Weddings are all about marrying your soulmate & having your family become one! For Rich & Kitch, it was very important to incorporate our family into our wedding day for a few reasons. We are very close with our families and they have supported us for our whole lives, so we wanted to make sure they felt included during our wedding day.
There are many ways you can incorporate your parents, key family members, & close friends into your wedding day, but some of them are easier to incorporate into your big day than others. That's why we're sharing how we included & honored our loved ones on our special day - to provide you with the wedding inspiration you need to consider!
HOW TO INCLUDE THE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE & MOTHER OF THE GROOM ON YOUR WEDDING DAY
Have them get ready with you on the morning of the wedding! Our adorable getting-ready robes are linked here!
Your mom and/or maid of honor usually helps you put on your dress, so have your mom there for that, even if your maid of honor is the one helping.
We did a “first look” with my bridesmaids & Richie’s mom - and the pictures turned out super cute.
Have the mother of the groom go to the groom's room to open gifts & have pictures taken of just the groom & his parents.
During the ceremony, Richie's parents walked down the aisle first, then Richie walked my mom down the aisle.
We also asked both of our moms to do a reading during the wedding ceremony. They were very honored!
The father of the bride is known for giving a speech during the wedding reception, but my mom gave one, too!
This is obviously common, but have the mother of the groom do a mother/son dance during the reception.
HOW TO INCLUDE THE FATHER OF THE BRIDE & FATHER OF THE GROOM ON YOUR WEDDING DAY
Have your dads get ready with the groom & groomsmen before the wedding!
Do a “first look” with your dad. It is such a special moment! My first look blog post has more details. This part of our wedding day timeline also included my parents opening their gifts & taking photos with just me.
To include Richie’s dad in the wedding ceremony/reception, we asked him to give the opening prayer before dinner.
Other common father-of-the-bride duties worth mentioning: * Have your dad walk you down the aisle * Do a father/daughter dance during the reception * Have your dad give a speech during the reception
HOW TO INCLUDE KEY FAMILY MEMBERS & CLOSE FRIENDS ON YOUR WEDDING DAY
We had a big wedding party with all of Richie’s siblings, my cousins, & our closest friends, so we didn’t need to have extra duties for anyone! But I know it is common to include friends not in your wedding party as greeters/ushers for the ceremony. I think this is a great way to include everyone that is close to you!
To include everyone that attended our wedding, we gathered everyone for a group photo immediately following the wedding ceremony before everyone went to the cocktail hour! We also made sure to get family-specific pictures during the family photo time on our wedding day timeline.
Also throughout our destination wedding weekend, we included everyone by planning evening events & we greeted them with welcome bags in their room which were a hit!
For all weddings, it is so amazing to have your closest family & friends there to celebrate you, so try to make them feel as included as possible! We promise it is worth planning the extra little things to make your loved ones feel as special as you do!
WORTH YOUR WHILE
LET’S BE FRIENDS
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