Wedding Attendants' Duties: Bridesmaids

In as much as the couple -bride and groom- are very important in a wedding, there are certain people that play vital roles to ensure that a wedding is a success. These people are called Wedding Attendants. They are also called Wedding Participants or Wedding Party. Whichever name you may choose to call them, they refer to the maid of honor, bridesmaids, bestman, groomsmen, ring-bearer, etc.

It's is common to find out that many people are lost on their responsibilities when bestowed with such an honour. Yeah, it's an honour because the bride and/or the groom deemed it fit for you to actively share their Day with them, majorly because they trust you to deliver. So it will be disappointing if you fail to do so. This is where I come in! :D

I will be running a series of posts dedicated to stating the duties expected from the different attendants. So, what better way to start, than with the Bridesmaids, who happen to be the centre of attention right after the Bride. :)

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You just received a call from your girlfriend telling you that you've been chosen to be a bridesmaid at her wedding ceremony. Congratulations! Right now, you are already visualizing how you’re gonna look, what you’ll put on, what you’ll need to buy, etc. for that day. After all, you’re the bridesmaid and not the maid of honour, so you don’t have to be at the beck and call of the bride. Wrong!

Although the maid of honour may be there for the bride, your friend would also need your comfort and opinions as well. Below are some of the duties that my be required of you before and during the
wedding:

Pre-wedding:

• Help her scout for a good reception venue


• If your writing is good, you can volunteer to address some invitations


• You could also help in ordering and choosing decorations and wedding favours (souvenirs)


• She could also ask you to help out with shopping for her wedding dress. And also, picking out the bridesmaids dress or material and design (style) to be sewn


• Help out in planning the sitting arrangement of guests


• Help in planning the bridal shower and bachelorette party with the maid of honour. You are also expected to attend both in honour of your friend, unless there is a good reason for your absence


• Attend and help out during the rehearsal. You could save the day by being attentive and supportive, as the bride groom and their families might be preoccupied and forget things

Wedding Day:

• Help in getting the bride dressed and made-up in time. Also help other bridesmaids in getting dressed


• Assist guests to their seats


• Help in giving out the wedding favours


• Help to serve food, snacks and drinks at the reception


• Join in catching the bridal bouquet

As time goes by, other duties may arise. You might find yourself fulfilling some of the duties of the maid of honour too. Your friend would be glad you volunteered to help without being asked. In whatever you do, just remember your doing it for your friend to make things go smoothly for her.
Also, ensure you have fun at the wedding! Cheers!

Picking out a Wedding Date

Once you announce your engagement, the first question on most lips would be ‘So when is the Big day?’ And just like your birthday, your wedding date will hold a special place in your heart, year after year.

In reality, you can’t go about planning for a wedding without having the date fixed, as some wedding plans are dependent on the date fixed. You need to choose the date of your wedding carefully. Below are tips to guide you in choosing the perfect one:

Length of time needed to plan the wedding
The length of time you'll need to plan your wedding depends majorly on what type of wedding you plan to have. The amount of time that would be spent in planning a very quiet and intimate wedding, compared to a high-class society wedding is definitely different. Where the former would require less time planning and preparing, the latter might require a year or even more for the planning. You know the type of wedding you plan to have, therefore, ensure that enough time is given to plan your wedding.

Month of the year
You need to choose a month convenient for you, your groom and your families as well as friends. There might be a special time in the year which you or your groom holds dear to your heart and would be suitable for your wedding to be fixed towards that time. It could be a birthday, Christmas season, Valentine season, etc. As added benefits, such seasonal weddings help simplify decorations. For example, if your wedding is gonna take on a Valentine theme; we all know the dominant colour would be red alongside any other colour you want to add.

