Choosing the Wedding Party and the Perfect Dress (Wedding Series: Part 5 of 6)

Congratulations! You have planned out a lot of the specifics of your wedding. Now it’s time to choose your wedding party and your attire for the big day!

Wedding Party

Your wedding party consists of the following people:

Bridal Party:

You have the maid-of-honor and the bridesmaids.

The maid-of-honor will help the bride plan the wedding, will organize the bridal shower, will help dress the bride, will make a speech at either the wedding or rehearsal dinner, and is often one of the signers/witnesses for the marriage license.

The bridesmaids will help plan the bridal shower; will help the bride dress; will show up for a bachelorette party (if there is one); and help out with decorations, music, favors, etc.

Groom’s Party:

You have the best man, groomsmen, and the ushers (many times the groomsmen double function as the ushers).

It is the job of the best man to organize the bachelor party (if the groom wants one), to organize the suit fitting, help out of town groomsmen, make sure the other groomsmen are on time (and ready), keep the rings for the wedding, pay the officiant, sign the marriage license (as a witness), and to give a speech.

The groomsmen have to support the groom, assist the groom in picking the tuxedo, help pay for the bachelor party, help carry the gifts during the wedding, dance with the bridesmaid, and will be the ushers (if there are no others).

The best man and maid of honor will also help arrange the processional during the wedding. Typically, a processional has the following order:

Mother of the Bride walks down the aisle, and then takes her seat. Then the officiant comes up. Then the groom walks out and takes his place. Then the groomsmen come. The best man follows the groom in. The groomsmen then come up. The bridesmaid then come up after the groomsmen. After that the maid and/or matron of honor go up to the altar, and take their seats. The flower girls and ring bearers come up together. Finally, the father of the bride and the bride come up together.

Wedding Dress

When choosing your wedding dress, you have a large variety of options. First of all, you need to figure out what you want for your dress (and for dude’s, the tuxedo). Do you want a pure white dress, or do you want it in a different color?

There are many steps to getting a wedding dress. First you need to set on the color, then the cut, then the price, and then bridal sizing. Shop for dresses your size, and, if necessary, get yourself measured. Do not suck in your gut, or try to make yourself feel thinner. You will regret that on wedding day when you have to wear it for hours.

You should buy your wedding dress early, but don’t buy it too early. If you do buy really early, make sure you keep your body size. You need to also consider any accessories you want, such as a veil, shoes, jewelry, etc.

Also consider who you want to help dress you. Do you want your bridesmaids, maid of honor, or matron of honor to help you? Do you want to hire someone professional to help you?

Don’t forget the hair! A lot of people hire someone to professionally come and fix your hair and make up for you. If you like to do it for yourself, or one of your family members can do it, feel free not to hire someone. Also, if you don’t like makeup, or don’t want to do your hair, you don’t need to. It is your wedding!

Tip: If you do get your hair done, wear a dress shirt. So many people mess up their hair by wearing a t-shirt getting their hair done, and then they have to pull the shirt over their head. A dress shirt won’t mess up your beautiful hair.

Warning: Have a contingency plan! What happens if your dress rips, your hair gets done wrong, or your heels won’t fit on wedding day? Have extra shoes, a backup plan for your dress (there are some dress insurances, if you need that sort of thing), and an idea for what you can do for your hair.

If you liked this article, be sure to read the other parts of this series at planandorganize.com. Happy wedding!