The Wedding Party

It’s tough being in charge sometimes! No worries, I’ve got your back. But make sure your wedding party does, too!

Selecting a wedding party to stand by your side usually isn’t all that difficult, but there are some things to keep in mind. Large wedding parties can be more difficult to manage, photograph, video, essentially taking up more time on your itinerary.

When picking your party, it is most common to start with siblings and close family. You should also pick some reliable people who can be helpful to you on your big day.

Once you have your close family or friends, stop there. Consider these other VIP roles for people you don’t want to leave out:

• Ceremony Reader

• Officiant

• Candle Lighter

• Ring Bearer

• Flower Person

• Ushers

• Marriage License Witness

• Social Media or Digital Guest Book Manager

When picking the attire for your party, a major trend is to let your bridemaids pick their own style of dress. If you want an even more unique wedding, let them pick out their own style AND their own hue of your color. For example, if you have chosen navy and blush as your colors, consider allowing a complimentary color like tan. Your bridemaids could choose between the three colors, or even similar hues of that color. It is a sharp spin and photographs like a dream!

For groomsmen, consider incorporating your style here as well. Do you want full suits, bowties, or suspenders, even jeans? Try mixing up shirt colors and tie colors amongst your crew of men.

 A few more helpful tips:

• Inform your wedding party of the itinerary ahead of time. I provide a picture itinerary that can be saved on each person’s device.

• Make sure everyone knows their role. Someone might be in charge of bustling the dress, straightening the train, or even just keeping everyone on the same page. It’s your day, feel free to assign members of your party small duties!

• Bonus tip, make sure they know to always listen to the photographer! We stay on schedule so much better if they do!

Family pictures: Make sure ALL members of the family know what to expect, where to go, and what time to meet. Family pictures usually end up taking the longest if everyone is not organized.