Words of Wisdom for Wedding Party!!!
First and foremost, make sure you’re truly
up for the job before you accept.
Money is a factor, and so is time. You’ll have to pay for your clothing, shoes, and any accessories involved in the wedding attire. There’s also hair, makeup, and spa appointments to consider, and the cost of travel and accommodations if you live out of town. Can you realistically afford everything? You might have to take a few days off work to attend rehearsals, parties, showers, ect. With these factors in mind, it’s better to step down if you don’t feel up to it. Less damage will be done if you politely decline knowing you can’t deliver a supportive performance than if you accept and and then let the bride and groom down. Best to pass the job off to someone more suited if you well and truly know you’re not up to it.
Be honest about personal needs
As soon as you accept your role as a wedding attendant, let the bride or groom know if you have specific needs. For example, be honest about what you can afford. If the one thing putting a damper on your role as an attendant is the cost, the bride or groom might be willing to meet you half way and split the costs of the dress/tuxedo. If you know you can’t walk in heels, have a physique that requires a bra under your dress, ect, you should inform the bride to avoid problems later on. If you have severe food allergies, you should mention them as well to avoid disasters at the reception.
Don’t disappear
Make sure you can be reached at home, on a cell phone, a work phone, email, or another convenient form of communication that keeps you in touch. You don’t have to be available all the time, but you should get back to the wedding planner, bride, or groom within a day or so if anything comes up. If you plan on being away for work or will be on vacation in the weeks leading up to the wedding, make sure you let the bride and groom know in advance to avoid confusion or panic.
Complete your duties on time
When the bride and groom ask you to do something, such as rent your tux or order your dress, have it done as soon as possible. If you procrastinate, it’s going to add unneeded stress to an already stressful process. You’re going to have one or two tasks to keep track of compared to the hundreds of items the wedding planner, bride, and groom have to deal with. Take some pressure off and get your part done promptly.
Be punctual
Try your hardest not to be late for anything, especially on the day of the ceremony. Tensions will already be running high, and the last thing the bride needs is to worry where her bridesmaids have disappeared to. The same goes for the groom’s attendants.
Don’t steal the show
Have an urge to break into an unplanned solo at the church? Do you intend on showing off your year’s worth of tango lessons on the dance floor? Did you write a five-page poem you want to share with all the relatives at speech time? Curb it. You’ve been recruited to help out with the wedding, not to grab all the attention for yourself. Resist doing anything that will take attention away from the bride or groom. It’s their day; you don’t want to be the strongest memory that people walk away with.
Smile for the camera
Photos and video are the longest-lasting memories the newlyweds will take away from their wedding day. Even if your feet are killing you, your tie is choking you, or you’re ready to pass out from the heat, smile for the sake of posterity. An album full of cheery smiles is priceless. Don’t spoil the wedding party photos by scowling, sneering, or pulling faces. That’s not how you want to be remembered anyhow, is it?
Don’t complain
On the day of the wedding, do absolutely everything you can to make everything a success, and never complain about anything. It looks bad for the bride if her own wedding party badmouths aspects of the wedding. You’re there for support, not to vent your own personal frustrations. The only time you should ever complain is if a vender or someone else is not doing his/her job or is being inexcusably unprofessional in any way.
up for the job before you accept.
Money is a factor, and so is time. You’ll have to pay for your clothing, shoes, and any accessories involved in the wedding attire. There’s also hair, makeup, and spa appointments to consider, and the cost of travel and accommodations if you live out of town. Can you realistically afford everything? You might have to take a few days off work to attend rehearsals, parties, showers, ect. With these factors in mind, it’s better to step down if you don’t feel up to it. Less damage will be done if you politely decline knowing you can’t deliver a supportive performance than if you accept and and then let the bride and groom down. Best to pass the job off to someone more suited if you well and truly know you’re not up to it.
Be honest about personal needs
As soon as you accept your role as a wedding attendant, let the bride or groom know if you have specific needs. For example, be honest about what you can afford. If the one thing putting a damper on your role as an attendant is the cost, the bride or groom might be willing to meet you half way and split the costs of the dress/tuxedo. If you know you can’t walk in heels, have a physique that requires a bra under your dress, ect, you should inform the bride to avoid problems later on. If you have severe food allergies, you should mention them as well to avoid disasters at the reception.
Don’t disappear
Make sure you can be reached at home, on a cell phone, a work phone, email, or another convenient form of communication that keeps you in touch. You don’t have to be available all the time, but you should get back to the wedding planner, bride, or groom within a day or so if anything comes up. If you plan on being away for work or will be on vacation in the weeks leading up to the wedding, make sure you let the bride and groom know in advance to avoid confusion or panic.
Complete your duties on time
When the bride and groom ask you to do something, such as rent your tux or order your dress, have it done as soon as possible. If you procrastinate, it’s going to add unneeded stress to an already stressful process. You’re going to have one or two tasks to keep track of compared to the hundreds of items the wedding planner, bride, and groom have to deal with. Take some pressure off and get your part done promptly.
Be punctual
Try your hardest not to be late for anything, especially on the day of the ceremony. Tensions will already be running high, and the last thing the bride needs is to worry where her bridesmaids have disappeared to. The same goes for the groom’s attendants.
Don’t steal the show
Have an urge to break into an unplanned solo at the church? Do you intend on showing off your year’s worth of tango lessons on the dance floor? Did you write a five-page poem you want to share with all the relatives at speech time? Curb it. You’ve been recruited to help out with the wedding, not to grab all the attention for yourself. Resist doing anything that will take attention away from the bride or groom. It’s their day; you don’t want to be the strongest memory that people walk away with.
Smile for the camera
Photos and video are the longest-lasting memories the newlyweds will take away from their wedding day. Even if your feet are killing you, your tie is choking you, or you’re ready to pass out from the heat, smile for the sake of posterity. An album full of cheery smiles is priceless. Don’t spoil the wedding party photos by scowling, sneering, or pulling faces. That’s not how you want to be remembered anyhow, is it?
Don’t complain
On the day of the wedding, do absolutely everything you can to make everything a success, and never complain about anything. It looks bad for the bride if her own wedding party badmouths aspects of the wedding. You’re there for support, not to vent your own personal frustrations. The only time you should ever complain is if a vender or someone else is not doing his/her job or is being inexcusably unprofessional in any way.
