How much buffer to build into a luxury wedding run of show

Why a flat 15 minutes is not enough

A flat buffer after every moment treats a 10 minute toast and a 2 hour dinner the same. Long moments with many people, like dinner service or a receiving line, drift more than short ones.

Protect the fixed points

Mark what cannot move: the ceremony time at a church, the last shuttle, the noise curfew. Spare time is most valuable right before these, because that is where lateness becomes a real cost.

Test the bad evening, not the average one

Ask what happens if dinner and speeches both run long. If the evening still finishes before the curfew, the plan is robust. If not, cut or shorten a flexible moment now, while the couple can still decide calmly.

Aisle's Deliverability Score runs this test many times with the ranges you give it and shows how often the day finishes on time, and how much spare time is left. The full method is on the methodology page.