Pack a Lunch for After Your Ceremony Photos

The traditional after ceremony wedding photos with champagne usually ends up in some great photos, but it can quite easily end up in the bridal party ending up a little tipsy if they haven’t had enough to eat that day.

It can very easily happen with all the hustle and bustle of the morning wedding preparations. Delegate someone to pack a light lunch for after the ceremony for the members of the bridal party. A piece of fruit, or a tub of fruit salad for each person works well. This will avoid anyone becoming light head before the reception and ceremony ahead. Have some water handy too.

Choosing Your Bridal Party

The most important thing to remember when it comes to choosing your bridal party is to give it some thinking time. As soon as you announce your engagement, you will find that many of your girlfriends will put you on the spot with that dreaded question, ‘Who are your bridesmaids going to be?’ Some friends may even be ‘extra nice’ or may even drop hints on how they love being a bridesmaid.

You need to come up with an answer when asked if you have chosen your bridesmaids yet. You could tell your friends that you are waiting for your finance to come up with the numbers of his groomsmen so then you can finalise your bridal party numbers.

The reason why you will need thinking time when choosing your bridal party, is to allow you enough time to consider all your friends. Don’t automatically just choose your latest friends right away, the friends you may have just met at your new job and party with on the weekends. In doing so, you may forget about your old college friend who you used to share a flat with for 5 years and became like family to you. The point is no matter who you choose, feelings will be hurt; that’s an unavoidable part of life. All you can do is be true to yourself that you have considered all possibilities from your group of friends, that way you won’t be doubting your decision months later!

So You’ve Been Chosen To be Maid Of Honour – What’s Expected Of you?

Being the maid of honour, is a special honour. It’s a testament to the bond you share with the bride and with this honor comes responsibility such as helping the bride plan the wedding and being supportive of her. If for any reason you don’t think that you can be her maid of honor, be upfront and tell her early on in the preparations.

My bridesmaids aren’t pulling their weight!

’ My bridesmaid’s aren’t pulling their weight,’ Working in the wedding industry I often hear this from disgruntled brides. It’s a common issue that comes up in wedding planning, one that can be easily avoided with some open communication early on. The truth is, every bride has different perceptions of how involved they want their bridesmaid to be.
The level of bridesmaid participation basically falls into three categories

The Active Bridesmaid : A bridesmaid that is with the bride for most planning stages.
The Semi-Active Bridesmaid A bridesmaid that may only help out with certain aspects of the wedding such as decorations or invitations.
Relaxed Bridesmaid: A bridesmaid that only attends things that involve her, such as bridesmaid gown fittings.
It’s up to the bride to determine what level of bridesmaid participation she wants. How are bridesmaids expected to pull their weight if they do not know what is expected on them. Early on in the wedding planning hold a ‘bridesmaid meeting’ to have an open discussion of what needs to be done. Prepare for the meeting before the day; determine on your own (or with the help of your maid of honour) what you would like help with.
Holding regular bridesmaid meetings are ideal. It could be at a local coffee shop or at your own home for lunch. Have meeting agendas, for example, one meeting could have the agenda of finalising the decorations.
Planning your wedding is made extra special when you are sharing the special moments with your bridesmaid. Keep the lines of communication open and it sure to be happy memories long after you are married.

The Bridesmaid’s wedding shoes

No longer is it the norm for bridesmaid dresses to be long gowns. These days they can be any length, which means consideration needs to be given to what shoes bridesmaid will wear. You generally have three options

1. Choose a colour and ask your bridesmaid to pick out shoes in that colour. You can also indicate the style if you wish, for example heels or sandals.
2. You could just pick the style and let the bridesmaids find shoes that fit these criteria. Be aware that this could end up being contrasting colours, which is okay if that is the look that you are after.
3. Pick a particular shoe (reasonably priced) and ask each bridesmaid if they could buy that shoe.
You need to make whichever options you choose clear upfront, so that none of the ladies end up spending a fortune on the wrong shoes. Be clear and concise in what you want and what you don’t want.