They're JUST a Few Minutes Late : The Ramifications

I’ve come to realize that not everyone lives by the mantra of “ 5 minutes early is on time, on time is late and late is not an option”. One of my parents always operated this way while the other just showed up and timelines were a suggestion. So, I understand it can be challenging to corral people to be on time but I hope through showing the ramifications of tardiness as well as ways to curb it that a beneficial resolution for an easy flowing wedding day can be met.

It’s only a few minutes is something we hear all the time and when we hear it… we know it’s a lie. Not intentionally but rarely is it ever just five minutes. Even if it was only five minutes, if everyone operated this way that compounds! Let’s say that you + 5 adults are receiving hair services. The artist would need 4 hours and 45 minutes. If everyone ran 5 minutes late that’s adding a full 30 minutes! Suddenly the photographers are there and ready for you to get into wardrobe or do cute group shots in PJ’s on the bed… but we’re finishing because time compounded.

More realistically though is that not everyone will run late. Some may run late (+ 5-10 minutes) while others will need to grab something or use the restroom once the process has already began (+5-10 minutes). Some will want adjustments ( +10 or more minutes) which is totally fine but it does take time. Some will surprise us with extensions to be clipped in never previously mentioned ( +10-15minutes ). If even half outhouse happen in the above mentioned example ( marrier + 5 adults) or some combination of these things that will be an addition of 20 to 35 minutes and again we’re back to being late.

Of course we try to recover time but depending upon hair types, lengths and styles requested that’s not always possible. One late person’s time can for the most part be recovered but the more time hiccups the harder it is to claw back the clock.

Some may say, “ finish with more buffer time” and if it’s possible we do. Typically we plan to be doing touch ups when the photographers arrive. We can always stretch out touch ups for the right pic and the actual work is already done. However, not everyone always has that flexibility because of the limited time they can start. If a venue won’t let you in until 9 am and you need to be ready at 2 pm then after set up ( 15 minutes) we are coming into the finish right as the clock strikes done.

What can you do? I FULLY believe tardiness can be prevented and as someone related to a perpetually tardy person who wasn’t tardy at my wedding I may know a thing or two about wrangling.

First, emphasize the importance of timelines and even provide them our morning guide so they won’t forget anything when it comes time to sit in the chair. Tell them if they are too late ( in our book that’s 10 minutes) we will swap someone else into their slot and they will be bumped to when it’s logical (ie not necessarily next if we’re also balancing makeup schedule).

Secondly, if you know someone is always late, request they are put at the end of the timeline. That way they have the whole day to do their other things and arrive on time. Likely receiving reminders throughout the day of their approaching time slot too. By them being at the end if they are late the only person they are impacting style wise is themselves. That may sound harsh but it does the most damage control for the timeline as a whole.

Finally there is the option of a fake timeline. Present your perpetually tardy people with a timeline to where their time slot is a full 30-60 minutes before what it really is. Or just tell them you need to be here by 12pm, while you know their slot isn’t until 1pm. Now, this only works if someone isn’t going to compare their timeline with anyone else’s . This is what I did with my family member and while it may sound a bit deceitful it worked. She was on time, we didn’t run late, neither of us were stressed because of tardiness and we didn’t get frustrated with one another on my wedding day because of tardiness. So in my eyes it was worth it and I know for a fact other couples have also implemented this strategy after I told them because it works.

So repeat after me: “I will do my best to be on-time and prepared for services. If I’m not I understand the consequential stress is my own doing”. In all seriousness I hope this put timelines into perspective because ultimately we want you to have an amazing and stress free day. I absolutely believe to achieve that we eliminate gunk that can frazzle us. So, let’s plan to have a super zen wedding morning with these easy steps.