Flowers are the perfect way to brighten up your home and garden.

Frangipani

Stunning frangipani!

Who doesn’t love frangipanis? This stunning tropical flower carries a beautiful floral scent, which many of us link to summer, and is the perfect plant to grown in Australia. There are a variety of ways you can plant a frangipani including potting, bedding or planting alone as a feature in your garden. They thrive in well-drained soil and benefit from plenty of sun.

Bougainvillea

Beautiful bougainvillaea

Love a bit of colour in your garden? Then perhaps you should think about brightening things up with some Bougainvillaea? This is the perfect spring and summer plant that benefits from sun, so be sure to plant it somewhere that attracts a lot of light. Bougainvillaea looks beautiful when grown on trellises or around an arch.

Gardenia

Delicate and light

You can’t go past gardenia if you’re searching for the perfect garden flower. This beautiful species can require a lot of attention, but it’s all worth it for the stunning display of gorgeous white flowers. They offer a lovely aroma and grow best in the warmer months, from November to May.

Rosemary

Rosemary is a great choice!

Rosemary is a great plant to grow if you’re one for multi-tasking. This Mediterranean herb gives off a delightful smell, and once grown, can be picked to use in a variety of dishes. The best thing about rosemary is that it can grow in poor soil conditions and will thrive on very little water. If you’re searching for a new herb to add to your garden that requires little care, choose rosemary!

Roses

Bright roses

It’s no surprise that roses are one of the most popular flowers in Australia. These beautiful plants come in a never-ending variety of different colours and species, and can bloom from spring, all the way through to autumn. Surprisingly, roses are pretty hardy and require little maintenance, however it is always important to give them a good prune after every bloom.

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So that’s your garden brightened up, but what about your home? If you’re keen to add a splash of natural colour to your living room or kitchen, we suggest visiting your local florists who can work magic with flowers!

Bright and beautiful arrangement, Blissful Blooms Florist – Emerald

Tea Party Girl

How Tea Dresses Add Simple Elegance to Your Hectic Day

When you add tea dresses to your wardrobe, you give yourself a gift that enhances your whole life and lets The Elegant You shine. Days are long, and they’re filled with chores, work and a million other tasks that take up your energy. Recharge, and look great doing it. Read on to see how simple and beautiful dresses add elegance to your daily life.

Tea Dresses are Simply Simple

You don’t need to have frills, high heels, jewelry or an up-do. Now, that’s not to say that you can’t add those features to your ensemble, but beautiful, comfortable tea party dresses for women need none of those things.

During summer, the hot days can drag by. Whether you’re working in an office, or getting messy in the garden, taking an hour for afternoon tea is a great way to reconnect with yourself. A tea dress is a great way to make that connection enjoyable. It’s just not the same when you plunk down on a couch in your work clothes to escape into a short moment’s rest. Taking time to change clothes, and enjoying the dress you choose, turns your afternoon break into a truly relaxing experience.

Tea dresses are perfect, especially in the summer. They are light and breathable, loose fitting and easy to wear. While lighter colors traditionally rule this roost, modern vibrant colors are making their way onto the scene.  In the cooler months, a simple, classic cardigan in a neutral color will usually go with most dresses and give you a sense of cosiness in your outfit.

So, head to your closet, quickly change into a dress that makes you look great, or feel great (or both!) and enjoy a quiet setting in your pretty outfit. Wearing tea length dresses is the wardrobe equivalent of stopping to smell the roses. Yes, jeans and a t-shirt are comfortable, too, but they’re not elegant. You can skip the dressing nicely option, but you’ll miss the whole point of afternoon teatime elegance.

“When you add afternoon tea dresses to your wardrobe, you give yourself a gift that enhances your whole life and lets the elegant you shine.”

Dressing for Tea Allows Room for Creativity

There is no hard and fast rule on what makes, and what does not make, a good afternoon-tea dress. This lets you have freedom to express your personality in your choices. Gone are the days when afternoon teatime held a strict dress code and every invitee also needed a parasol. These days, you can make your outfit style all your own.

