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Bride and Groom

•               Decide budget and wedding plans.

•               Choose wedding party attendants.  The bride helps her attendants in dress selection and the groom discusses appropriate attire with his best man and groomsme

•               Purchase small gifts for their attendants. Acknowledge receipt of wedding gifts with a personal note of appreciation.

Bride

•               Discusses budget with fiancé and parents.  Sets date, time and place of wedding and reception.

•               Selects wedding dress and accessories, allowing a minimum of 4 months for delivery.

•               Books caterer, wedding and reception entertainment, florist and photographers, video-grapher and bakery.

•               Helps compile the guest list; chooses her attendants.

•               Orders invitations, thank-you notes and personal stationery.

•               Shops for trousseau.

•               Buys groom’s wedding band and arranges for engraving.

Groom

•               Helps compile the guest list.

•               Buys the wedding ring and arranges for engraving.

•               Gets the marriage license and obtains any other necessary legal documents.

•               Pays for and arranges honeymoon.  Checks on available hotels for out-of-town guests.

•               Pays for bride’s bouquet, going-away corsage, corsages for both mothers and close female relatives on either side.

•               Supplies boutonnieres for himself and male attendants.

Maid/Matron of Honor

•               Assists the bride any way she can.  Helps with planning the wedding, shopping, addressing invitations, takes charge of recording and displaying wedding gifts.

•               Lends the bride moral support.

•               Attends rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

•               Pays for her own gown and accessories (not including flowers).

•               Supervises bridesmaids.  Helps prepare them for their wedding day duties and organizes their fittings.  Makes sure they arrive at the ceremony on time.

•               Helps the bride get ready before the ceremony and before departure from the reception.

•               Holds the groom’s ring during the ceremony until time to pass it to the bride.

•               Signs the marriage license as a witness.

Best Man

•               Assists the groom in any way he can.

•               Oversees the ushers, making sure they are outfitted correctly and understand their duties.

•               Attends rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

•               Holds the bride’s wedding ring, producing it at the proper time in the ceremony

•               Makes sure ceremony officiant is paid.

•               Signs the marriage license as a witness.

•               Sits to the right of the bride at the honors table; offers the first toast to the newlyweds; reads congratulatory telegrams.

•               Helps newlyweds prepare for honeymoon departure.  Assists groom into his going away clothes, takes charge of luggage, makes sure car is ready to go, hands keys to groom, sees that groom has travel documents in order.

•               Makes sure that all men’s rental clothes are returned the first business day after the wedding.

Bridesmaid

•               A bridesmaid has no particular pre-wedding responsibilities, but might offer to help the bride in any way she can.

•               Pays for and assembles her wedding outfit.

•               May give a bridal shower.

•               Attends rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Walks in the processional and recessional.

•      May stand in the receiving line.

2010, the knot .com