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Top 10 Design Ideas For Wedding Weekend Schedules

Since weddings often bring families together from far away places, a lot of activites are scheduled around the big day: arrival cocktail parties, the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, the morning-after-the-wedding brunch. You may have your Blackberry filled with your itinerary, but your guests and bridal party will also appreciate having a detailed schedule of what’s going on when and where. So create your own wedding weekend schedules to keep everyone informed and – if you do it well – cut down on extra work for yourself. With all the details listed in your schedule, no one will need to call you for the address of the restaurant, for instance. Here are the top design ideas for your wedding weekend schedules:

1. The “In” Crowd
   Create one schedule of wedding weekend events for your guests – including all of the social events you’ve planned for before and after the wedding, plus a list of attractions they can visit on their own. Make a second ‘ Inner Circle’ itinerary for your bridal party, parents, and all those participating in the wedding ceremony itself; this one is an all-business itinerary that guides your wedding team to any events they need to attend. For instance, the schedule for your bridal party might read:

Bride and Bridesmaids Meet for Breakfast
Saturday, 9am
At Sarah’s house
8 Devon Circle
Anytown, CA
555-7222, (cell) 555-1111

2. Include full details
   Remember that many guests will be from out of town, so provide the correct name of locations (as in ‘Santino’s Southern Bar and Grille’ rather than how you refer to the place as just ‘Santino’s’), full street address, phone number and Web site for directions. If the event will be held at a home, provide the address, phone number and a cell phone number.
   
   
3. Find a point person
   Ask a close friend who is familiar with the area if she wouldn’t mind fielding calls so that any guests with questions can contact her instead of you.
   
   
4. Specify the style of gathering
   Guests will want to know if a welcome party is a picnic or a cocktail party at the country club so that they can dress appropriately. In fact, it’s a great idea to list Dress Code for each event, as guests will want to know what to pack and which shoes to bring. The entry for an event might read: “Dress Code – Leave those stilettos at home! We’ll be in the backyard cooking up a feast and playing volleyball! Bring your sunscreen and shades!”
   
   
5. Go All-Inclusive
   Make sure the events you list in your itinerary are those to which ALL of your guests are invited. If your parents will invite only a select few to a post-wedding cocktail party back at home, leave this event off of the itinerary and handle that with separate invitations. No guest should ever have to see a listing for an event they’re not invited to, including ‘bridal party only’ events.
   
   
6. Color it up
   This itinerary may be functional, but it doesn’t have to be boring! Print out on colored card stock just like your programs and place cards, in any shade you choose. While most couples use the same color palette of their wedding print items, some do use an entirely different favorite shade for their itineraries.
   
   
7. Flip it over
   The newest trend in wedding weekend event itineraries is printing each event and details on a separate card, punching a hole in the center or top left corner of the card, and fastening the ‘flip book’ together with a ribbon tie or a small ring binder circle (found at craft and office stores). Each event is listed centered on each card, perhaps with its own graphic or the use of monogram letters as the first letter in each word of the event title, for a little extra flair.
   
   
8. Use monograms
   Your wedding weekend event schedule can bear your monogram in the same design as you’ve used on your invitations, tying your ensemble together even if you use a different color of card for this print item. The same works for a graphic you’ll use on all of your print items for the wedding.
   
   
9. Wrap it up
   For presentation, itineraries can be ribbon-wrapped just like your invitations packets. [See the article on the Top 15 Trends in Wedding Invitations for ideas]. So think about ribbon ‘belts’ or cords bearing charms or beaded ends, tassels, grosgrain ribbon, or personalized ribbon imprinted with your names as the finishing touch to your itineraries.
   
   
10. Print plenty
    Print at least 10 extra itineraries than your distribution list. It’s a wise idea to send these schedules out to your guests several months in advance so that they may make their travel plans with pre- and post-wedding parties in mind. Especially for a destination wedding, or if guests will need to fly to your hometown wedding, lots of advance notice is welcome, and many couples send these out with their wedding invitation packets. Your bridal party should, of course, be given a fresh, second copy of the itinerary weeks before the wedding, and any guests staying in hotels or at friends’ houses nearby should get a fresh, new copy of their schedule as part of their welcome gift basket. Keep the design file on your computer, for the guests who request extra copies as the wedding draws near.