These Are The Tasks You Should Assign To Your Wedding Party
Your college roommate, your childhood bestie, your future brother-in-law — you choose your wedding party members because you can’t picture your big day without them standing at your side. But more than just sentimentality, your squad can (and should!) help you navigate the planning process and revel in a stress-free wedding day.
Some tasks must stay on your plate, like picking a venue, creating a guest list, and selecting dishes for the menu. But you can delegate plenty of smaller to-dos to those in your wedding party, allowing you to focus on bigger details and enjoy the journey.
According to the pros, here are six jobs to let go and assign to your wedding party.
Planning pre-wedding celebrations
Engagement parties, wedding showers, and bachelor(ette) parties — there’s much to celebrate on the way to the aisle! But when planning your big day, the last thing you need is another event on your plate. Instead, delegate your wedding party to coordinate all the celebrations leading up to your wedding.
“It is so helpful if someone else does all of the research, coordinates schedules, and plans a trip,” assures Juls Sharpley of Juls Sharpley Events. This can include “itinerary, dining and activity reservations, airport transfers, groceries, tracking finances to be split at the end, and most importantly, decorations and party props!”
That’s not to say you shouldn’t give input! Tell your crew what you want—preferred destinations, activities, cuisines, etc.—and let them handle the rest.
Handling breakfast orders
Between dancing and greeting guests, many couples struggle to find more than a few minutes to eat during the wedding. That’s why a hearty breakfast and plenty of hydration are essential to start the day!
But with so much to do in the morning, you probably won’t have time to swing by your favorite diner or grab some to-go food from the grocery store. Kristy Diana of LOLA Event Productions recommends assigning this vital task to the men in your wedding party.
“Leave it up to the dads or groomsmen!” she says. “Ladies have so much prep time the morning of the wedding, and men often have more time to chill and relax. Give them a low-risk, high-reward task to start their day and make them a hero to the ladies who had an early call time.”
To make it easy, look for a local cafe that accepts online orders. Then, pass a phone to everyone and have someone pick it up! Alternatively, send someone to a grocery store for a spread of pastries, fruits, and snacks. Don’t forget the OJ and bubbly!
Coordinating speeches and toasts
Everyone loves an entertaining speech, but most people will get antsy if Dad waxes poetic about marriage for 15 minutes. To maintain your wedding timeline, it helps to have someone check in with speakers to ensure their toasts align with the given parameters.
“Coordinating speeches is an excellent task to delegate to a super-responsible wedding party member,” confirms Sarah Chianese of Mangia and Enjoy! She recommends looking to your wedding planner for guidelines, including “maximum duration, limitations on what they can speak on, list of speech makers, order of delivery, and timing.”
By delegating this task, you can focus on planning other details and simply sit back to enjoy the speeches on your wedding day!
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Protecting your day-of essentials
There’s so much to keep track of on your wedding day, so it helps to have a loved one’s watchful eye over your most precious items. You can get away with a forgotten centerpiece or missing cocktail napkins, but Chandai Raghunauth of Chandai Events notes two things necessary for your big day.
“Pick the most responsible person to hold on to your wedding rings and your marriage license,” she recommends. “Beforehand, connect the wedding party member and the officiant via email and text to ensure this is completed before the ceremony.”
The same person can also look over your personal belongings, like cell phones, wallets, keys, and other items you don’t want to worry about during the celebration.
Making day-of decisions
You’ve invested so much energy in making decisions during the wedding planning process. You deserve a day off! Consider delegating a wedding party member to be the point of contact on your big day so you can step away from planning and into the newlywed role. (In other words, soak it all in without an ounce of stress!)
Sarah Blessinger of Kindred Weddings and Events notes the importance of choosing someone you trust to act on your behalf. “This person will step in when any vendors have questions or adjustments that need to be made,” she says.
But don’t worry — you don’t have to leave them to figure it out! Blessinger recommends reviewing “high-priority items and potential “what would you do” situations” in advance “to allow them to best advocate for you on the wedding day.” When the big day arrives, you can trust them to handle any last-minute decisions so you can soak in every moment!
Supporting the vendor team
Your vendors are experts at their jobs, but not your guest list! Having a wedding party member involved can help with coordinating friends and family members, allowing your team to focus on their duties.
For instance, Nichole Heid of Studio Nichole Photography explains how a trusted person can make for a smooth portrait session while others enjoy cocktail hour.
“A party member who is familiar with both sides of the familiar should be available to assist the photographer in identifying extended family members during family portraits,” she says. “This allows us to use our time efficiently and makes capturing all those beautiful family portraits a breeze.”
They can also help your wedding planner during transitions, like moving decor from the ceremony to the reception or lining up the wedding party for the grand entrance. “They could be that yin to your wedding planners' yang,” confirms Jacqueline Vizcaino of Tinted Events Design and Planning. They can assist by “ensuring all wedding parties and key family members are where they should be and when they should be there, ready to report for duty.”
However, there is one area to refrain from delegating: vendor payments.
Joan Wyndrum of Blooms by the Box cautions against tasking wedding party members with handling negotiation, tips, or final payments. “Dealing with contracts, payments, or negotiations can be complex and stressful,” she states. “You and your partner or a designated wedding planner should handle this.” Consider paying all final invoices before the wedding and preparing envelopes with tips to let your planner hand out.
The key to successful delegation: early notice and effective communication. Make sure everyone knows what they need to do with plenty of time to prepare! Vida Events’ Megan Lentz suggests communicating with your wedding party via email and group chat.
“It keeps everyone on the same page leading up to the event so no one is confused, and is the easiest way to get ahold of someone,” she explains. If possible, ask your planner to loop in your wedding party as Lentz’s team does. “Our go-to is emailing documents, timelines, etc. to your crew so they have everything on hand on the day of,” she shares.
If you’re the planning type, Diana recommends “building a detailed timeline of the day and inserting their tasks into given time slots.” It’ll help keep everyone on track and accountable for their assignments!
Your closest loved ones ensure you’re never alone in life, which also goes for the wedding planning process! Don’t be afraid to ask for help from your inner circle, as they’ve agreed to be in your wedding party and support you every step of the way. Just remember to show appreciation by acknowledging their efforts and saying thank you!
Meghan Ely is the owner of wedding PR and wedding marketing firm OFD Consulting. Ely is a sought-after speaker, adjunct professor in the field of public relations, and a self-professed royal wedding enthusiast.