A wedding alone is enough planning to make your head spin and to-do list pile up with tasks, but what about all the pre-wedding celebrations too? From showers to rehearsal dinners, we have curated your very own wedding party guide so you can ensure all your parties go off without a hitch!
Engagement Party
As the name suggests, the engagement party is thrown after you say yes to the big question and the main reason is for you and all your loved ones to celebrate the news! It should be thrown as close to the engagement as possible and is a great opportunity for future wedding guests to get to know each other in a more casual setting before the wedding.
This marks the start of your wedding journey and will be your loved ones’ first taste of your wedding plans. There are no hard and fast rules but good food and drink as you all mix and mingle is a sure-fire way to relish in the celebrations of your engagement.
Top Tip: It is important to remember that anyone who is invited to your engagement party and subsequent celebrations should then be invited to the wedding itself, so make sure you nail the guest list down before sending out invites.
The Shower
This is an opportunity for all your closest friends and relatives to gather for a more intimate event. Usually referred to as a Bridal shower, the guest list would include bridesmaids, close relatives and best friends. These days we are seeing more couples host a Wedding Shower, which involves both of the betrothed inviting all of their closest loved ones, so guests from both sides can meet and get to know each other.
The timeline usually involves light hors d’oeuvres, games and opening registry gifts in front of your loved ones. The idea is for guests to ‘shower’ you with love and joy, so get ready to be in the spotlight! You can host this in your home or parent’s home and is a nice opportunity for an intimate and personal event.
Top Tip: Let a loved one, like your mum or bridesmaids, take the reins on hosting this event. It is to celebrate you both and someone who knows you well will know exactly how to surprise and delight you on the day, and it takes the stress away from you!
The Do
Whether it is a hen or stag do, this is the one everyone looks forward to! It is the perfect opportunity to let your hair down and have fun for some time off from wedding planning. Traditionally, this is planned by the Maid Of Honour or Best Man and can range anywhere from a night out in your local town to a week in Ibiza! As you won’t be planning it, you will need to rely on your loved ones to provide the perfect celebration for you.
In the past, only females could attend a hen do and men could attend a stag do, but now any friends of the couple can attend regardless of gender. You want this to be closer to your wedding day so you can truly feel the benefits from a night off from planning, but not so close that you’re hungover on the big day.
Top Tip: Drop some hints to your planners as to what you would like, they should know you well enough, but ideas and a budget can really help them plan the perfect event.
The Rehearsal
This isn’t so much of a party, but rather an opportunity to make sure everything runs smoothly on the day. The wedding rehearsal provides the chance to go through the service and schedule of the day so everyone knows what to expect, where to stand and what to do at all the right times. From exchanging vows and rings to giving speeches and your first dance, a rehearsal ensures the day will run smoother.
If you did want to use this opportunity to celebrate with your loved ones, it is traditional in the United States to have a rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding with your loved ones. You could adopt this tradition and invite your wedding party and close relatives to reflect on your wedding journey so far before you tie the knot.
Top Tip: There’s a lot of pressure to get the perfect photographs on your wedding day so use your rehearsal to practice poses with your photographer. Work out where to hold your bouquet, how to position the groomsmen and what backdrops you want for picture-perfect snaps on the day.
Overall, our biggest piece of advice for planning your pre-wedding parties is to enjoy it as much as you can! This time will fly past you, but if you soak up the moment you can truly create some memories to treasure.