When it comes to a wedding, time truly is money.

Here are some scenarios —

Kathleen is 30 minutes late to her floral appointment.  Unfortunately, the florist could no longer meet with Kathleen because she had another appointment scheduled in 30 minutes.  As a result Kathleen will have to take another afternoon off from work to attend her make-up florist appointment — not to mention the fact that she wasted gas money. As a result, Kathleen lost almost $300 because she was only 30 minutes late.

The Miller/Cox wedding is running 90 minutes late.  As a result, four couples must leave the reception before the wedding cake is served to avoid paying extra fees to their baby sitter.  The wedding cake costs the bride and groom approximately $9 a slice.  Therefore, the couple lost $72 plus tax and delivery fees because they were only 90 minutes late.

Sandy and Bill only had four hours for their afternoon wedding reception.  Unfortunately, Sandy was more than 60 minutes late because she lost track of time.  Sandy and Bill felt as if they barely had a reception, so they decided to extend their reception by one hour.  This required them to pay for that additional hour to the catering staff, the DJ, the photographer, the wedding planner and the venue.  Sandy and Bill paid an additional $2,500 in overtime fees because they were only 60 minutes late.

The bridal party for the Bradley/Smith wedding were already running 30 minutes late, when they realized they left the marriage license at the hotel.  The priest refused to start the ceremony until someone returned with this important document.  As a result the wedding ceremony was delayed almost two hours.  The church had another wedding taking place that day, so the priest had to condense the full mass ceremony into a simple wedding ceremony.  This change in plans cut out the hired soloist’s performances. Therefore, the couple lost $250 in fees (plus parking) because they were less than 2 hours late.

The Williams/Good wedding started almost 45 minutes late.  As a result, the bride and groom couldn’t take their post-ceremony pictures at the lake located across town.  Why?  The limousine company had another job to attend to, and they wouldn’t get there in time if they remained with the couple for another 45 minutes.  This would not have been an issue if the couple was on time.  The couple made up for their lakeside pictures by booking a “rock the dress” session with their photographer the following week.  This new photo session wasn’t included in their photography package so they had to pay for the photographer’s new time and services.  They also needed to pay for the services of a new make-up artist and the fees for a hair stylist.  As a result, the couple paid almost $1,500 in new fees because they were 45 minutes late on their wedding day.

So, do you get the picture?  When it comes to a wedding day, time truly is money.

Pad your timeline.  Be punctual.  And, try to enjoy every moment of your wedding day.

Love and Soul Always, Kawania