The Complete Guide to Wedding Party Roles and Responsibilities
The wedding party is one an important part of your special day, and one of the most complex aspects of wedding coordination. Your bridal party will consist of close friends that feel like family, confidants, and all those that have been a part of your journey leading right up to that walk down the aisle. To ensure that everyone stays close before, during, and after the wedding, it’s so important to ensure that your expectations for the wedding party are clearly outlined and understood by everyone. This guide will help you fully understand all the wedding party roles, and what’s expected from everyone on your big day.
The wedding party is an important part of your special day, and one of the most complex aspects of wedding coordination.
The Wedding Party
Matron or Maid of Honor
A maid/matron of honor is the lead bridesmaid in the wedding party. Her role designates her as the point person for all the bride’s needs on the wedding day. The difference between the matron and maid of honor is that the maid is an unmarried woman, while the matron is married. Some brides elect to have both a maid and matron of honor where appropriate.
Before the ceremony, a maid or matron of honor should assist with things like bridesmaids dresses being ordered, invitations being stamped and mailed, and the rehearsal dinner being coordinated. In addition, the maid or matron of honor is traditionally responsible for planning the bachelorette party and giving a speech at the reception.
Bridesmaids
The role of the bridesmaids is entirely dependent upon what the bride wants or needs from each of them. Bridesmaids should be flexible and willing to assist with anything requested by the bride or maid of honor, but also not feel slighted if a responsibility is given to someone else. Some typical tasks of bridesmaids include:
Assisting with tasks like gathering guest list addresses, stuffing invitations, etc.
Assisting with dress shopping
Helping plan the bachelorette party
Attending any rehearsal dinners, bachelorette parties, and other pre wedding events
Assembling centerpieces and welcome bags
Taking care of hair and makeup for the bride and other bridesmaids
Assisting with the bride’s gown on the wedding day
Mother of the Bride
For many families the mother of the bride plays an important and symbolic role during wedding preparations and during the ceremony. It is often the duty of the mother of the bride to ensure any family traditions and heirlooms are passed down. In addition, the mother of the bride will typically be the secondary contact for vendors, caterers, florists, and event rentals when the bride cannot be reached. Similarly, on the day of the wedding the mother of the bride will typically be called upon to help cover any wedding day emergency that pops up. Maybe someone in the bridal party needs safety pins to hold corsages in place, or somebody forgot to bring an extra pair of flats. It’s a great idea for the mother of the bride to have a wedding day emergency kit on hand for these situations.
Flower Girl and Ring Bearer
In the United States, flower girls and ring bearers are typically children between the ages of 4 and 10. The flower girl symbolizes the bride’s transition from childhood into adulthood and wears a dress similar to the bride’s. The ring bearer is usually only cosmetic as the real rings are carried by the best man, however it is one of the cutest parts of a wedding ceremony and an excellent way to include any young children in the activities. Ring bearers and flower girls are typically your own children if you have them, godchildren, or close nieces and nephews.
Wedding Planner
A wedding planner isn’t typically considered a part of the bridal party but they are just as important. Because of wedding planners’ costs, it’s common for brides to trust one of their good friends or a sibling with wedding planning responsibilities. These include making arrangements with venues, caterers, florists, decorators, table and chair rentals, photographers, etc. It is also the wedding planner’s responsibility to manage the wedding timeline and be sure that everything happens on schedule. As the day of wedding coordinator, any big wedding day emergency like a caterer not arriving on time or unexpected inclement weather will be dealt with by the wedding planner. If you’ve chosen a friend or family member without formal wedding planning experience to coordinate your big day you can provide them with a wedding day timeline template and/or wedding planner checklist to help them keep everything on track. A wedding planning checklist will also be useful for the bride and groom to have peace of mind that everything is being taken care of on time.
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The Complete Guide to Wedding Party Roles and Responsibilities
The wedding party is an important part of your special day, and one of the most complex aspects of wedding coordination.
Matron or Maid of Honor
A maid/matron of honor is the lead bridesmaid in the wedding party. Her role designates her as the point person for all the bride’s needs on the wedding day. The difference between the matron and maid of honor is that the maid is an unmarried woman, while the matron is married. Some brides elect to have both a maid and matron of honor where appropriate.
Before the ceremony, a maid or matron of honor should assist with things like bridesmaids dresses being ordered, invitations being stamped and mailed, and the rehearsal dinner being coordinated. In addition, the maid or matron of honor is traditionally responsible for planning the bachelorette party and giving a speech at the reception.
Bridesmaids
The role of the bridesmaids is entirely dependent upon what the bride wants or needs from each of them. Bridesmaids should be flexible and willing to assist with anything requested by the bride or maid of honor, but also not feel slighted if a responsibility is given to someone else. Some typical tasks of bridesmaids include:
Mother of the Bride
For many families the mother of the bride plays an important and symbolic role during wedding preparations and during the ceremony. It is often the duty of the mother of the bride to ensure any family traditions and heirlooms are passed down. In addition, the mother of the bride will typically be the secondary contact for vendors, caterers, florists, and event rentals when the bride cannot be reached. Similarly, on the day of the wedding the mother of the bride will typically be called upon to help cover any wedding day emergency that pops up. Maybe someone in the bridal party needs safety pins to hold corsages in place, or somebody forgot to bring an extra pair of flats. It’s a great idea for the mother of the bride to have a wedding day emergency kit on hand for these situations.
Flower Girl and Ring Bearer
In the United States, flower girls and ring bearers are typically children between the ages of 4 and 10. The flower girl symbolizes the bride’s transition from childhood into adulthood and wears a dress similar to the bride’s. The ring bearer is usually only cosmetic as the real rings are carried by the best man, however it is one of the cutest parts of a wedding ceremony and an excellent way to include any young children in the activities. Ring bearers and flower girls are typically your own children if you have them, godchildren, or close nieces and nephews.
Wedding Planner
A wedding planner isn’t typically considered a part of the bridal party but they are just as important. Because of wedding planners’ costs, it’s common for brides to trust one of their good friends or a sibling with wedding planning responsibilities. These include making arrangements with venues, caterers, florists, decorators, table and chair rentals, photographers, etc. It is also the wedding planner’s responsibility to manage the wedding timeline and be sure that everything happens on schedule. As the day of wedding coordinator, any big wedding day emergency like a caterer not arriving on time or unexpected inclement weather will be dealt with by the wedding planner. If you’ve chosen a friend or family member without formal wedding planning experience to coordinate your big day you can provide them with a wedding day timeline template and/or wedding planner checklist to help them keep everything on track. A wedding planning checklist will also be useful for the bride and groom to have peace of mind that everything is being taken care of on time.