The Roles of the Bridal Party!!

The bridal party as a whole plays a very significant role in your special day! Here we will discuss the four major roles in a bridal party.

Maid of Honor/Matron of Honor (MOH):

This person is essential in the wedding festivities! But first the difference between a maid and matron; a maid is unmarried and a matron is married! Should you have both? If you have two people close to you that fit each category then yes, if not don't worry about it! If you have a matron you don't need to have a maid! Now the roles of a MOH:

•  Assist bride with wedding details and shopping
•  Attend dress fittings and make sure you take lots of pictures
•  Be the point of contact for the bridesmaids
•  Plan the bridal shower and bachelorette party
•  Be her right hand the week of the wedding, be available!(nail appts, hair appts, final dress fitting, last  minute shopping, etc.)
• Adhere and follow timelines
•  The day of make sure she has eaten and has everything she needs
•  Finally help her put her dress on and be the last person to say I love you and I'm happy for you  before u walk down the aisle

Basically the MOH is their to wait on you and keep you from stressing. Not to say you won't stress but she is suppose to help eliminate it.

Bridemaids (BMS):

• Assist the MOH with the bridal party and bacholorette party
• Be there for the bride and help any way you can
• Be available and flexiable
• Adhere and follow timelines

Bridemaids have a pretty simple job, being a team player. If you feel your MOH has a lot of tasks to handle and you want to plan the bridal shower, then by all means please do! Remember it's the bride's day NOT YOURS!!! If you are emotionally unable to handle being a part of someone else’s happy moment…do not participate.

Best Man (BM):

• Plan the Bacholar Party
• Be there for the groom whenever he needs your assistantance
• Be the point of contact for the groomsmen
• Adhere and follow timelines
• The day of make sure the groom has eaten and you have the rings
• After the wedding returning the grooms tux

There is no doubt that men have the easy role in the wedding! The best man has the responsibility to be the right hand to the groom. You have to make sure your groom shows up to the venue on time!

Groomsmen (GM):

• Assist in the planning of the Bachelor Party
• Be available and flexible
• Adhere and follow timelines

Groomsmen have the same job of being a team player as well!!

These are the main roles in the bridal party besides of course the bride and groom. All the other roles are pretty light and easy. Your planner can help you establish other peoples roles, if needed.

 

Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

One of the happiest days of every woman's life is her wedding day! At that moment you feel like you have accomplished one of life's biggest tasks, and you feel semi complete. So, naturally as soon as you get engaged you immediately go into planning mode and will call on a few important women to join you in the planning. You call your mom, grandma, aunts, sisters, cousins and best girlfriends and they jump in just as excited as you as if it was their "special day". Now, of course you love their ideas and input because at that moment you are all over the place with what you may want. But, here is the trick, before you ask for their help please let them know that this is your day, here is what you envisioned and here is how you can help. It's important to communicate that with them because if not you will hear "This is what you should do" "These colors are better" "I want to invite our old neighbors" "I'm not wearing that dress, I hate my legs", and those statements will have you altering all of your ideas and visions.

Now, I'm not saying that their ideas cant help but you have to know when someone is trying to take over and plan the wedding they always envisioned and that's not fair to you. Naturally, you won't tell them no to all of their ideas but you may start feeling a bit overwhelmed and say "whose wedding is it anyway". When you feel you are at that point you have to have a heart to heart with that person and let them know that you love and thank them for all of their ideas and suggestions but those aren't the things that you want for your special day.

As a planner it is extremely difficult to come in the middle of the planning stages and you have all these different voices giving you the the details and your bride hasn't said one word. We know your family means well, but at the end of the day the bride and groom are the only ones who matters to us. Although, your parents may be footing the bill, its still your day!! So, that doesn't mean that they get to invite all of their friends and co-workers. It may be a tough talk to have but it must be done to keep some sanity, and if you are really lost in the planning stages seek a planner. Most planners will give a free consultation session to help bring all your ideas together and lead you down the right path. All in all this your day and you and your groom should make all the final decisions. Really, "whose wedding is it anyway"!!!!!!!

Why do you need a coordinator for your wedding or any event!

So, I hear all the time "I can plan my wedding myself!" "I'm not going to pay someone to do something I can do." or "My Aunt plans all the family cookouts and parties she can plan my wedding!". Now all those statements are true to some extent but then after months of planning on your own, you realize you need help. That's when we come in as a coordinator we understand and know all the small deets that most brides forget. Brides think of all the major things like; venue, dress, bridal party etc. But what a coordinator can offer is help finding the best venue within your budget that offers more for your money and that will fit the theme of your reception. Most couple's don't think about a theme but its essential in planning a wedding or even a party, a theme is basically your theme tied into one word ie: Royalty, Lounge, Tropical, Princess, Winter Wonderland. The theme helps you choose your colors, favors and invitations and programs.

Coordinator's also provide a service that is unique to you and your event. Some people only need consulting which is just a session or two sitting down and going over your details and making sure you're on the right path. Maybe you know you planned everything that you wanted but you want to make sure your event runs smoothly, at that point you can hire a coordinator for the day of your wedding or party. Most coordinator's love the execution of an event so the day of coordinating is always fun and much more exciting than just consulting. With the day of coordination what the client receives:

• a timeline for the day of the event
• someone to handle all list minute shopping items
• personal service almost like a personal assistant, all your needs will be met
•  guest list check and calls to those who hadn't responded
•  become the point of contact for all vendors, and review all contracts just to make sure your getting your money's worth.

I had a client who planned her wedding I came in for the day of coordination, when we had the last meeting with the venue, I realized the were charging her per soda can?!?! RIDICULOUS for over 100 guests you want to charge $1.25 per can!!! So we quickly changed that to Lemonade, Water and Iced Tea and sodas would be sold at the bar, that was something that had been on the contract since day 1 and my client not realizing that they would have charged after the wedding for every soda can open that could have been $200-300 extra!! So we are ultimately here for you to make sure your day is the best day ever and that you bring something unique to your event and staying under budget or right on target.

 So, I'm not sure if I totally answered the question for why you may need a coordinator, but I do think I gave you a little insight to what we do help with. OH and not all planners cost thousands of dollars, just the consulting can range between $80-$200 depending on how they charge and how many sessions you need. For the day of coordination it can range from $400-$1000, and other packages can range from $400- 10-15% of your budget.

Coordinators are here to keep you from looking like this....



So you can enjoy moments like this!!!!!



My First Post!!!!

Welp... I finally made it, I started a blog after years of just reading other blogs and articles. I plan to use this tool to help others with wedding and party ideas and tips as well as to maybe get new clients!!!! I'm going to try to post weekly or even daily. If you have a topic, question or are in need of a planner you can email me at lovelivelaughevents@gmail.com. Ok soo I am going to start writing a new post just wanted to say hello and get a feel for the blog world!!