The House Party: Roles and Responsibilities

What do you do when you are on a fixed budget and have little room to expand your wedding party? What happens when you really wanted to ask two or three more ladies to be bridesmaids, yet just could not find the means to do it? You have a house party. The term house party refers to a small group of women, whom you really wanted to ask to be bridesmaids but for some reason or another just could not fit them in the wedding party. It could have been space restrictions or even low funds, but either way it could not be done.

There is nothing to worry about, as this can easily be remedied. There is what is known as the house party. This is a group of women whom you are close with and would liked to have asked to be in the wedding party. These women can still play contributing roles in your wedding without feeling left out or their feelings hurt. Here’s how it goes: the house party you select will help the maid of honor plan and execute the bridal shower, as well as the hen night. This is another phrase for the bachelorette party. The house party can be quite handy, as they can run errands for the maid of honor or the bride directly making for a much-needed relief in the stress department. The house party is generally in charge of the decorations for the church and the reception, thus making it easier for the maid of honor to tend to more pressing matters with the bride. This group of women is usually kept busy by the maid of honor, as they deal with the smaller details that still cannot go overlooked for the big day.

Finding time for all the small details when setting up a wedding can indeed be trying and tucker a maid of honor out, if she is left to do all of it herself. She must be able to concentrate on the bride, as she is her right hand lady and is there to keep her calm and organized. This small group of ladies at the house party can indeed be lifesavers and keep the flow of planning on a steady pace, without interruptions. These women should for all intensive purposes be treated and respected, just as the bridesmaids would be treated. They are in a sense going to be doing a fair amount of work, and with minimal public recognition. Making a public announcement at the reception on their behalf, for all the great work they did is appropriate, and in turn show them how much you appreciated the efforts and time put in. It is a very nice gesture if a small token of appreciation is given to them by way of a gift.

Giving the house party women gifts for their efforts should be simple. It never should be grander in scale than the maid of honor’s gift. Nor should it be as large as the gift the bridesmaids will receive either. Something small and simple, yet personal will be a good way to start. Perhaps you could give them flowers or tickets to a show or vouchers for a lovely dinner for two. Keeping it simple and close to the heart will let them know that you are thinking about them and feel very highly of them and the tasks they took on. While at the wedding, they for obvious reasons will not be wearing a bridesmaid’s dress, however, they can be given a corsage, to separate them from the general guests, and signify that they in some way were actually part of the whole process and planning. Show these ladies some appreciation and acknowledgement for the good deeds and job they have done, as they wanted to see this day probably as much as you wanted to see it. The bride is in a sense very lucky, as the groom does not really have any extra help by way of a house party. This is generally reserved solely to the bride’s side of things. The groom has to rely on the best man and his groomsmen to shore up loose ends for him.

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by KissMeGoodnight.com : 2006

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