Several weddings in one weekend: organising production
Count each wedding's person-hours, lay them over the days you have, then solve the clashes before you sign.
6 min read
Published by FlolyaTo handle several weddings in one weekend, count the person-hours of each event, spread them day by day over your team, then find the moment demand exceeds capacity. It is almost always Saturday, at loading and installation.
This guide gives a four-step method and a worked example. The durations and team sizes are assumptions to illustrate the reasoning, not industry benchmarks: replace them with your own timings.
Where the weekend is really decided
Two weddings on the same day do not just double the work: they concentrate the resources you share at the same moment. Flowers must be ready for two start times, the cooler fills up, one vehicle serves two venues, and your team cannot be at two installations at once.
Making can be spread over several days. Installation is fixed to the venue's schedule and cannot move. That is why you plan backwards: start from the time each installation must be finished.
Step 1: count the person-hours of each wedding
For each wedding, estimate the hours of every step and multiply by the number of people involved. A four-hour installation with two people is eight person-hours. Add the steps that are often forgotten: receiving flowers, conditioning, loading, trips and take-down.
| Step | Wedding A | Wedding B | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receiving and conditioning | 5 h | 4 h | 9 h |
| Making | 18 h | 12 h | 30 h |
| Loading | 2 h | 2 h | 4 h |
| Trips | 4 h | 2 h | 6 h |
| Installation | 10 h | 6 h | 16 h |
| Take-down and equipment return | 4 h | 3 h | 7 h |
| Total | 43 h | 29 h | 72 h |
Find all these steps in the wedding quote
Step 2: lay these hours over your team's capacity
In the example, the team has three people working eight productive hours a day. The purchase arrives on Thursday: receiving, conditioning and making (39 hours) fit on Thursday and Friday, which offer 48 hours. Friday is therefore the day to finish making.
| Day | Load | Capacity | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday and Friday (preparation) | 39 h | 48 h | 9 h spare |
| Saturday (loading, trips, installation) | 26 h | 24 h | 2 h short |
| Sunday morning (take-down) | 7 h | 9 h | 2 h spare |
The result is clear: Saturday is two hours over. This gap is exactly what a "each wedding fits on its own" reading hides. There are three ways to solve it: bring one installation forward if the venue allows, add one person for a few hours, or simplify one piece. It is better to find out before signing than on Saturday morning.
Step 3: sequence installations and trips
Start from each installation's end time
Note when each venue must be ready (caterer access, guest arrival). The installation that must finish first goes first.
Calculate trips with a buffer
Add loading, driving and unloading. Leave a gap between venues for traffic and waiting for access.
Split teams by piece
Keep your most experienced people for the visible pieces (arch, top table) and give the rest of the installation to another team.
Have a plan B for the vehicle
One vehicle forces you to chain the rounds. If that is not workable, a rental or a second driver changes the calculation.
Step 4: order and condition for the whole weekend
Make a single shopping list for both weddings, then split the buckets by event as soon as they arrive. Label each bucket with the wedding and the piece it belongs to: on preparation night nobody has time to find out which rose goes where.
Think about cooler space. Two weddings at once need more volume than the larger of the two, and flowers are not all conditioned at the same time. Fragile flowers are made as close to the event as possible, foliage and structures earlier.
Price your recipes before launching the purchases
Friday evening is the last moment to correct course. Hold a ten-minute check-in with the team: everyone knows which wedding they install, when they leave and with which vehicle. This simple round table prevents most Saturday-morning mistakes.
- Each piece is labelled with the wedding name and its place in the venue.
- Equipment (vases, structures, tools, ribbon, glue) is loaded by event, not loose.
- On-site contacts (caterer, venue manager, couple) are noted for each venue.
- Each team's arrival and departure times are written down, with the trip.
- Fragile pieces are kept cool until departure.
Solve the clash before saying yes
- Before accepting a second wedding on the same date, redo the person-hours table with both events.
- Note each venue's access constraints: key handover time, lift, parking.
- Include the next-day or late-evening take-down in the quote, depending on what the venue allows.
- Set in advance the maximum number of weddings you take on the same weekend with your current team.
That maximum is not a universal limit: it depends on team size, distance between venues and the complexity of the pieces. Your actual costing, wedding after wedding, will tell you more than any general rule.
Frequently asked questions
- How many weddings can you do in the same weekend?
- There is no standard number. Calculate each wedding's person-hours, compare them with your team's hours day by day, and look especially at Saturday, where loading and installation pile up.
- How do you organise production for two weddings on one day?
- Make as much as possible in advance, plan backwards from each installation's end time, and split teams by piece. Keep a travel buffer between the two venues.
- Should you turn down a wedding when the schedule is full?
- Not necessarily. A one-off helper, an earlier installation or a simplified piece can solve the clash. If no solution is realistic, declining beats delivering a weakened result.
- Can take-down wait until the next day?
- It depends on the venue and the contract. If take-down is postponed, say so in the quote and check that your team's hours respect the daily rest of at least 11 hours.
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