Glenallan Fashions – Altar Images
Contents
The Wedding Timetable – first steps
The first
thing you will plan for your wedding is the budget. Talk between yourselves and
your respective parents about the level of service you would like. You will find
that your parents will be of enormous help to you in discussing the budget. On
your very day you will want the best of everything, so plan carefully the style
and tone of the day. It’s amazing how
easy it is to get carried away so establish reasonable budgets for everything and stick to them! Don’t
forget to include an amount for ‘contingency’ – with the best will in the world
and no matter how well you plan there is always something unexpected comes up;
allow a bit extra.
When you
have decided, visit your Minister/Priest or Registrar and make arrangements for
your marriage ceremony. They will be of great help to you both, and explain
everything you need to know about walking up the aisle and saying ‘I do’. If
you wish, a rehearsal can be arranged to set your minds at ease and to assure
you that it will all be perfect on your wedding day. Now might also be the ideal time to decide on
who you will ask to be ‘Chief Bridesmaid’ and ‘Best Man’
We’re
often asked why it’s necessary to plan your wedding so far in advance. The simple answer is that it isn’t, but if
you have a clear idea of what you want for your big day and it’s important to
you that it’s everything you want it to be then you need to be well organised
to make it happen just as you want. We’re
finding now that many hotels are booked up two years in advance for Saturdays
and popular dates! Having organised your
venues the next big thing no doubt will be “what will we wear?”
Don’t try
to do everyone at once. You’ll need to
plan this out well. One of our brides
once came to us having already chosen the colour for her brides-maids. The problem came when she fell in love with a
coloured wedding gown that clashed with the colour she’d chosen for the
attendants. Don’t take second best. Take time to choose your own gown before
ordering for your attendants – after all, it’s your day.
Ideally,
allow 6 months order time for your gown.
That means you need to start looking around much earlier to be sure
you’ve found the right dress for you.
Bear in mind, you need to wait until the bridesmaids dresses have been
chosen before mum can choose her outfit (to be sure not to clash). Traditionally Mother-of-the-Groom waits for
Mother-of-the-Bride to choose. Summer
wedding outfits come in to the shops January/February/March (next deliveries
being the autumn stock which comes in July/August!). As all this is to be chosen to complement
your colour scheme, you can see why brides look a year to 18 months before the
wedding!
The Wedding Timetable – 18-12 months
Once you have decided the date and place
of your wedding, it is important to remember the following points. In
descending order your family and friends will generally remember the following:
- How
beautiful the Bride looked
- How
wonderful the ceremony was
- The
reception
Think about it. Now is certainly the time
to be choosing both your wedding dress and your reception venue.
More and more brides are looking around to
compile a short-list before dragging mum in to help choose the gown. A close friend can
be invaluable in this process but bear in mind, the more people you involve at
this stage, the more differing opinions you’ll be offered. A word to the wise, chose your underwear
carefully for trying on dresses. It’s
frightening how many girls don’t wear the right size of bra; now’s the time to
be properly fitted for a bra to allow the dresses to show you off to full
advantage. As you’re likely to need
someone with you in the fitting room, helping you in and out of dresses, that
tiny thong really isn’t a good idea.
Most of all have fun and try not to do too much.
Other things need to be arranged as
follows:
- Book the photographer and video-grapher
- Book the transport
- Book the toastmaster if required
- Decide on the number of guests and make a list
- Order the invitations
- Book the honeymoon and apply for passports
- Decide on the bridesmaids and ushers
- Order the wedding cake
You have now put in place an excellent framework for the build up to
your big day. Hopefully, you now have a team of professionals all working
towards making sure it is a day to remember, and for all the right reasons
The Wedding Timetable – 6 months
Time for some fun! Lets organize a wedding
present list (Don’t forget that a lot of stores will now help you with
this). Having already organized your
dress you will probably have a colour scheme in mind for the bridesmaids’
dresses
Now is the time to be co-coordinating
these as well.
Once the colour scheme is decided it is
probably time to start ordering the flowers for bouquets, church, and the
reception if required
Other items to now arrange are:
- Hire of
the suits for the bridegroom, best-man, fathers and ushers
- Initial
fitting of the dress.
- Choosing
the wedding rings
While
you’re on the phone, now might be the ideal time to organize appointments with
your hairdresser and beauty salon, to make sure you look at your most beautiful
on the big day
The Wedding Timetable – 3 months
Now
is the time to be sending out the wedding invitations. This would also be the
ideal time to be escorting ‘mums’ into town to organize their outfits (Don’t
forget the hats!) Please note the points
made in the introduction (18 – 24
months).
Also:-
- Choose the hymns
and choice of music
- Arrange for the
‘Order of Service’ sheets to be printed
N.B.
Don’t forget to submit marriage and notice forms to the registrar of the
district in which marriage is to take place
The Wedding Timetable – 6 weeks
You should now be fairly well organized and
in the envious position of sitting back and relaxing for a couple of weeks in
the full knowledge that there are a whole host of people out there worrying on
your behalf. However, on your one weekend off between now and the big day, it
might be an excellent idea to nip out and choose some presents for the
bridesmaids, and perhaps some flowers for the mums
The Wedding Timetable – 4 weeks
The pace is starting to hot up now
It is time to see whether everyone else
has been as organized as you:
- Confirm the reception venue booking, and numbers attending
- Confirm details with the photographer
- Confirm the wedding cars
- Confirm details with the florist and give final numbers for
buttonholes
- Confirm travel and hotel bookings for the honeymoon N.B. check
passport
- Confirm details with the musicians.
