Written by Sophia Young Content Studio exclusively for Velvet Bordeaux Events
Now that you have already said "yes" to your partner, it is your turn to pop the question to your closest friends and family whom you want to be part of your wedding journey. Of course, building the right wedding entourage squad should be one of your long wedding checklist's top priorities. This is because its members will be integral in providing both hands-on and emotional support from wedding planning to execution. With the right set of people, you can pull off that Pinterest-inspired wedding party and ceremony that you've been dreaming of. But how do we determine who to tap? How do we get their sweet "yes"?
Quick list of common wedding roles
The wedding entourage is composed of people who are closest to the bride and the groom. Most of the time, they are family members and honored friends with designated roles before and during the nuptials. Let us quickly take you to wedding roles 101!
Maid of honor - Also dubbed as the bride's right hand, the maid of honor provides the bride emotional support as needed, spearheads the bridal shower, acts as the bride's messenger and planning assistant, accompanies the bride to dress fittings, and leads the bridesmaids,
Best man - The best man serves as a confidante and counselor to the groom throughout the wedding journey, organizes a bachelor's party, and leads the groomsmen.
Bridesmaids and Groomsmen - They are the bride and groom's support squads. Their common duties include providing moral support for the bride and groom, helping organize bachelor and bachelorette parties, assisting with pre-wedding activities when assigned, and sometimes keeping the wedding vibes and guests pumped up.
We can also note that an officiant, the bride's and groom's parents, a flower girl, and a ring bearer also play key roles during the big day.
Factors to consider when selecting your entourage squad
Do you find it hard to decide who among your circle of friends you should tap? Remember that this is your big day, so you have to choose people in your life whom you can completely trust and the ones who have your back. By all means, you don't want to let pre-wedding stress turn you into a bridezilla! So, let's consider these factors:
Trustworthiness. You've got to choose people who understand you, those you can be comfortable with, and those who are always available for you (because there might be pre-wedding meltdowns!). On top of these, you need to tap the responsible ones since you may have to work with them on a lot of wedding planning tasks.
Strengths and skills. Choosing your wedding entourage members wisely involves factoring in their strengths and talents that will come in handy for your wedding event. To aid you in wedding planning, you might want to consider your pals' organizational skills. You can also ask your creative and fashionista friends to help you strut your wedding look and style. But of course, you've got to also ensure they are well-informed about their roles.
Fun-loving. We're pretty sure you want to make every moment of your wedding journey remarkable. What better way to make every moment count than surrounding yourself with fun-loving people who can help enliven your nuptial bliss?
Creative ways to get them aboard your entourage squad
Kick off your wedding journey together by proposing to your selected entourage members in creative and quirky ways. But note that you do not always have to give them something to hear their “yes”. It all depends on your strategy! You can try these:
1. Curate handcrafted cards. Handwritten letters will never go out of style! Kindle the inner old souls in your friends and loved ones by sending DIY cards with invitation letters (you can accompany these with dried flowers too!) This is ideal especially if you want to exude nostalgic and vintage vibes while on a limited budget. With so much love put into these, we’re sure you’ll get their lovely “yes!”
2. Bring out their bling. Express your appreciation and willingness to have them join your team by sending them personalized jewelry like rings and necklaces. One fool-proof way to do this is by sending each of them jewelry with their name or initials engraved on it. Top it off with proposal vibes by adding a note with this question: “Will you be by my side as I tie the knot?” Surely, with all your bling-bling combined, you’ll make your wedding day sparkle brighter. Check this out for more personalized jewelry inspo!
3. Throw a wine night. Invite your pals to your home (if safe) or meet with them virtually for a chill wine night. Pop your wine’s cork and celebrate the upcoming wedding with a toast! You can add custom labels that invite them to be at your nuptial party. You can also amaze them with graze boxes containing cold cuts, sweets, and cheeses. A real feast!
4. Go matchy-matchy. Pamper and get cozy with your friends by giving them surprise boxes containing sheet masks, scented candles, bubble baths or scrubs, matching luxurious silk sleepwear with their initials embroidered on them, and your invitation. Hosting a relaxing slumber party is also a good idea! Don’t forget to also take fancy photos!
5. Deliver personalized presents. Send your future bridesmaids and groomsmen gift boxes containing customized insulated tumblers or flasks, robes, face masks, and leather wallets and tags. Include also your proposal card. They’ll surely appreciate them!
Final thoughts
When sending out gifts, you have to factor in your wedding theme and budget. You’ve got to ensure that you won’t miss the important preparations and items you will need for your wedding later on. You can try to get an event planner that can help you actualize your dream wedding while optimizing your budget.
Consider all these reminders as you build your entourage squad and make your wedding day a blast!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sophia Young recently quit a non-writing job to finally be able to tell stories and paint the world through her words. She loves talking about fashion and weddings and travel, but she can also easily kick ass with a thousand-word article about the latest marketing and business trends, finance-related topics, and can probably even whip up a nice heart-warming article about family life. She can totally go from fashion guru to your friendly neighborhood cat lady with mean budgeting skills and home tips real quick.