Phew! Catholic Wedding days are LONG!
No matter how you slice it, break it up, or rearrange it, the typical Catholic Wedding day is a whole-day affair. Time is of the essence and it’s easy to lose a significant amount of time while trying to navigate a lot of the Catholic elements in the day. Mass is, of course, the main element that takes up a large part of your day, but there are others such as making time for prayer before Mass or family photos with your large family. Not to mention you’ve waited your entire life for this beautiful sacrament day, so cutting corners it not typically something a we’ve found that a Catholic couple likes to do. Just the opposite usually! We’ve witnessed all kinds of weddings, but most of them have in common that the couple wants to do it up big and do it right.
There’s a catch though:
The more elements you add such as the incense being used at Mass, a first look with your dad and bridesmaids, or a bubble exit, the more chaotic and tight the day can feel and the less time you have to simply breathe and soak it all in. But we know it’s not fun to “cut back” when you’ve been dreaming about a day with all of these fun elements since you were just a kid.
The solution? We’ve got it! After photographing lots of weddings, we’ve noticed a handful of key things various couples have done that have saved them LOTS of time on their days so that they can have the freedom to do just about anything they want to! Let’s dive in shall we?
Tip #1: Have A Smaller Bridal Party
A big bridal party is not bad. A big bridal party is lots of fun. But when it comes to many elements of the day such as getting everyone to all of your locations, everyone walking down the aisle and entering the reception, or posing everyone for group photos, a large number of people simply isn’t efficient. Having a group of 20 versus 8 may not seems like a lot on paper, but when those people are actually moving and participating in your day it can get a little crazy. With a larger bridal party, there is a greater chance of someone misplacing something they need to go back for, someone getting temporarily lost, or more confusion on how the day is supposed to go. If you do have a large bridal party, think about skipping individual photos and posed photos outside of church. Informal and fun photos outside of your reception venue is a great way to compromise. We also highly recommend having. a party bus or limo to transport everyone together to and from locations to cut down on chaos. At the end of the day, there’s no magic number for bridal party size to guarantee you will save time, but if you ask us, we’d say having 8-10 total bridal party members or less tends to make everything in the day move quicker.
Tip #2: Choose Locations That Are Close to Each Other
There have been wedding days where we could practically walk between the getting ready space, the church, the portrait location, and the reception venue. And there have also been wedding days where we have spent 30 minutes driving between all three. One of the simplest ways to save time on your wedding day is to choose your various locations wisely and cut out as much driving time as possible. It’s totally understandable if you live in a rural area or your church is removed from hubs of activity so you have to choose venues that are far apart. We were right there with you – our church was about 40 minutes from our reception venue! But do everything you can to keep everything in a 10-15 minutes drive of each other or less and you’ll be golden.
BONUS TIP: double up your locations for their purpose as much as possible such as using the church grounds as your portrait location or booking a reception venue that could also serve as your getting ready space + portrait location. This will cut even more driving time out of your day!
Tip #3: Skip a Receiving Line in Church and Save Your Hugs for Later
Undoubtedly, your great aunt can’t resist giving you a squeeze after you’ve come down the aisle. Your flower girl will want you to pick her up. Your brother is going to want to tell you something funny that happened during the Mass that you didn’t see. But all of these interactions, though so sweet and deserve space, can usually come…later! Right after you walk down the aisle following your nuptial Mass, it’s a great idea to quickly “hide” for lack of a better term. Steal away to a little room in the back, to a side altar, the rectory, or really anywhere that you can take a few private moments together as guests filter out of the church. This ensures that your portraits or exit immediately following Mass will get started on time and you aren’t caught trying to awkwardly break away from a conversation with a loved one. Of course there are no rules – if you’ve always wanted a receiving line and to see everyone right away, go for it. But it’s important to consider that you may not have enough time in church for photos afterwards if there is confession + Mass that still needs to happen that night. If it’s were up to us, we’d recommend greeting everyone personally later at the reception when the timeline is less strict and you’ve got the whole night left to enjoy.
Tip #4: Send a Memo or the Shot List to Family that will be in Portraits
One of the most common things we see is confusion over who needs to stay back for portraits and who needs to go ahead and leave following Mass. A great way to save time here is to send out the photo shot list that you and your photographer have created to all of the family members that are on it. Encourage those family members in a memo to seat themselves in pews in the order it says they will be photographed to wait for their turn to be called up to the altar for photos. Also encourage them to move quickly and quietly and to return to their seat following their photos or move on to the reception if they received the all clear from the photographer. We have noticed that families who are prepared for their portrait experience have cut up to 15 minutes off the process and therefore everyone was able to leave and get to the cocktail hour and fun that much sooner!
Tip #5: Let Go of the Imperfect
We’ve seen a few brides and grooms get a little nervous on their wedding days and almost in response to those nerves, they start perfecting. Adjusting and readjusting their clothes even though they are on just fine, insisting that they need to fix their hair, straightening the dress and veil repeatedly. Or they busy themselves with someone else’s problem like a missing tie or flower bouquet. We completely understand this: we did the *exact* same thing on our own wedding day. We both struggled to just let things happen as they were going to happen. But we are here to tell you that it really only added more stress and took up more time than what was needed especially on our wedding morning. There are so many “in-between” moments that you can enjoy to their fullest if you can simply allow the imperfections. It truly saves time because the couples that are able to let go of the things that go a little amiss have been the ones most connected to their days and ready for whatever comes next. So relax, pray for that gift of letting go, and simply enjoy!
SO…
There you have it! That’s what we’ve got for now and I’m sure there will be more to come in the future. our goal in 2025 will be to look for even more time saving tips for you in hopes to make a Part 2 so stayed tuned!
Megan + Joey
