Day-of schedule

I really like lists. I am nearly always carrying at least one around with me. I hardly ever go food-shopping without a detailed list separated by store department. Without it, I'd forget half of what I was there for. I also really like packing lists, which allow me to think about vacation clothes without any of the labor involved in taking them off the hangers and putting them into a suitcase. So obviously, I've made quite a few wedding-related lists the last several months. The current one is really small and manageable, though, and fits right into my wallet. It's getting smaller, too. YAY.

Schedules, on the other hand? While I appreciate the structure of schedules, I'm not at all Type A about sticking to them. I think of them more as overarching guidelines. When I taught an undergrad class, I played fast and loose with the syllabus, letting the class run as organically as possible, seeing where the students themselves took us. When I facilitated public meetings, it was the same thing; allowing the process to define the product always rewarded the group in the end. All that said, I've been avoiding making day-of wedding schedules for some time. Maybe I felt like the schedules would pin me down too much, lock me into a timeline I wasn't fully comfortable with, I'm not sure. Whatever the original cause, it's actually a relief at this point to finally get a preliminary schedule down on paper. Here's how it's looking now - not at all nailed down, just where I think we're headed with it. Thoughts and feedback on our reception timeline in particular would be fantastic!

10:30 - 3:30: Girls getting pampered and dressed, lunch and cocktails etc. (I have a separate schedule with seven women's nail/hair/makeup appointments staggered in 15-minute increments - really exciting details I am sparing everyone)

2:30 - 3:30: Guys getting ready

3:30: Our "first glimpse" photos

4:00: Bridesmaid photos/Groomsmen photos/Immediate family photos

4:30 - 5:00: Ceremony and group photo*

5:00 - 6:00: Cocktails and hor d'oeuvres at reception/Bridal party finishes photos (No announcement for us when we get there - we just want to ease in. Plus, if the DJ screws up and calls me the wrong name I'm going to kill someone, so this helps prevent that!)

6:00 - 6:30: Welcome Toast from my parents, Dinner begins

6:30 - 7:00: Dinner continues. Best Man/Best Woman speeches, followed by Toast from the two of us.

7:00: Dessert served, First Dance

7:15-ish: Father/daughter and Mother/son dance (same time), after which the dance floor opens

7:30 - 8:00: We need to sneak out at some point to get sunset photos on the sound*

10:00: Reception ends. After-Party is across the street.

* During our first attempt at this, we realized we'd scheduled the First Dance and Toast at the exact window that our photographer needs us to sneak out and capture our sunset photos. Oops. So since we can't change the time of the sunset, we're now going to try to actually begin our ceremony on time. EEK!