If you choose to take your teatime to the next level and turn the event into a tea party, the opportunity for creativity is even grander. Friends make dress-up time so much more enjoyable. Here are a couple of ideas:

If you’re enjoying green tea or Matcha green tea for your daily time of tranquility, try incorporating the Japanese culture. A kimono-style short dress makes a wonderful selection. Even flowy dresses that feature oriental patterns or colors can help add to the ambiance and enhance your elegance level. Other cultural garb, such as saris from India or togas from Greece should open your eyes to countless opportunities. You can take the theme idea as far as you’d like, there are three hundred and sixty five days a year to try out a new one. The point is to keep your tea dresses pretty, comfortable and fun.

Beauty plus Comfort Equals Elegance

Imagine yourself in a beautiful couture dress. Now, think of how difficult it is to breathe, how hard it is to keep the train clean and how impossible it is to sit down for long periods of time or walk without tripping.

We are not talking about dresses like that. Tea dresses allow you to feel the beauty that comes with comfort, and that’s a pretty profound thing. When you’re comfortable, you’re relaxed and happy. When your comfortable clothes are pretty, things get elegant. The stress melts from your day, any feeling of frumpiness disappears and even bad-hair issues seem less important. You start to see the small, beautiful things that constantly surround you, and you embrace them, all because you choose pretty elegant dresses for your time of respite.

Elegance Spreads to Other Parts of Your Life

After a few weeks of habitual elegance and afternoon teatimes, you’ll start to see the vines of elegance gently twist their ends around different activities you take part in. You’ll even see the elegance start to seep into your décor. Your tea dresses are more than simple fabric, they’re a conduit to your inner elegant goddess. She’s the woman inside you who understands the beauty of existence and strives to make herself a part of it. And, believe it, she’s there.

It doesn’t matter what your personal style is, there are styles for you.  Take advantage of flowers! Even the simplest dresses benefit from a few well-placed blooms and fresh leaves.

The Edgy Girl: Tea party is not the same as prim and proper. Dark colors are acceptable for modern tea dresses. So are short cuts, fringe and metal bedazzlement.

The Fashionista: The goal of afternoon tea dressing is easy, comfortable simplicity. So, utilize your trendy talents with ultra-cool accessories. Think hats, sashes, or ankle bracelets to use in making your tea dress fashion statement.

The Professional: No, your suit does not count as a tea party dress. But, please keep the pencil skirts and low heels.

The Busy Mamma: Here’s your chance to enjoy something that’s just for you. Keep your afternoon tea attire separate from the rest of your wardrobe so you won’t associate them at all with chaos. That way, no matter which of your tea dresses you choose, it’s clean, available and wrinkle-free so that you can concentrate on elegance.

Wedding Gifts

KENWOOD LAUNCHES A NEW KITCHEN MACHINE OFFERING THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

The new Kenwood MultiOne, a mixer and food processor in one

With celebrity chefs dominating our TV screens and decadent food imagery taking over our social media channels it's no surprise that more and more people are discovering the delights of cooking and baking at home.

The big decision for someone starting out on their culinary journey is whether to buy a mixer or a food processor. It's the age old battle of sweet vs savoury and baking vs cooking. Thankfully the decision is made that little bit easier today with the launch of the Kenwood MultiOne, a machine that offers the best of both worlds: a mixer and a food processor.

Perfect for beginner bakers and cooks, and even couples looking to kit out their first home, the MultiOne can not only whisk, beat and mix up cakes but also in a matter of seconds slice, chop and grate with the food processor.

Mixing is made easy with four bowl tools. Cake batters can be mixed to perfection with the unique K-beater that reaches every part of the bowl, a creaming beater for the most delicate cake mixes, while light and fluffy meringues can be whipped up with the specially-designed balloon whisk. The smell of freshly baked bread will become a regular aroma as users knead bread to perfection with the spiral dough hook, designed to take all the hard work out of the process.

Taking the hassle out of food preparation, the MultiOne also comes with a wide variety of food processor attachments; from stainless steel knife blades, to rotating disks for slicing, grating and rasping and even a citrus press for healthy fresh juices to kick-start the morning.

The range of recipes that can be created with this one machine is endless. For example, make your own bread using the specialised dough spiral hook and finely dice up herbs, tomatoes and onions tear-free for the perfect bruschetta. Make a smooth and creamy pesto sauce for an added Tuscan touch.

Mums and dads looking for a little help making family meals or ways to keep the kids entertained with baking experiments will love the Kenwood MultiOne’s 4.3 litre bowl, big enough for family sized cakes. Mum’s mind will be put at ease knowing that this machine is spring loaded which puts an end any trapped fingers. Flour explosions during kitchen adventures can be prevented thanks to the electronic speed control.

