TIMING IS EVERYTHING!

Reading through my emails this morning, I received Colin Cowie's most recent "Wedding Notes" and I wanted to share it with you because it is so near and dear to my heart.
Colin is so dead on with this article!  Timing is SOOOOO important!  I love what he says about how we have all been to weddings where the ceremony starts 25 minutes late, the cocktail hour drags on and on (usually because the photographer has delayed the couple with pictures) dinner is delayed or takes FOREVER to serve.  We have folks come in on a regular basis, expecting that this is just the "norm" for a wedding.  Not so at Aberdeen.  We work really hard to keep things on track, make sure that everything starts when it is supposed to start and ends when it's supposed to end.  This is what makes for an enjoyable wedding and reception!  The flow of the party is so important, and as Colin says, you don't want your guests to start looking at their watches!  That's the kiss of death for a party, because usually, as soon as they start looking at their watches, their next move is to look for their car keys! 
I'm always surprised by the people that come in 10, 15, even 20 minutes late for a ceremony!  They always seem to look at me with this puzzled expression on their faces that says "Gosh, they started on time?  Amazing!"  I guess that they are so used to ceremonies being late that these folks just add 15 minutes to the time on the invitation automatically!
My feeling on this is that if you say 5 o'clock, you should start at 5 o'clock.  It's not fair to your guests who ARE on time to make them sit and wait.  More important, if your ceremony runs late, it's going to make everything else start to run late because it will short you on time for your pictures etc.  It's a domino effect, and it's really hard to recover, once that first domino--the ceremony time--is tipped!
Good timing is something that Aberdeen Manor has become known for.  You have myself or my daughter Megan, there to make sure that everyone is on track and on schedule.  We keep the party moving, we serve your dinner in a timely manner, and if your photographer is dragging out the photos and delaying you, we aren't afraid to tell the photographer, nicely but firmly, that they need to wrap it up so that we can move along.  Incidentally, this is another reason why using a photographer from our Favorites List is so helpful, to you and us as well.  The photographers on our list KNOW that we keep things on time, and they are great at making everything fit together, getting the photos taken, and keeping everything on time.  One of our photographers, plus Transaudio as your DJ and you have a golden combination that is going to help to keep your special day running smoothly, and your guests happy and excited about your day.
Remember, the day may be about the two of you, but it is also about your guests.  The thoughtful couple wants their guests to have the time of their lives, as well as themselves.  There is nothing better after your wedding, than having one of your guests tell you, even years later, that YOUR wedding was the BEST wedding they ever attended! 
Timing IS everything!
Happy Weddings!