First off, well done for choosing to schedule your wedding on a weekend.
At least, that’s what we assume, since you’re reading an article about how to plan a wedding weekend itinerary.
Planning to do everything over the weekend is fantastic because most people get off work or school on the weekends and can thus attend without much issue or friction on that front.
But you still need to plan and schedule things just like you would with a weekday wedding.
After all, the smoother everything goes, the more relaxing and enjoyable the experience will be.
Rehearsal
The first thing you’ll want to plan for in your wedding weekend itinerary is the wedding rehearsal, and it’s for the same reason you’re planning anything else: freedom from worry.
The purpose of a wedding rehearsal is to make sure that everyone is prepared ahead of time for the wedding and knows what to expect.
You want to be sure that everyone knows their role and what time each event is going to take place, and you surely want the same for yourself.
Having this designated time to prepare in advance helps everything run more smoothly, but it also helps everyone feel more confident and relaxed about the whole thing.
Ceremony Preparation
This is the time in your wedding weekend itinerary when everything for the ceremony gets set up, and everyone involved in the ceremony, especially you and your soon-to-be spouse, gets dressed.
As we all know, it takes some people longer to get ready than others, and that’s perfectly alright… as long as you’ve got time.
So, make time for it and write it into the official schedule so that nobody feels pressured or rushed.
This is also when you’ll probably want to set up any grand entrance you’ve got planned for the reception after the ceremony.
Schedule an Outside Activity
Try not to get carried away with this because your wedding weekend itinerary is only one weekend, and you’re already having a wedding, which is not a small undertaking.
You and most of your guests will probably not have enough energy or time left over for something high-energy or mentally taxing.
For that reason, it’s best to go for something that won’t take more than a few hours and doesn’t require any brain power on the part of the participants (including you).
In other words, it’s advisable to do something that is being arranged and managed by someone else.
That might mean having a pool party that’s catered and cleaned by hired staff, or it might mean going on a guided tour of some kind.
These things exist for a reason: that reason being that sometimes you just don’t want to have to think about stuff.
Schedule Some Downtime
At first, this may seem like a repetition of the last section, but it’s not.
Here, we’re not saying to schedule another activity; we’re advising you to do the exact opposite.
Schedule some time during which there is nothing specific scheduled, actual downtime.
Amid all the organized festivities and scheduled events, you and most of your guests will probably need some time to relax, rest, and recharge.
And everyone does that in different ways.
Some will do it by taking a nap, some by reading a book near a window, and others by chatting with each other in the common room.
Whatever the case, it’s good to schedule time for people to just do whatever they want and to have that period of time specifically marked on the itinerary so that everyone knows when it is.
An added bonus is that, because most people like to know when things are going to begin and end, guests who start getting tired can look forward to this scheduled downtime in an only-2-more-hours-to-go sort of way.
It’s easier to work out if you know that you only have to do it for a specific period of time. Weddings and wedding weekends can be like that, too.
Space Everything Out Appropriately
This one kind of is related to the previous section, but there’s an extra reason for it.
In addition to people getting tired or wanting to do their own thing at some point, it’s also an inescapable reality that unexpected things happen and that many things tend to take longer than we expect them to.
That thing you scheduled an hour for might end up taking an hour and a half for some reason or another, and you really can’t predict or prepare adequately for all the things that could possibly happen in life.
So it’s good practice to give yourself a bit of space in between events in your wedding weekend itinerary.
Doing so either provides a cushion of time in case something takes longer than you thought or allows everyone some extra time to rest and prepare for the next thing if it takes less time than expected.
It might not seem that way yet, but you’ll see how much stress this will take off of you and everyone else.
No Pressure
Make sure that guests know they aren’t each obligated to attend every single event on the itinerary.
Especially if your wedding is out of town for them, they might want or need to do other things, like handle something from work or go to a museum in town with their kids.
They’ll probably all want to attend the big events, but remember that the biggest event is the wedding itself, and that’s the one you really want them to be crisp and present for.
Post Wedding Brunch
Lastly, remember that you’ll probably all be seeing each other the day after the wedding.
And this is a great and exciting experience because it will be the first new day that you and your now-spouse spend and go out together as a married couple.
In other words, it’s the first time outside of the wedding itself when you and your spouse come out and present yourselves as a married couple.
It’s not as big of a deal as the wedding, but it’s an important and beautiful step that you’ll want to make time for.
The Wrap Up
The word “perfect” in the title may have been slightly misleading because nothing is ever really perfect.
But that’s what life is all about: finding joy and meaning in those imperfect but beautiful moments, especially the ones we spend together with those we care about.
So, here’s to you! 🥂 We’re happy for you, and we wish you both the very best.
Now, get out there and dive into your new life!
