Planning a Wedding Rehearsal and Organizing the Big Day (Wedding Series: Part 6 of 6)

Now that you’ve got so much stuff done, you can’t forget about those things that happen immediately before your wedding. Here are some steps to keep your wedding and rehearsal organized:

Wedding Rehearsal:

Make sure your wedding rehearsal location is a place everyone can attend and is near everyone.

Don’t make people drive two hours out of the way to attend your rehearsal. More than likely, a lot of people will choose not to attend it if it is out of the way.

Note: If kids, former alcoholics, or current alcoholics are going to be attending your wedding, then it should not have a bar on or near it. That will only make many of your guests uncomfortable, and possibly dangerous. 

Typically, the grooms parents pay for the rehearsal, so if they are in your case, organize it with them. If someone else is paying for the rehearsal, talk with them, as they have a vested interest in the location, and it would be rude to reserve somewhere or at a time they couldn’t attend. So, for the rehearsal, here are the most important people, in order:

• The bride and groom.
• The parents of the bride and groom and whoever is paying for the rehearsal.
• Close family members, such as grandparents, great-grandparents, brothers and sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles, etc.
• Maid of honor and best man, and then rest of the bridal party.
• Close friends.
• Distant relatives, mostly aunts, uncles, and cousins.
• Everyone else that was invited.

If the choice comes between having your best man attend, or your aunt attend the rehearsal, you’ll probably choose the best man (unless your aunt raised you, in which case she takes precedence). Keep in mind, all of these people will be at your wedding on wedding day, it’s just a matter of whom you are closest to, and want to be closest to.

If there is a limited budget for the wedding rehearsal, then you need to put a cap on meals. Assuming that everyone isn’t paying for their own meals (which you can make a requirement), then you will have to choose the meals you want people to be allowed to have, and the maximum price. Be aware of food allergies. You might want to read the ingredients of the foods that you’re serving before you put them on the menu. Don’t let the restaurant serve food products that your guests are allergic to.

Wedding Day:

The big day is finally here! Woohoo! Before we start celebrating, let’s make sure everything is in order. First things first, you should probably hire a coordinator or planner for making sure vendors arrive on time. So many brides and grooms have gotten worried and distracted from their wedding by a late vendor, or someone arriving with the wrong products. In this case, ignorance really is bliss. The planner or coordinator will stress about it while you take care of your own business.

Hair, makeup, dresses, tuxedos, and everything else are all important parts of the wedding day clothing. Make sure that everything fits beforehand, don’t try it on for the first time on wedding day (“Hey, this is a little smaller than I thought it was…”). Also, have someone help you dress. They will give you a once-over to make sure you are looking good for the big day too.

Brief your ushers and wedding party on everything before the big day. Any last minute changes should be texted to the ushers or wedding party. Make certain all of your arrangements for a reception and honeymoon are in place, as well.

After you’ve briefed anyone on any last minute changes, it is a good idea to turn your phone off. The only thing it will do is distract you for the rest of the day.

If you found this article helpful, be sure to check out the rest of the series at planandorganize.com. Happy wedding!