What are the mother of the bride’s responsibilities?

It’s such exciting and emotional news when you hear that your daughter is to be married to her perfect partner and you will want to do your best to support her through this exciting stage of her life. We have our top seven responsibilities for the mother of the bride along with a few of our fantastic Wedition Hot Tips.

Celebrate your mother of the bride responsibilities!

It would usually be the couple themselves who organise their engagement party, your daughter may appreciate you organising a small scale celebration with close knit family members, perhaps drinks and nibbles at your house or a lovely meal in a smart restaurant, this is a great way to include the elders of the family such as grandparents as they may find the engagement party a bit too much to take in if there will be lots of people there and loud music.

Most common in the United States and Canada, bridal showers date back to the late 1800s and are increasing in popularity in the UK. There are no set rules on who should organise the bridal shower. Typically, the maid of honour would organise the hen party so the bridal shower is an enjoyable daytime event that you could organise for your daughter. Typically, each guest will bring a small gift, fun and silly games will be played and refreshments such as tea and cake would be served.

Venue searching

At the very start of a couple’s wedding planning journey it can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. It's really hard to plan any aspect of the wedding until the venue has been booked. It would be really helpful if you could research a few venues, perhaps phone to get an idea on prices and show them to your daughter. You may find that she dismisses all the venues you have chosen, don’t feel saddened by this, you can ask her to tell you the reasons why she’s dismissed them and you will really have helped her refine her search in what she is looking for. You may also strike gold and have selected the dream venue that she and her partner end up booking!

Wedition Hot Tip: we recommend our couples book in to visit three completely different venues, even if they feel that one of the venue styles is not for them, for example: an exclusive use castle, a dry hire barn and a stately home with hotel. This helps the couple to find out the likes and dislikes for each venue and therefore will give them a much clearer vision of what they want their venue to be.

Dress fitting attendance

For the majority of brides - they would like their mother to be with them for at least one dress shopping experience, if not all of them! Your daughter will value your opinion but don’t get carried away, after all, the final decision should be hers and you must be supportive of her choice. Once the dress has been chosen, your daughter may want you to attend each of the dress fittings with her. There’s a couple of reasons why this is important:

1. You can learn how to do the dress up - this can be your responsibility on the day.
2. You can find out what your daughter’s complete look is, as well as shoes and dress, she may also have a belt, tiara, bolero amongst other accessories, you can then make sure she is wearing all these things before she walks down the aisle.

Wedition Hot Tip: our recommendation is that the bride visits a few different type of shop so that she can really make the most of, and enjoy - the experience. We recommend visiting a boutique dress shop where it’s one bride at a time with a glass of prosecco, as well as a large store where there are multiple brides being fitted by a team of wedding dress attendants at any one time. You will find that the boutique shop will offer fewer designers but an incredible experience, whereas a larger store will have a magnitude of designers but without such a special feeling. A great way for the bride to whittle down the style or designer she is after.

Photo credit: Funky Photographers

Seating plan challenges

Your daughter and her partner will no doubt spend a few evenings working out the seating plan, this is something she may need help with as you will know her side of the family and will be able to make helpful suggestions as to who might like to sit where.

Wedition Hot Tip: consider where you are positioning older people, expectant mothers and guests with disabilities. For example, Grandparents may feel the cold and will appreciate being near a radiator, perhaps with an extra cushion for comfort on their chairs. Expectant mothers may appreciate sitting near the door, this gives them an easy escape if they need to use the bathroom. A guest who is hard of hearing may like to sit near the top table so they can hear the speeches.

Photo credit: Fresh Shoot Studios

Bridal emergency kit

On the day of the wedding your daughter will not be carrying a handbag with her, it may be really helpful if you have a little bag ready for her with all the essential items she might need, along with the itinerary of the day and vendor phone numbers should you need to assist with anything if a supplier were late in arriving.

• itinerary of the day
• phone numbers for all the vendors
• tissues
• wet wipes
• her wedding lipstick and lip liner
• finishing powder
• small mirror
• hand lotion
• her wedding perfume
• hair pins
• small sewing kit

Be there for her

The wedding planning journey is incredible and enjoyable for all involved, but it’s not without its ups and downs. There are bound to be times when your daughter’s emotions will get the better of her, she might not behave like her usual self, she may at times seem to be a bit unreasonable. It is however her day (and her partners!) you must be there ready to listen, to be a shoulder to cry on and to know when advice is needed and when it should perhaps be withheld.

The perfect gift for a mother of the bride to give to her daughter

If you want to have a major impact on the wedding day in a subtle manner then you should gift a Wedition package to your daughter and her partner. This personalised wedding magazine is styled to the colour scheme and theme of the wedding, beautifully complimenting the day. It is given out to all the guests, in a similar way that a favour would be given. Wedition will tell your daughter’s love story. Inside, the guests can read about how your daughter met her partner, the proposal story, see photos through their relationship, there could be baby photos, family photos and a who’s who in the wedding party section. The couple can include details of the day, such as the choices for “Something old, something new…” and the wedding stationery essentials such as the order of service and menu can be included too!

If you would like to gift Wedition to your daughter, email liz@wedition.co.uk

We deliver all over the world.

Wedition's guide to the mother of the bride's responsibilities