Who does what on the big day?
Ladies, hopefully by now you have realised that − no matter how much of an organisational goddess you are – you cannot attempt to marshal the entire wedding day yourself and have to be ready to delegate where necessary. The good news is that tradition dictates that the bride and groom have various key players at their disposal to help ensure the smooth running of the wedding day. To help you divvy up the responsibility here is our guide to wedding day roles.
What should you be doing yourself?
Hopefully as little as you can bear. The groom of course has to give his speech, but the wedding day is your day − you have the biggest part to play − so it’s time for you to go with the flow. After all, you have done the hard work over the last year so try to sit back, focus on looking great and allow the following list of wedding day helpers to ease you into married life.
The maid of honour
With the hen do over and the pictures hidden where the groom will never discover them, the maid of honour moves onto play a central role in the day’s proceedings. She is there to help the bride get ready on the wedding day and keep track of the day’s events to help pry the bride away from watching the clock. At the ceremony things only get more complicated for the maid of honour, where she will be expected to check the bride’s dress on arrival, shepherd the other bridesmaids and hold the bride’s bouquet during the service. After helping the bride prepare and once the attendees head to the reception, her only real duty (apart from looking gorgeous and enjoying a beverage or two) is to help serve the cake before taking charge of the wedding attire for safe keeping.
The best man
Now that the stag do is a distant, blurry memory, it is time for the best man’s real work to begin. He is there to be the wingman and to take the pressure off the groom. He should collect the wedding attire and ensure its delivery to and from the tailor. He should help get the groom dressed, ensuring he doesn’t look like a child in an oversized suit, and then get him to the venue on time. At the ceremony he is responsible for marshalling the other ushers and most importantly, safeguarding and producing the ring when required. His official duties end in a crescendo with the delivery of his (hopefully) funny and heartfelt reception speech.
Father of the bride
Whether he has had any financial input into the wedding or not, the father of the bride still has one of the most important roles to play in the day’s proceedings. He is responsible first and foremost for getting the bride to the venue where he will perform the tear inducing duty of escorting his daughter down the aisle and giving her away. He is expected to be on-hand to assist with the hosting of the reception and then makes the first speech and toast of the dinner.
Mother of the bride
The wedding day is where mums get their chance to shine after months of having to watch the planning from afar. Prior to heading to the church the mother of the bride helps get her daughter dressed and, along with the bridesmaids, provides as much of a pre-ceremony pep talk as she can muster. She then high-tails it over to the venue at which point she activates super hostess mode and sets about ensuring events go off without a hitch before eventually taking her seat to enjoy the ceremony. Her final duty is to oversee the smooth running of the reception and the collection of wedding gifts.
Extras
There are of course plenty of other smaller roles you can distribute among other friends and relatives. These include:
Page boy or ring bearer
A good way to include a young male relative. He either carries the bride’s train or brings the ring up the aisle.
Flower and confetti girls
Self explanatory younger female members of the bride’s family can either carry a bouquet up the aisle behind the bride or be tasked with sprinkling confetti.
Ushers
Subordinate male members of the party. Usually tasked with the duty of chaperoning the car parking arrangements!
Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids support the maid of honour and take on any duties she may delegate to them.
