DAY 5: Bride, Groom, Entourage & Relatives
MEET THE KEY PLAYERS
Talk to any wedding consultant and they will tell you. There are several key people that you’ll need to pull your wedding off. Of course, your parents will be on hand to help if they can. The minister and musicians is also important people. However, I’d say your wedding party is very, very important. Next to you, they are the people everyone is going to be gazing at. What do they have on? How is the hair and makeup styled? Shoes, do the shoes match perfectly? These are all questions your guests are going to ask as they watch your wedding party parade up and down the aisle. So of course, these are the key players aka stars. 1 Matron or Maid of Honor 2 Best Man 3 Groomsmen 4 Bridesmaids
Now, let’s look at how they are supposed to assist you in the days leading up to D-Day. The Matron or Maid of Honor is the bride’s right hand woman the wedding day. She helps the bride get dressed. She distributes the corsages and boutonnieres. She fixes the bride’s train during the ceremony. She is the official witness to the vows. But, her duties actually begin long before then. She helps to address invitations and thank you notes. She helps to The Best Man is the groom’s right hand guy. He is in charge of making sure everything and I mean everything runs smooth. He is the official witness to the vows, however he has many more duties. He pays the clergy He handles the groom’s travel, supervises ushers, holds the rings and marriage license, and delivers the toast. The Groomsmen on the other hand have many duties on the wedding day. They are usually the first people who guests see when they come to the wedding. It is there duty to meet and greet the guests. Seat them on the proper side of the church aisle if there is one. Groomsmen also seat the bride and grooms mothers. In some cases, groomsmen also arrange for the transportation of the bridesmaids. Now, if your wedding is so big that you’re having groomsmen and ushers, then it is up to the ushers to seat the guests. Bridesmaid’s main duty is to look pretty and happy on the wedding day! No joke. If you’re a bridesmaid, consider the job a piece of cake. You’ll get to run errands for the bride or her mother in the weeks before the wedding, but aside from that, being pretty is their sole responsibility.
You can help your wedding party look good by finding dresses, tuxedos and other attire that compliment them. You should look at the color, style, fit and feel of the material as well. You’ll also want to keep in mind the theme of your wedding that we talked about in Chapter One. Let’s look at how we can save money on wedding attire. SAVE MONEY BY RENTING I know you’re wondering. Rent a wedding dress? It’s not as strange as it might seem. A lot of brides are saying to themselves. Will my daughter really want to wear my wedding dress at her wedding 20-30 years from now? More than likely, NOT! It use to be a grand tradition to get married in white, and spend several hundred dollars to preserve a wedding dress. However, more brides are opting not to wear mom’s old wedding dress. BUY A PROM DRESS Who can really tell if a prom dress is a prom dress? Prom dresses like wedding dresses are all formal. In addition, prom dresses are usually priced lower than the dresses that are slated for weddings. Don’t ask me why, that’s just how the designers, retailers do it. Look at the prom dresses before you order dresses for you wedding party. You may be in for a big surprise. WHAT KIND OF DRESS? You have your choice of buying the dresses for your wedding or renting. Let’s look at what kind of dress would be right for your wedding. You have been thinking about your wedding dress more than likely since you were a little girl. Now is the time to start really looking for one. Before you can decide what kind of dress you want to buy, you have to first decide on what kind of wedding you are going to have. Remember, the exercise from Chapter One where I asked you to envision your dream wedding. If you completed that exercise then more than likely, you know what you want your dress to look like. But, wait a minute. Let us make sure your idea of a dress matches up with the kind of wedding that you are going to have. FOLLOW YOUR STYLE You may be a fancy dresser who loves clothes that flair. If so, then your wedding dress should flair as well. On the other hand, if you are more conservative in your everyday attire, then you’ll want a sleeker look for your wedding. You’re just following your own sense of style this way HOW MUCH TO PAY? This is a big question! I know some people who will bargain show until the find the nicest dress for the most affordable price. Still, there’s another school of thought that suggests your wedding dress should be the most expensive dress you’ll ever own. In other words, the sky is the limit when you want a wedding dress. You may want to look at my general wedding budget that I prepared for you in Chapter One. As you can see, I believe the dress, headpiece/veil, lingerie, shoes and accessories fall in the 15% range for your wedding expenses. However, I say feel free to play around with the numbers! If you can cut corners in another way, by all means please do. Designer wedding dresses are the most expensive. They range in price from $1,500 on up! However, you may be able to find a wedding dress on sale for as little as $300.00. On an average, brides are spending about $800.00 for their dresses. You can also save some money be wearing your mother or grandmothers wedding dresses. Yes, people are still doing that! Bear in mind if you go the “something old” route you will most likely have to pay a little extra for alterations.
Okay! That’s enough about the female persuasion for right now. Let’s talk about attire for him. It’s important as well, you know. Let’s face it! The man’s attire is not as important in a wedding as the woman’s attire. Who would dare argue with me on that one? However, tuxes are an important side issue. More and more people are opting to buy tuxes because they figure they’ll use them over again during the course of a marriage. I hope the brides aren’t thinking all eyes are going to be on them on D-day! I hope that’s not what you’re thinking! They guys play an important role in a wedding. They are the first people your guests see. Be sure to pick out a tux that conveys the tone of your wedding. It’s a good thing that tuxedo’s are a little more classic today than in yesteryear. Do you remember the ruffled shirts and bow ties from the seventies? Well, they are out now! Nowadays, you can look forward to seeing more conservative shirts, vests, ties and cummerbunds. RENT OR BUY? I bet you were wondering how you should handle the question over tuxedos. Should you rent or buys is another good question. Tuxedo’s like a wedding and bridesmaids dresses help to set the tone for your overall wedding. Tuxedo’s cost anywhere from $300.00 to $500.00 depending on where you buy them. You will pay about 30 percent of the price of a new tuxedo if you rent a tuxedo. It’s also not unusual to be able to buy a good tux in the same place that the bride is buying her gown at. A lot of businesses are making it really convenient for you. If you buy the tux in the same place as the bridesmaids dresses, then it’s easier to match up colors. At the very least, I’ve noticed some tuxedo shops are open next door to or in the vicinity of dress retailers. I think this will also make it easy for you to match the dress to the tuxedo along with the style and colors. Colored tuxedos are quite popular these days. You can find colored tuxedos in green, lavender, sage, periwinkle and purple. Now, those colors will have everyone talking! It’s my personal preference to go ahead and buy a tux if you’re going to go to at least three formal functions during your first year of marriage. You can wear a good tux for years.
A lot of grooms are saying to heck with tuxedos! They are going for the idea of wearing a fine suit on their wedding day. Picking a suit over a tux for a formal wedding is a growing idea. Remember, I talked to you about following your own style. Well, let’s suppose that your guy is not a lover of tuxedos. A black on black suit can and will give him the same dashing effect!
If your man is anything like my man then accessories are not even in his vocabulary! Fix him up on your wedding day and every woman will want him! Make sure the shoes have colored coordinated socks. The shoes that you wear with a tux or suit can lace up or slip on depending on your personal preference. Make sure the shirt has rhinestone, stainless steel, silver or gold cufflinks.
Money-Saving Tips and Important Questions to Ask your Bridal Couturier
Wedding gowns are one of the highest expenses in a wedding. It is also one of the things that a bride may not want to settle for anything less. After all, wearing a princess-like gown in your most beautiful day is every girl’s dream. There are many things to consider in choosing a bridal boutique or bridal couturier. The most important thing is that they offer a gown that will be appropriate to your physique and to the budget. Here are some questions to ask your bridal boutique or couturier: Here are some money-saving tips and alternatives for wedding gowns:
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