Wedding Planning Articles

20 Duties for your Bestman

Published by TheWeddingSite.com - All about getting married in Malta

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Let’s be fair … the role of the bestman is the toughest, most exhausting and demanding role of all wedding party attendant responsibilities. Whilst it is an honour serving as best man at your friend’s wedding, you must be prepared for this role, since it is not an easy task.

When selecting your bestman, apart from choosing one of your best friends, it is important to choose one with good organisation skills and a person that can be depended on. He may either be a close friend, brother or any other close relative.

His role is to assist the groom in all the wedding-related duties, starting months before the wedding and ending some days afterwards. He helps the groom in planning the logistics of the wedding and in other, perhaps more personal, duties where the groom might need his help. Nowadays many hire a wedding organiser to take care of the majority of the bestman tasks. This will allow the actual bestman to enjoy the wedding.

The list of duties below are often assigned to the bestman. They are only suggestions and you may wish to add or remove any of the duties to suit your wedding.

Before the Wedding

Assist the groom in planning the wedding and organise the Bachelor Party.
Help the groom in confirming the honeymoon and any travel arrangements.
Help to confirm the details of all vendors while reminding the groom of any unpaid wedding bills.
Help in hiring and purchasing the groom’s and ushers’ outfits.
On the wedding day, help the groom get dressed while keeping him calm.
Safely guard the wedding rings.
Ensure that the groom arrives at the ceremony about twenty minutes early.

During the Ceremony

Make sure groom looks his best and that the bow tie and boutonnière are properly in place.
Hold the rings until called to present them to the couple.
Give the couple’s donation to the church / Pay the celebrant’s fee.

At the Reception

Coordinate with the maid of honour.
Help the photographer organise the group photos.
Liaise with the head waiter regarding the bars, seating, timing, etc.
Make sure waiters circulate all areas of the venue with food and drinks.
Help the groom prepare for the going-away.
Liaise with the respective vendors regarding any unused drinks and food.
Settle any pending bills pertaining to wedding vendors.
Help transport the wedding gifts safely making sure nothing is left behind.

After the Wedding

Return the rented suits and any other hired outfits.
Settle any pending bills.

Share this document with your bestman for further discussion …

Wedding Planning Articles

20 Duties for your Maid of Honour

Published by TheWeddingSite.com - All about getting married in Malta

The role of the Maid of Honour (called Matron of Honour if she is married) is similar to that of the best man, with the difference being that her duties are related to the bride.

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Like the bestman, the Maid of Honour is usually the closest friend to or relative of the bride. She may also be her sister. The closer to the bride she is, the better, as the two will understand each other better.

The Maid of Honour’s main role is to help the bride in planning her wedding and being the bride’s “consultant”. She must assist the bride constantly throughout the entire planning process, especially during the stressful times close to the wedding day, when the tasks start to breed uncontrollably! She must also work hand-in-hand with the bestman.

If the wedding is going to be a ‘big’ event, you might even consider having two Maids of Honour and share the tasks between them making sure neither of them feels left out. Typical duties include;

Before the Wedding

Organise the Hen Party, often with the help of the bridesmaids.
Help the bride buy the wedding dress and the wedding party’s attire.
Help in addressing the wedding invitations.
Buy a gift for the bride and for the bridesmaids.
On the morning of the wedding help the bride and bridesmaids prepare and get dressed in time.
Assist the bride’s mother with any last minute details.
Help the bride get in & out of the wedding car, taking care of the dress and veil.
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During the Ceremony

Hold the bride’s bouquet during the ceremony.
Coordinate and help the bridesmaids.
Stand next to the bride and, if required hold the groom’s wedding ring.
Adjust the bride’s gown and veil when required.
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At the Reception

Coordinate with the bestman.
Collect any gifts presented by the guests.
Assist the bride during the photo shoots.
Help the bride change into her going-away outfit.
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After the Wedding

Take care of the wedding dress and take it to a professional laundry.
Deposit any monetary gifts and keep others in a safe place while the newly weds are away.
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Wedding Planning Articles

20 Bridesmaid Duties

Published by TheWeddingSite.com - All about getting married in Malta

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While the bride, more than likely, has a Maid of Honour taking care of her, the services of the bridesmaids are of utmost importance, not only on the wedding day, but also during the various stages of its planning.

Most of the time bridesmaids are guided by the Maid of Honour or by the Chief Bridesmaid. It is vitally important to take care when making the final choice of bridesmaids to ensure that conflict does not arise between them and to be sure that the girls chosen cooperate with the Maid of Honour at all times.

Below is a list of the most common duties performed by the bridesmaids.
Do not forget to share this list with them.

