9 Father Of The Bride Duties And Responsibilities You Need to Know About
Is the day of your daughter’s wedding nearing? If so, you need to understand the father of the bride duties and responsibilities, and what will be expected of you on your daughters bid day.
A wedding day is a special memory that will be cherished by the bride and her family for the rest of their lives. It is vital to do everything possible to make the day run as smoothly as it can. This involves planning and preparation before the wedding as well performing duties and responsibilities on the actual day itself.
For a wedding to run smoothly the bride and groom need help and support from as many professionals and loved ones as possible. This is where the father of the bride can shine. With you in mind, we have created a list with the 8 most important father of the bride duties and responsibilities you should be aware of.
Father Of The Bride Duties And Responsibilities Before The Wedding
1) Help With The Finances Of The Wedding
This is a tradition that stretches back hundreds of years. In the past it was expected that the father of the bride pays for the wedding between his bride and husband to be. This tradition stemmed from the idea that a woman would become the responsibility of the groom after the wedding.
In the modern world this tradition is outdated. However, weddings are expensive and offering help to your daughter and husband to be will help her make her special day perfect. According to Hitched the average wedding in 2019 cost £31,974. If you can contribute anything towards this figure you will be providing your daughter with a means for finding exactly what she wants for her day.
2) Offer Advice During The Planning Stages
A wedding is a complicated, stressful day to plan. If your daughter does not have a great support network it is easy for her to feel overwhelmed and frustrated.
When you are planning a wedding, you must consider:
- Venue
- Clothing
- Photography
- Catering
- Travel and Transport
- Jewellery
This list above is not an extensive list of what needs to be considered. They are however, especially important aspects that will help make your day run smoothly. As the father of the bride you must be ready to offer advice and opinions to help your daughter and her husband come to the correct decision. As her father you should have a great understanding of her personality and what she would like. You must remember not to be too forceful with aspects you like. It is not your wedding day after all.
3) Be A Calming Presence
Weddings can be an incredibly stressful event. The planning and wedding days have many aspects that can cause panic. Your duty and responsibly is being the person who will keep everyone in check and stress-free.
You will need to be a support system for everyone in the wedding party, including the bride, groom, mother of the bride, maid of honour, bridesmaids, grooms men, and the best man. Even though you may be a nervous wreck yourself, try to focus your energy on providing solutions.
This aspect is important for the father of the bride as he is seen as the senior member of the family. With seniority comes responsibility and hopefully some wisdom. If you find yourself losing control, take a step back, and approach the problem with a logical, calm solution.
4) Attend The Stag Do
Some fathers of the bride are closer to the husband to be than others. If you feel comfortable (and get invited), you should attend the grooms stag do.
This is important as it is an excellent way of integrating your self with the groom and his side of the wedding party. If you can form relationships with people attending the wedding your daughter’s day will run a lot better.
Attending the stag also helps build your relationship with the groom. Through the nature of a stag you will be in a relaxed, friendly environment – there may also be some time when you have had a few beverages together as well. You can use this time to offer advice to the groom, hopefully setting the scene for a happy ever after.
Father Of The Bride Duties And Responsibilities On The Day
5) Wedding Greeter And Helper
On the wedding day, there will be a lot of guests arriving, likely with a lot of questions about the day. This may be too much for the maid of honour and best man. It may also be the case that you have a better relationship with the family and older guests attending the wedding.
With this being the case you should be prepared to:
- Help guests as they arrive
- Check on timings
- Answer any questions to make the day run smoothly
- Do any odd tasks the bride needs before she walks down the isle
Your main responsibility should be creating a happy, stress free environment for the bride. No task is too small.
6) Travel With The Bride
Depending on the set up of the wedding venue your daughter has chosen, you will most likely travel with the bride to the wedding premises. Often the rest of the bridal party will travel in a separate vehicle.
This is your time to have a private one to one with your daughter, expressing your feelings and emotions about her becoming a wife and her journey from childhood to adulthood. These are the moments to cherish.
7) Walk The Bride Down The Aisle
You may already know this one, but it will be your responsibility to walk your daughter down the aisle. A tradition in British culture for hundreds of years. The tradition is the symbolic passing of responsibility from you to the groom.
This is a precious memory of a lifetime; you have been envisioning this moment since the day she was born and the day is finally here. Make sure to treasure every step you take together when you give away your daughter to the groom.
8) The Fathers Speech
The Father of the bride’s duties and responsibilities include performing a speech. Traditionally the father speaks first after the wedding breakfast – no pressure.
Your speech should captivate the room drawing on the emotion of the day. It is important that you spend some time planning and writing your speech. Although you may think you can do it on the day, often the pressure is greater than expected.
In your speech try to use the emotion of the day to your advantage. Talk about memories with your daughter, how she has grown into an adult. We also advise including some witty remarks about the groom. It is always good to get some laughs.
9) The Father And Daughter Dance
The father and daughter dance usually happens straight after the bride and grooms first dance. Do not stress, you are not expected to be a ballroom dancer.
The father and daughter dance is an intimate moment between you and your daughter where you can speak about how the day has gone so far. You should be happy, sharing a laugh. Do not worry if you get emotional as well – your daughter did just get married.
If you have the confidence, you can follow the father and daughter dance with some dad dancing – but I will leave that to you.
If you would like any support for your daughter’s wedding day visit our hand-picked list of suppliers.