The 4 “F’s” of Weddings: Flow

Our second to last (yes we said 4 but we threw in another), is FLOW.

What is Flow?

Have you thought about your wedding vision, and in that vision did you think about how your day will flow? How does that work with your venue set up? Those details are important.

Flow has to do with more than just your day, how will your guests’ experience your day? Will arrival to the venue be difficult, once in the venue is it easy to determine where they should go, how about after the ceremony is over and in between reception, is there a cocktail hour, do they know?

Why Does the Flow of Your Wedding Matter?

Flow is a very important part of your day so that both you and your guests get to enjoy the day.

There are few things to keep in mind when you start planning your day.

• The Venue – does the layout allow for easy access and flow for you and your guests? Are all the important spaces (bridal/grooms’ room, cocktail hour, ceremony site, reception space, etc.) easy to access? Is a room flip is required to switch from ceremony to reception? If so, do guests have some place to go while staff/hired help handle this? Keep these in mind when you tour a venue. And don’t be afraid to ask that they take you through the venue as if you were a guest too. Experience this through your guest’s eyes as well.

• How does venue staff help? Some venues include a coordinator that handles the flow of your wedding. Others don’t have one on staff, and some venues just hand you the keys and walk off. At Cotton Gin 116, while we aren’t wedding coordinators, we do help with the flow behind the scenes making sure your vendors are on time and know where to go. We also assist guests with directions to ceremony spaces and cocktail hour.

• You may want to hire a wedding coordinator. Depending upon how involved your venue staff may be, a wedding coordinator can assist in not only directing guests to the next place/item on the timeline, but they will ensure that the day goes as closely as planned as possible – assuming you have worked those details out on a timeline.

Plan the Flow of Your Wedding Ahead of Time

A lot of times couples don’t consider these details before the day of, and then stress because of it. Don’t worry, at Cotton Gin 116, we offer multiple private open house opportunities to work out these timeline details with our event staff, as well as giving our couples the opportunity to walk through our venue in the eyes of their guests to understand the building flow.

Additionally, our space is great for creating different atmospheres and environments for each stage of your day as your guests enjoy an outdoor ceremony, indoor cocktail space in our historic gallery, and a fun reception in our Seed House (that doubles as our indoor ceremony space when preferred). There ae plenty of opportunities for your guests to find comfort while they wait for the next part of your day, whether its dinner, cake cutting, or send off – the staff at Cotton Gin 116 works closely with you ahead of time to make sure your timeline works with ease for your guests.

Special thanks to Grace Rose Photography and @hepkatphotos!