WEDDING ETIQUETTE FOR THE BRIDE AND GROOM: Before the Wedding (Part 1)
When the whole whirlwind affair of the marriage proposal, ring ogling, and wedding announcements start to wane, it’s time to get to work and plan the wedding itself. The wedding “To Do” list just seems never-ending. And as you and your fiancé may already feel overwhelmed by all the work ahead, there’s also the proper bride and groom etiquette to adhere to along the entire way. Fret not – as wedding experts and, of course, past brides and grooms, not to mention all the well-meaning and eager friends and relatives have been through it before you, somehow.
Your wedding guest list is the first crucial step in planning your wedding. Both the bride and groom are equally responsible for drawing up the guest list as the size of the guest list will ultimately impact everything from the wedding venue, the catering, to the budget you will need for printing out invitations. The bride and groom are responsible for compiling a list of all their respective immediate and extended family, friends, and colleagues who they would like to invite. And then devote time to reconcile these two lists. The bride and groom can create a third list together, of mutual friends who they would like to invite. Finally, it is proper to bring your final guest list to the bride’s parents as promptly as possible so the invitations can be drawn up and sent out, complete with contact information and other postal details.
Besides figuring out who you would like to witness the special day, you also need to seriously consider who you’d like to have a “front row seat” to the whole magical event. Yes, that’s right: your bridal party. There will likely be “bridal party casting” areas that couldrequire a conversation between you and your fiancé. Your bridal party is your support staff, your foot soldiers, your all-around second in command. Your bridal entourageis your tribe, and it is of utmost importance that you and your fiancé choose each of them accordingly. It is important to bear in mind that this is ultimately best approached as a joint decision.
Nowadays, the bride and groom may select the wedding ring together, or design one together to have it made, and the groom simply pays for the ring. Modern experts recommend that the groom take responsibility for the process as much as possible to help clear off a little bit from the bride’s teeming plate. You and your fiancé may want to have a discussion about the kind of wedding ring that might best suit both of your lifestyles. Take into account how a virtually permanent wedding band around a finger could affect your respective professions, your individual preferences, or each of your takes on the significance of the wedding ring, per se.
Typically, it is the bride’s responsibility to make arrangements for her own wedding dress, and her bridesmaids’dresses (or bridal party members’ outfits). It is the bride’s responsibility to pay for her own wedding gown, although her family may offer to buy it on her behalf as a gift. Traditionally, you and your fiancé would be responsible for paying for your bridesmaids’ and/or groomsmen’s outfits, unless they have offered to pay for their own as their gift to the soon-to-be newlyweds. Nowadays, you can let your bridesmaids or groomsmen choose their own outfits or tailors and you are not obligated to pay for them.Though, you may certainly still offer to contribute to the cost of the dresses to a partial extent.
The logistics of the wedding, especially the wedding suppliers, are best approached jointly nowadays. Details and decisions about the caterer, flowers, wedding videography packages and wedding photography packages are ideally known to you and your better half-to-be. This avoids unwanted surprises on the day itself. Ideally, pick aSingapore wedding videographerwho can easily read you and your fiancé‘s character and can easily express this in the wedding cinematography video.
Wedding etiquette and the traditional rules dictating the bride and groom’s roles and responsibilities have evolved. It’s become less prescriptive and a little more liberal over the years. Ultimately, it is up to you and your fiancé how you would like to divvy up the roles, responsibilities, and tasks when it comes to planning your wedding. Traditional etiquette guides are, after all, just that: guides. Only you and your fiancé will know how best to plan the best day of your lives together.