The Wedding Timetable – 10 to 7 days
If you haven’t organized a rehearsal of the
ceremony now might be a good time to meet with the best man, bridesmaids and
ushers to finalise arrangements and responsibilities
- Practise your make-up
- Take the headdress to you hairdresser
- Give the ‘Order of Service’ sheets to the minister
And perhaps most important of all….
START PACKING FOR THE HONEYNOON
The Wedding Timetable – One day to go
Try and delegate as much work as possible
Have your beauty treatment, finish off any
packing that still remains to be done for the honeymoon, lay out your wedding
and going away ensemble, relax and put your feet up. At this stage it’s a good idea to set a time
for your self – 9 p.m.? – and decide that IF
IT’S NOT DONE OR NOT FIXED BY THAT TIME YOU’RE NOT GOING TO LET IT SPOIL YOUR
DAY. Relax.
The Wedding Timetable – The Wedding Day
Assuming a 2 pm wedding, the bride’s
timetable will run something like this: -
8.00am Have a shower or relaxing bath
8.30am Have a good breakfast
9.00am Polish your nails
9.30am Best man arrives to collect the
luggage/greetings cards/telegrams
11.30am The bridesmaids/pageboys arrive
12.00pm Make-up
12.30pm The bride and bridesmaids dress
1.00pm The photographer arrives
1.30pm The first car takes the mother
and the bridesmaids to church.
The
bridesmaids then wait at the church entrance
1.45pm The second car takes the bride
and her father to the church
1.58pm Wait in church entrance and
line bridesmaids up behind you
2.00pm The Ceremony, GOOD LUCK. Enjoy
your day!
The tradition and conventions of wedding
etiquette will not suit everyone but it is important to be aware of them
This explanation of who does what in the
preparations and ceremony aims to enable you to make an informed decision on
the best way to run your wedding day
The bride traditionally selects the type
of service
She oversees all the preparations, which
include choosing the date, the church, who her attendants will be, her own
dress and accessories, as well as those of the bridesmaids
She will choose the flowers, help with the
guest list and seating arrangements, and attend to the many small details which
will contribute to the perfect day
The groom has to arrange transport for
himself, the bride and the wedding party, as well as hiring the church and
booking the honeymoon. However, this will be done with direction from his
future wife.
The groom chooses the best man and ushers,
of which it is traditional to have three, and is conventionally given
responsibility for little else! However, in reality, the bride and groom
discuss most aspects of the day as it is, after all, ‘their’ wedding
At the reception the groom will reply to
the bride’s father’s speech, thanking the bride’s parents and guests, and
prosing a toast to the bridesmaids
Traditionally, the best-man is responsible
for his own dress and that of the groom. He sees transport to the church for
them both is arranged, and also organizes the ‘Stag Night’, preferably several
days or even weeks in advance, if he is to successfully fulfil his duty of
escorting the groom to the church on time.
On the day, the best man has to ensure
that the whole day runs smoothly, primarily ensuring safekeeping of the rings
After the ceremony, he is responsible for
transportation of all the guests to the reception. The best man will speak at
the reception, replying to groom’s toast to the bridesmaids, and will read out
a few cards and telegrams from guests unable to attend.
His final responsibility of the day is to
ensure that the bride and groom leave the reception in good time, and that
their transport is arranged
The chief bridesmaid is chosen by the
bride to assist her during the preparations
On
the day itself, it is her job to make sure all the other attendants are in
their places. She will arrange the bride’s dress and veil when she arrives,
ready for her entry into the church
During the service, she holds the bride’s
bouquet.
The chief bridesmaid also signs the
register, along with the best man. She is escorted by the best man, and will be
on hand all day to assist the bride
The ushers greet the guests as they arrive
at the church
They will distribute the service sheets
and show people to their seats
If it is raining they will help escort the
guests and bridal party from their cars to the church with umbrellas
Much of the bride’s father responsibility lies
with the financial aspect of the event, as traditionally, he pays for the bulk
of the costs
Nowadays, though, it is likely that the
bride and groom will meet some of the expenses themselves and also a
possibility that the groom’s family will make some contribution
On the day, the bride will be accompanied
to the church by her father, who will escort her up the aisle and give her away
during the ceremony
The bride’s father will sit next to the
bride on the top table during the wedding breakfast, and will make the first
speech, in which he proposes a toast to the bride and groom
The bride’s mother will help her daughter
with the wedding arrangements and may have a major role in the decisions taken,
especially if she is contributing financially
She will compile the guest list, in
consultation with the groom and his parents
She may organise the sending out of
invitations, and the display of wedding gifts
The bride’s mother will not only stand
proudly watching her daughter on this special day, but is there to oversee all
arrangement, as well as to stand in line to meet guests, along with her husband
The Groom’s Parents
There is no specific traditional role for
the groom’s parents, but it is important that they do not feel neglected
Today, it is not unusual for the groom’s
parents to make a considerable contribution to organization and payment
It is only good manners, on the part of
the bride, to ask their advice and approval and ensure they are included as
much as possible in the preparations