What better way to celebrate National Friendship Day than with creative ways to show your special friends how important they are to you on your big day? If your wedding is rolling around and you’re stuck on what to get as gifts for the bridal party or how to include everyone on your big day, then this post is for you. And hang tight if you’re struggling to include those close friends that didn’t make the bridal party cut, we’ve got some great ideas to help.

Picking A Best Man & Maid/Matron of Honor

The goal when picking your best man and maid/matron of honor is to not only choose your best friend but someone that will help you every step of the way in making sure your day is perfect. It’s important to have someone supportive and willing to go the extra mile standing up next to you after all; this is one of the biggest days of your life!

Gift Ideas

A great day of gift idea and photo opt for bridesmaids are matching outfits! We love to see cute pajamas, robes, and even rompers that go hand in hand, they’re comfy and cute! A less expensive option for your girls would be a small gift basket including their favorite things, a customized necklace, or a monogrammed wine glass… for mimosas the morning of, of course! Gifts are a great way to say, “ I appreciate you and am so thankful you said yes to standing by my side and getting me to this day.”

Pictures To Capture 

When you look back on your wedding day, what do you want your photos to look like? You of course want your pictures to be a vivid representation of you and your soon to be husband, but you also want your light to shine when taking photos with friends. Here are some must haves with your bridesmaids to allow them to feel important too.

We love a good picture of everyone getting ready together in matching outfits in our bridal suite located in our historic home.

And when you’re done getting ready, you can’t forget the big reveal picture: the first look for your bridesmaids. This is the most genuine; make your heart happy photo to look back on with your closest friends.

Make sure to take individual photos with your wedding party, maid/matron of honor and best man especially! You’ll be super thankful that you did as these will be some very valuable photos to you all ten years down the road.

Do You Prefer A Sweetheart Table Or A Head Table? And What’s The Difference?

A sweetheart table is an intimate table for the bride and groom to be seated at during the reception, mainly while eating. Some couples may be shy or just not want all eyes on them so a head table is a great option for that purpose as well as making everyone feel important in the wedding party. A head table is a larger table that allows for the bridal party to sit with the new couple while eating, this is a great way to include the group of people that helped bring your wedding visions to life. You’re all able to sit and relax after the nerves have worn off and share a meal or drink together. At The Wheeler House we love the farmhouse tables rented through Miss Milly’s to bring the vision of a beautiful head table to life.

Toast/Speeches

Allowing your maid of honor and best man to give speeches during toasting at your wedding is a good way for them to let you know how grateful they are for your friendship and how happy they are that you’ve found the one. We love hearing the speeches that people offer because it allows all the guests to hear funny stories and shows your heart and how valuable your friendship may be to others. It’s a great idea if a bridesmaid or groomsmen may also want to stand up and say something, there’s no right or wrong way to go about which friends can give a toast!

Okay, finally! For those friends that you love dearly but you just couldn’t squeeze into your bridal party… here are a few things that may be a good way to say, “hey! I love you and want you to participate in helping with my wedding on the day of.”

Designate To Help Decorate

If you have any friends that have an eye for aesthetics, let them help! You would rather have a few extra hands setting up and taking down decorations than not enough. Friends feel very important when someone raves about how beautiful your ceremony or reception area are and they’re able to say back that they took place in helping.

Welcoming Guests & Pass Out Programs

Designating one or two friends to greet your guests and direct them onward to the ceremony area is actually a very effective way to keep things moving. Typically your guest book and gift table will be at the entrance so guests can drop off, sign, and keep moving. Having someone standing there to guide people on what to do is a great way to make someone feel special. Perhaps you have a Polaroid guest book and need an extra set of hands to photograph people? No problem, you’ve got someone there just for that reason!

Ushers

Okay, this is huge! An usher is someone that seats guests so this ensures that your ceremony seating is balanced and your front few rows are full with the guests you want sitting in them. An usher is a strong title that allows a younger brother or maybe a friend from college, to be included in helping out the day of. As a coordinator, we see that ushers help with the process of starting the ceremony on time. A lot of people like to stand around and mingle; having someone offer to walk them to their seat gives that little extra push to shuffle them in.

These are just some helpful ways to make sure your day runs smoothly and no feelings are hurt for not being included. Happy National Friend’s Day to you and your friends!