Have you ever attended a wedding ceremony and the couple (mostly the bride) took a very very long time to show up in church? How did you feel about it? Do you know that, for every time a wedding ceremony starts late, the bride is mostly the reason? Do you know that, there are weddings that have been cancelled all because of lateness?

Hello there! My name Adekola Taiwo, creatively known as Timagex photography. I am a creative and experienced fashion and wedding photographer based in Ibadan, Nigeria. I also create informative contents on wedding related topics on my twitter, nairaland and instagram pages. My instagram page is @timagex_bridal_clicks. I will drop the link here. https://instagram.com/timagex_bridal_clicks?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

It is becoming a norm (a bad norm) for weddings to start a little bit later than scheduled in churches, mosques or event centers. The main reason is poor planning. It is either the case that, the Bride used hours making hair and doing makeup on the wedding morning and eat into the time the photographer should use, or the couple got stuck in traffic or the makeup artist came late, bla, bla, bla. I find it very funny when unmarried ladies attend church weddings, see the bride come in late and then say “it can never be me”. “I can not be late to my own wedding” . The truth is, if you fail to take necessary preventive measures like the brides or the couple who came late, you might make the same mistake on your wedding day too. While the lateness might not be intentional on the part of the couple, it is becoming more and frequent. Like I said earlier, I believe one of the reasons is lack of planning and having wrong priorities. Today, I am going to walk you through the reasons it happens and how it can be avoided.

One of the qualities that makes human beings "human" is imperfection. We are all bound to make one or two mistakes. One of the most anticipated events in peoples lives is their wedding day. The wedding day is the day they officially choose who they want to spend the rest of their lives with. But, as interesting as it sounds, it is also one day that, things are bound to go wrong if care is not taken.

One of the things that can go wrong on your wedding day is getting late to your wedding venue. Many people dread it. But, as a wedding photographer, I have noticed that, it is becoming a norm and most couples look confused when it eventually happens and i decided to do a little rescue mission. Hence, this topic.

This writeup is going to be focused on the causes of lateness and the solutions. These points are all borne out of my research and experiences as a wedding photographer here in Nigeria.

1. HIRE A GOOD EVENT PLANNER.
One of the first steps to take when organizing an event is to hire a very good event planner. Any event that does not go through professional planning might not turn out well. The event planner will be responsible for hiring the professionals who will work at the event and coordinate all activities. But, if you want to take matters into your own hands, (with or without the event planner) kindly check out the tips below.

2. SLEEP EARLY AND WAKE UP EARLY.
There is a saying “early to bed, early to rise” One of the reasons most brides do not wake up on time on their wedding day is because of the bridal shower they did the night before. Some bridal showers start as late as 11pm and end around 2am. Why? Late arrival of the brides maids and friends. If you must do your bridal shower, do it on time so that everybody can sleep on time.

3. LEARN TO DELEGATE.
It is my opinion that, another issue that delays the couple on their wedding morning is lack of delegation. Nobody is an island. There are so many things to do on the wedding morning and you cannot do all by yourself. Learn to delegate some roles to friends and families. This will allow You to spend your time on other things.

4. ALLOCATE TIME TO THE HAIRSYLIST AND THE MAKEUP ARTIST
There are three vendors that must work with the bride in the morning of the wedding day. They are, the hairstylist, the makeup artist and the photographer. The makeup artist and the hairstylist have to work on the bride and the brides maids before the photographer can take pictures, so, it is important that they start working on time. So, waking up, make sure the makeup artist and the hairstylist know the time allocated to them. Most of the time, the photographer always passes the night at the same hotel as the couple, but, the hairstylists and the MUA sometimes show up in the morning. Showing up in the morning has it's risks, road traffic being one of them. Find a way around it make sure you don’t hire late comers. The photographer cannot work until the hairstylist and the MUA have done their work. Do not let the makeup artist and hairstylist use all the time and then give five minutes to the photographer because you are in a hurry to get to church. Allocate time to your vendors.

5. BE CAREFUL AND DISCRET WHEN CHOOSING YOUR EVENT VENDORS.
Do you know that, some makeup artists have the habit of collecting two or more bookings on a single wedding day without having the required human resources to execute the assignments? What they do is, they place the jobs in orders. They quickly do the first one and rush to the second one. Who knows maybe you are number two or three on their list. The disadvantage of this practice is that, (A). They are bound to do a terrible job all round because they will always be in a hurry. (B). They might show up late at the hotel and cause unnecessary delays. (C). There is a high chance that, (if you are not at the top of their list) they might send a non professional over to your side. I have seen it play out many times and, it’s not always pretty. Be careful o! Do not just hire a vendor because their work is good. You must find out what it is like to work with them.