Duties before the wedding:

Encourage and help the bride plan her wedding.
Help decorate ceremony and reception locations where necessary.
Help the bride select the bridesmaids’ dresses.
Help organise the hen’s party.
Help prepare and send the wedding invitations.
Help assemble the souvenirs.
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Ceremony and reception duties:

Offer to help the Maid of Honour when needed.
Always be prepared for the unexpected so that no upset is caused by things that happen through chance.
Stay close to the bride throughout. Never allow the bride to waste valuable time looking for you when she needs you.
Help the bride and younger bridesmaids get dressed on the wedding day.
Assist the bride in and out of the wedding car, taking care of the dress and veil.
Ensure the bride looks her best at all times and adjust her dress and veil when needed.
Stand in the receiving line (if there is one.)
Sit at the head table in the case of a ‘sit-down dinner’ reception.
Collect the gifts and give souvenirs to guests who did not collect theirs earlier.
Help the bride into the reception and attend to any other task she may require.
Help load the gifts into car.
Help with any clean-up and collect remaining gifts at the end of the reception.
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Wedding Planning Articles

Usher Duties

Published by TheWeddingSite.com - All about getting married in Malta

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Ushers are male relatives or friends and are also called Groomsmen. Their main role is to welcome guests to their seats on arrival at the wedding ceremony venue.

If there is a risk of rain, ushers must be prepared with umbrellas to assist the bride, the bridal party and guests, when entering the ceremony and reception venues.

Guests should be seated in this order:
Guests of the bride on the left side of the church, facing the altar, while guests of the groom on the right side.

The first seats are reserved for the parents, grandparents, Best Man, Maid of Honour, bridesmaids, witnesses and other bridal party members.

Where the number of guests of the bride is much higher than the number of guests of the groom (or viceversa), the ushers should take care to seat them in a way to balance the two sides. Therefore, in this case, some guests of the bride may be seated on the groom’s side. This should be done upon the guests’ arrival and not after having been seated!

Ushers have to distribute the ceremony programmes to the guests after they have been seated and then collect them once the ceremony is complete.

They should also make sure that the red carpet is in place and that it is not possible for the bride or any other person to stumble over it.

Usher also should be available to help the Bestman as necessary.

Don’t forget to share this article with your ushers.

Wedding Planning Articles

The Ring Bearer

Published by TheWeddingSite.com - All about getting married in Malta

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The ring bearer is usually a young relative, a nephew, a cousin or even the couple’s own child if they are parents.

During the ceremony he carries a satin pillow with the rings on it. In order to have a smooth ceremony, TheWeddingSite.com recommends the chosen ring bearer to be old enough to walk down the aisle feeling comfortable in front of an audience. You do not want to end up with the ring bearer crying for his parents, especially if he is carrying the real wedding rings.

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In fact, it is strongly suggested that the ring bearer carries a pair of fake rings. We all know how children react when they are tired or want attention. Just imagine the catastrophe if one of the rings is lost on the way to the ceremony!

The real wedding rings should be trusted to the Bestman. You may also opt to give the bride’s ring to the Maid of Honour and the other to the Bestman.

The ring bearer would still participate as if he is carrying the real ones.

Wedding Planning Articles

The Flower Girl

Published by TheWeddingSite.com - All about getting married in Malta

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Similar to the ring bearer, the flower girl is usually a close relative aged between four and eight years. She carries a small basket full of flower petals and walks down the aisle in front of the bride dropping petals as she walks.

In Malta, the dropping of petals is not so common and instead, the flower girl carries a small bouquet. Similar to the ring bearer, you must ensure as much as possible that the flower girl is old enough to walk down the aisle next to the ring bearer without crying or running away!

Wedding Planning Articles

The Celebrant, Witnesses and the Readers

Published by TheWeddingSite.com - All about getting married in Malta

The Celebrant

The celebrant is the person conducting the wedding ceremony. If you have the opportunity, try to choose a person with whom you are close. If you have a priest in your family, you can opt to choose him. Otherwise look for a priest who personally knows one or both of you, as this will certainly make the ceremony more intimate.

In case of a civil wedding, the officiant is appointed by the Marriage Registry of Malta.

The Witnesses

As their title implies, these witness the wedding. You need two witnesses, one from each side. They can either be both male, both female or mixed.

During the wedding vows and the exchange of the rings, the witnesses stand next to the couple and the priest, one on either side.

Being witnesses of this ‘contract’, at the end of the ceremony, together with the couple and the priest, they sign the marriage documents where indicated by the priest or officiate.

The Readers

In Malta, the ceremony mass includes two readings from the scriptures, read by two different persons.

It is also common to have a series of short prayers close to the end of the ceremony. Prayers may vary in number from one to six or more. Normally a different reader is chosen for every prayer.

Be sure that when selecting your readers that they have a voice that sounds and carries well. The meaning of a passage read aloud is more effective when your guests can hear it properly. Also make sure that the chosen readers do not have a speech impediment that might embarrass them in front of an audience.