.

I have no idea how long it will take to get our hair done, I suppose the first step would be to talk to Michele, as well as find at least one more hairdresser to help us out and figure out how long it takes to do five girls' hair.

Then I also have to talk to the photographer and find out how much time he anticipates needing. We'll have to decide where to take the pictures, and set aside enough time for that.

I'm positive I'm forgetting something. Maybe a lot of somethings. Help? What else goes into a pre-wedding timeline?

The reception timeline will be easier, because Dave DJ's wedding (and birthday parties, and powerlifting, and life) in his free time, and has helped design timelines for receptions for other brides.

But I still need your help! I really need ideas for the ceremony, because I'm totally stumped on that. I can still use design and decorating ideas, too! Plus, if you have any idea what I could be forgetting for the morning of the wedding, let me know!! It would be so helpful!
3 Responses
  1. Christine Says:

    Our Wedding was about 30-45 minutes long. Let me run-see if I still have a program somewhere...(45 seconds later, and ruffling through a photo album later...)

    We had:
    -Prelude
    -Processional/bridal entrance
    -Greeting
    -Prayer
    -Scripture reading: Matthew 7 Vs 24-29
    -Meditation on marriage, basically a mini sermon (10 minutes...ish) based on our scripture reading.
    -Declaration of Intention/Pledge of Support
    -Vows
    -Rings!
    -Announcement/Blessing
    -Prayer of thanksgiving and Benediction
    -Postlude

    Now that list might look long and complicated, but we really bare-bones'd it. We basically sat down with our minister and discussed how we wanted it to go. For us, the only thing we REALLY cared about was our verse. It really reflects what we believe and how we need to be focused on "the rock" of our marriage (aka Jesus).

    The thing about the music is just pick some classical pieces you really like, and then go from there. We were really happy with how it all came out.

    Our wedding was at 1:30pm I think, and we were at the salon at about 8 or 9 in the morning. Then again, we had a lot of girls' hair to do and we had more than two sets of hands going at once.

    To be honest I don't remember a lot of the actual day (it sounds sad, I know) but I'm ok with that. Planning things out is good, but I tell everybody this, things don't always go out to plan. Leave enough wiggle room so that if something doesn't go right, it's all good and no problems. We did that a few times at ours, and things worked out great.

    I have a few pictures up on Facebook to give you an idea of what our wedding looked like, so have a gander at those.


  2. Sarah Bauer Says:

    You're going to need more than one person doing hair! Otherwise, that's going to take up about 5 hours, at least. Even if it's just a friend who you wanted to include doing something, but couldn't find a spot for and they happen to be creative with hair. If the wedding's at 2, you're going to need 30 min or so for lunch, probably close to 2 hours (maybe a bit more) for pictures. An hour or so for clothes and makeup, so I'd plan on being at the church between 10 and 10:30 with hair done. Or if you're wanting to do hair at the church you may need to be there around 8ish. That could leave you a bit of extra time, but that's better than cutting it too short and scrambling toward the end. Things to stock up on in the meantime....bobby pins (of various colors, according to bridesmaids hair color), Good hairspray (or Aquanet, depending on hold needed), trial size deodorant (just in case), Shout wipes, breath mints, and lots of coffee for the morning of :-). Let me know if you want help with your makeup or if any of your bridesmaids want help. I'll put together some packets for you guys if you need them :-)


  3. me, rachel Says:

    Yay! Thanks so much, guys! Sarah, I'm definently looking for another hairdresser--there's no way I'd ask Shele to take all that on herself! I've just gotta find somebody I can afford...or maybe two somebodys! The makeup thing might be helpful...I know you said something like a year ago about doing a Mary Kay facial day...if we did it the day before you could talk to Emily about it. I have no idea what to do with my makeup! I wear it so rarely that I don't want to overdo it, but at the same time I want to look special! Oh, yet another thing to think about...


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