6. BE PATIENT WITH YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER.
If you want to get to your wedding early, be patient with your photographer. Wedding photographers have been known to work faster and more efficient when the atmosphere is good. You are a human being and so is your photographer. Don’t be the bride that starts giving attitude to the photographer because you want him to hurry up. The easier you make his job, the faster and better it will be and the sooner you will go to church. Cooperate with him. Remember, timeless wedding portraits cannot be taken under chaotic circumstances.

7. BOOK A GOOD HOTEL.
I covered a wedding in Lagos last week and you would not believe that, the hotel turned off the generator when it was time for the bride to take pictures. Why? They said their was no fuel in the generator. We had to start running around to get their boss to allow us buy fuel for the generator. Time was wasted unnecessarily. The bride was already sweating! All the family members of the couple were already at the church, waiting. Do not let any hotel use their incompetence to spoil your day. I believe “cost cutting” was the culprit here. When booking hotels, open your eyes o!

8. BOOK YOUR HOTEL ON TIME AND MAKE SURE IT IS NOT TOO FAR FROM YOUR WEDDING VENUE.
There are weddings where the bride will be in an hotel and the groom will be in another one. The hotel is filled up and they can't accommodate anybody else. Why does this happen? Late booking! One of the consequences of this arrangement is that, the photographer might not be able to get the couple together in time for their first portrait session. This also causes unnecessary delays. Please, book and make reservations on time and make sure your hotel accommodation is not too far away from your wedding venue.

9. MAKE RESERVATIONS FOR TRANSPORTATION.
I have come to realize that, some couples do not have concrete plans on how to transport themselves to their wedding venue. They depend on “friends” who might not come through on time. Transportation is a very important part of your wedding day. What car will convey the bride/groom and their entourage to the wedding venue? Who is driving? Answer these questions satisfactorily before your wedding day o! It is always harder to start making such plans on the morning of your big day. Make concrete plans. Late planning might lead to lateness.

10. PREPARE AND PLAN FOR TRAFFIC SITUATIONS.
This is Nigeria. Our traffic situation is a peculiar one. Please, do everything in your power to avoid it. I have seen situations where the groom and his best man had to jump on bike to get to church. Don’t ask me what the bride did. Do not take unfamiliar routes and check point 11.

11. MAKE SURE YOUR DRIVER IS FAMILIAR WITH THE TERRAIN.
A friend of mine got married sometimes last year and I handled the photography aspect for him. On our way to the wedding venue, I noticed that, the driver was not a familiar face. I asked him why he did not allow any of his friends to drive him, he explained to me that, “non of them knows the terrain like this man”. I did not believe him. But, when we started having issues with traffic, the driver shined. He was able to maneuver the car and get us to some roads nobody believed existed. We got to church on time because of this simple act. That extra route the driver knows might be the saving grace on your wedding day. Don’t just allow any “friend” to drive you, make sure whoever is behind the wheels is very familiar with the terrain.

There it is! Eleven whole tips just for you! Let us know your favourite tip in the comment section. Additions and suggestions are also welcomed. Save and bookmark this post and share them with your unmarried friends and families. I remain Timagex, your favourite wedding photographer. My contact details are on my profile. Thanks for your time. Bye for now.


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LoL

Don't go to see ur ex

We was in the hood shooting choppers



I done fuxk around and try to go and lease a helicopter

Bleep early before going..

When you take into account all these stress for a union which might not last long and the probability of being disrespected and cheated on is high....... You begin to wonder if it is worth the hassle.




This is why people are enduring nonsense in the name of staying married

just sleep overnight at the venue.

Ni

On top this harse economy na e person wan marry.

Spot on Boss!!!

Been 16 years I attended a wedding

For this Naija?

The groom and his train are hardly late but I am yet to see a bride that entered the church early.

You see that makeups our ladies do ehn, na the biggest culprit. They are always beating their faces to perfection... lol

Person like me go late go wedding e sure me die..
Pastor : Bro T the wedding start by 9:00am
Me : Pastor please 9:30am
Pastor : Okay no problem
On the wedding day
Pastor: Bro T where are you
Me: Sir I am on my way sir
Pastor : This is 10am
Me : I am on my way sir
10:45am Let welcome the Groom