Weddingbee Blog

Originally published on August 7, 2008

Mrs. Ribbons nominates Mrs. Daffodil’s comprehensive and detailed wedding timeline packet, available for download! Mrs. Ribbons says, “It had a schedule and then a detailed breakdown of what happened when. The doc was intended to be given to vendors/bridal party/etc, and it was a really wonderful template. I used it but never blogged about it.”

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Edit: Thanks for the enthusiastic response! As promised, here is a sample of our wedding weekend packet, tailored just for the hive!

Daffodil’s Wedding Weekend Packet Template

I wanted to add that after my original post, several people who had helped out with our wedding called me to let me know that, indeed, the packet had been extremely helpful and was really key to our uber smooth wedding day…which made me super happy to hear of course! And above is a pic to prove it! So hopefully, this (or something similar) will come in handy on your wedding day too!

Thanks for your patience as I made all the edits. Happy planning!

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It became a bit of a running joke among all involved in helping out on our wedding day. I admit maybe it was a bit over the top, but for a J-personality type* like me, but hey, it was as much for my own sanity as it was for helping everyone else know where to be and when. That’s right- I created a 15-page “Wedding Weekend Packet” for all involved! It took me probably a full three days straight (with little sleep) to really get everything right, but I did it and sent it out to everyone about four days before the wedding!

Now what could possibly take up 15 pages you ask? Here’s a glimpse into my pride and joy…

We began with a cover letter introducing the packet to our friends and family. The contents were as follows:

• Logistics overview
• Overview of weekend events
• Detailed wedding day schedule
• Map, directions, and travel
• Contact list
• Description of roles

The Logistics Overview. A list of key wedding day contacts (aka people to call if you have absolutely no clue what is going on), key locations and their addresses, and a list of the key events taking place over the course of the week.

Overview of Weekend Events. A three-page list of all the key events taking place over the next few days, including a pre-wedding family celebration dinner, our rehearsal, our rehearsal dinner, and more, all the way through to our after party. Under each event, I provided the date and time, location, point person(s) to contact, who was required to attend, and a brief description of the event.

Detailed Wedding Day Schedule. This was probably what may have been a little overwhelming for some at first, but I sincerely believe it was the reason why our wedding day went so incredibly smoothly! It was a two-page schedule listing the main activities, underneath which we broke out specific activities by 15-minute increments. It listed each activity next to the time and the parties involved. Here’s a glimpse…

Map, Directions, and Travel. Pretty self-explanatory. This was a two-page section that included a map of LA (which I created using Wedding Mapper and then just taking a screen-shot of the image), directions from the airport to the hotel, hotel to the church, church to the rehearsal dinner site, and the church to the reception site. We also included travel tips for our out-of-town guests, including travel options and approximate rates.

Contact List. A full contact list of about 50 people, including their names, phone numbers, emails, and role of each person involved in helping out with the wedding.

Description of Roles. This section was five pages long, the longest section. It was for a good reason though, as we detailed out the specific responsibilities of different people involved, preempting any last minute wedding day confusion. We included what activities they needed to be present for, what time to arrive, and what they were on point for. Of course, people didn’t have to read all five pages - All they had to do was jump to their section (i.e. bridesmaids, or scripture readers, or attendants, etc.). Again, another key reason why our wedding day ran so smoothly! A huge thanks to Mr. D for helping me with this section and with the contact list…This seriously took me forever.

That about sums up “The Packet”! I wanted to post up the template, but it has way too much personal information in there right now, with names and phone numbers of people everywhere.

But yeah, this was what we sent to our friends and families (vendors got something different, which I will share in a future post!). You wouldn’t believe how much crap I got from some people, ranging from our friends jokingly saying every time “Well, let me refer to my 15-page wedding packet…” all the way to some adults (who will remain nameless) saying “What a waste of time…who would ever read 15 pages!”

In the end, I do hope everyone appreciated it! But if nothing else, going through the process of creating this at least gave me peace of mind, allowing me to relax and enjoy my own wedding day…which was reason enough for me!

*I am referring to the Myers-Briggs personality types. A “J” personality tends to approach the world with a plan, prefers to be organized and prepared, and has a tendency toward closure and completion (as opposed to taking a more adaptive go-with-the-flow approach). If you get a strange sense of joy in crossing items off your to-do lists, creating itineraries and schedules, etc., you are probably a “J” personality type too.

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