Looking back at your wedding day timeline, what single event caused the biggest delay and how would you adjust it?

Looking back at your wedding day timeline, what single event caused the biggest delay and how would you adjust it? For us it was family photos — we budgeted 20 minutes and it took 50, and it ate our entire cocktail hour.

Why it went wrong:

• Nobody told the family where to be, so half of them wandered to the bar.
• Our shot list had 30 groupings. Each grouping is 2–3 minutes MINIMUM once you round people up.
• Grandma needed a chair brought over and no one had planned for that.

How I would fix it:

• Cut the list to 12–15 groupings and send it to the photographer AND a loud relative in advance.
• Assign one person per side whose only job is herding family.
• Do couple portraits before the ceremony if you can stomach a first look — it buys back the whole hour.

Ask ten married couples and eight will say family photos. Build the buffer there.