As you will no doubt have figured out by now, there is a lot of planning to do for even the most basic wedding. Decisions to make at every step of the way, suppliers to chase up, and in the final days before the wedding, everything has to be collected and stored (particularly your wedding dress – you don’t want the groom seeing it before the big day!). So if anyone offers to help, accept! And make sure you use their help as much as possible. Don’t worry about ‘being a nuisance’; they know you, and care for you, and if they offered it’s because they wanted to help.
Although it is still up to you to make the decisions, that still leaves a lot of space for friends and family to pitch in. So what can they do?
* Who do they know? Now is the time to ask if they know of anyone else that can help. Either a supplier they can recommend as they’ve used them previously, or just someone they know who happens to make wedding cakes, or print invitations. Friends who drive nice cars can also be very useful – do they want to be a chauffeur for a day?!
* Research suppliers – before you start deciding on what style of cake you want or what colour roses should be in your bouquet, you need to find suppliers you can trust. Friends can browse the internet for several local suppliers, make calls to check their availability, and set up appointments with a final selection of 2 or 3.
* Accompanying you to appointments – sometimes either the bride or the groom will be unable to make an appointment, but it is always a good idea to have a second opinion.
* Chasing people up – sometimes suppliers need a phone call or two to keep them on track. In fact, it is a good idea to call to check everything will be ready on time, even if they aren’t falling behind.
* Making things – if you know anyone artistic, or into baking, they can help you by making your wedding cake, or helping you to make your favours, invitations or anything you are making yourselves.
* Fetching and carrying – collecting flowers from the florist, suits from the suit hire shop, or your wedding dress from the dressmaker (if you have had it altered). If someone else can do these things it will save you a lot of time. And you will have a lot to fit into those last few days, so every minute counts!
* On the day itself, you should use your ushers and bridesmaids to ensure the day runs smoothly. Tell the venue coordinator and the photographer that they should approach your best man or a bridesmaid if they have any queries. While they may not be able to give an answer themselves, they can at least make sure you only have to deal with the most important issues (although hopefully there won’t be any!).