Day of the week
In Nigeria, most weddings are held on Saturdays. The major reason for this is for convenience sake, as most people would be at work during weekdays. However, there are few cases where we have weddings being held during the weekday. It all depends on the couple, their families and friends involved, if it will be convenient for most of them. It will even help in cutting down expenses as wedding vendors and reception venues would be more likely to negotiate prices on days of other than Saturdays, their busiest day. You may also decide to fix it during a national holiday as well.

Weather considerations
You also have to take cognizance of the fact that the weather could be a huge factor in fixing a date for your wedding. For example, it will be unwise to want to have an outdoor reception then go right ahead to choose a date during the rainy season.

Major/significant events in your family or your area
Before you fix a date, ensure that the date you pick does not coincide with an important day for any of the families involved and would not disrupt plans e.g. Someone's convocation or even another family wedding. If it happens to fall on a very important day in your area such as a convention or a festival, and you are bent on hosting it that day, ensure you book your reception venue and hotel rooms early enough so as not to risk them being booked by someone else.

Selecting a wedding date may seem a pretty difficult task to decide on, but not to worry. With a little patience and consultations from both families, you are sure to get a suitable date special for your Big Day. Cheers!

Wedding Planning Tips

Whoop! Whoop!! Whoop!!! He has finally proposed!!! Congratulations girl!

Right about now, you are sure to experience all sort of emotions like excitement and anxiety. Not to worry, it is all normal. What matters most is how you look on your Big Day and how the wedding turns out.

Planning your wedding can be an exciting, yet seemingly difficult task to execute. In this part of the world, the bride is in charge of planning the wedding but she is expected to carry the groom along.

To plan the wedding the bride needs to be organized and composed so that they might achieve their dream wedding. Below are some tips to ensure that:

Fix a date:
The bride and groom need to come together to fix a date favorable for all. Before picking a date, they should remember that some factors play roles in
ensuring the success of a wedding. It is important that enough time is given for the necessary preparations to be made before the day. The seasons should be considered too. For example, if you are planning for an outdoor wedding in Nigeria, it would be unwise to fix a date during the rainy season.

Draw up a budget:
This is very crucial to prevent unwanted expenses. You definitely can’t have a budget for a small group of people and hope to throw an extravaganza. Everything should be budgeted for; from your bridal dress to the vendors and your honeymoon expenses. Also, both families should come together and decide on how much they can contribute to the wedding. It is also the budget that determines the guest list.

Get a wedding planner:
You may decide to have a wedding planner or appoint a willing friend to plan your wedding. If you are up for it, you can also do it yourself. You shouldn’t necessarily carry everything all on your shoulders. You can delegate responsibilities to some of your family and friends. Whatever you decide, just remember that you have to look great and stress-free on your wedding day.

Have a checklist:
It is good to have a list of what is important to you when planning your wedding. It helps to keep you organized and on top of things. As time goes by, you can add or subtract from the list, taking into cognizance your already planned budget.

Start early:
It is important to start planning your wedding at least 6 months before the day. You may think you have all the time, but you will find out that important things such as the reception venue might not be easy to book as most venues would have been booked months and even years before hand. Therefore, you should have a timeline of things to do months, weeks and even a day to your wedding.

Be ready to make compromises:
Be ready to plan your wedding with an open mind and flexibility. You may have envisioned your wedding in a particular way, but find out that your spouse would rather like it some other way. Both parties and their families should be ready and able to reach a common ground.

With these, you are well on your way to achieving your dream wedding.

Hello!

Getting hold of the hilarious book, Diary of a Mad Bride by Laura Wolf (picture above) probably prompted this blog. Just as you might expect, this blog would be strictly about weddings.

It is sure to cover a wide range of topics on wedding - planning, etiquettes,
tips, wedding ideas, etc. Just keep your eyes glued on this blog as they unfold.

Remember to tell someone to tell someone to tell someone to... (You know the drill) check out this blog! ;)

(Yeah, yeah! I know I'm bad at making introductions... Oh well...*covers face)

Till my first official wedding post...

...xoxo Shawntaesia