The new machine has been crafted to complement the modern kitchen where space is at a premium. With the stainless steel bowl and sleek design it has been made to be on show.

The Kenwood MultiOne (KHH301WH) is available now at leading electric retailers and department stores priced at $449.

Some Ideas and Inspiration

Wedding Theme Ideas And Inspiration

It’s a new year, and what a better way to start it than by planning your wedding. However, before you can start planning for your big day, you need to know what kind of wedding you want. You need to consider all aspects, such as colour scheme and running themes, and before you can decide what these will be you’ll want to put together a folder of ideas and inspiration. By making different collages of images cut out from magazines and print outs, you can easily see all the different styles and themes you like. Once you’ve got a collection of collages with ideas and inspiration, you can decide for yourself how you’ll want your wedding to look and all the little details that will be included. The following ideas will hopefully inspire you and could even be added to some of your collages. For more information, wedding ideas and inspirational moodboards, visit: http://www.hitched.com.au/

Colour Schemes

Lots of brides already have a favourite colour that they want to have as their colour scheme at their wedding, or perhaps you have a dream venue in mind that might influence your colour scheme. However, here are some popular choices of wedding colour schemes and what they represent:

Blush Pink

Blush or dusty pink is a popular choice amongst brides who want a subtle sweet and feminine touch to their special day. Flowers in pink shades are Sweet Peas, Siam Tulips, Ranunculus and Roses.

Orange

Orange colour schemes can vary from a soft autumn tone to a spicy orange. Orange themes are trendy, boisterous and quirky, and can even be perfected with orange flowers, such as orange Gerbera or Ranunculus.

Yellow

The colour yellow has strong connotation with happiness, calmness and sunshine, making it a great colour scheme for an outdoors wedding. It has also been interpreted as the colour that is linked to enlightenment, which means it perfectly suits the day of matrimony.

Alternative Centerpiece Ideas

Rather than the same old flowers on the table, young brides and grooms are being more creative with their centerpiece ideas and coming up with more alternative table decorations.

Little Wedding Cakes

Instead of having the conventional tiered wedding cake, why not put a single wedding cake on each table as the centerpiece, which means each table have their own cake and can cut it themselves. Each colour or design might be slightly altered in order to differ from each other, or perhaps the table number or name could be printed onto the cake. This is an upcoming new trend this year, and is already gaining popularity with young and adventurous couples.

Food Centerpiece

Socialised catering is on the uprise, and instead of individual food orders, couples are ridding of centerpieces altogether and having banquet styled food platters put out as replacements for centerpieces. This simple yet ingenious idea is like a buffet that comes to you, and is looking to be increasingly popular in the upcoming year.

Creative Table Numbers

Rather than having an ordinary table number, creative brides are creating table numbers out of different materials and placing them into a flower arrangement making a popular idea into a unique detail. The 3D number itself could be make from twister wire, beads, painted wood or coloured foam.

Decoration Ideas

First Impressions

The entrance to your venue should be impressive since it will be the first thing your guests experience. Make a good impression by welcoming people into the venue with signposts inviting them inside, or even put up posts like a timeline about how you met. This could include photos and dates and could be chalked onto blackboards which could be displayed along the path leading into the venue or dotted around inside for guests to find.

Decorate The Bar

People tend to spend a fair amount of time at the at weddings, which means you’ll want it to be attractive. You could personalise it by putting up photos of you and your partner when you first met, or displaying funny facts or moments that have happened to you both that you can share with your guests. Or you can simply make it prettier by adding tea lights or mini flower displays.

Glam Up The Bathroom

Your female guests will be trying out the bathroom in hope of fancy hand soap and soft towels, so don’t disappoint! Dot around some scented candles and perhaps some rose petals along the back of the sinks. You could include mini flower arrangements and pretty soap and hand lotion, and you can be sure that your lady guests will appreciate.

Hens Night Planning

Hens Night Planning Checklist

Maids, bust out your calendars. Here’s a timeline to help you prepare for the bride’s naughty night on the town.

by Amy Elliott

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Maid of honour, are you ready to rock? Whether you’re mellowing out or whooping it up, here’s a checklist to help you and the bridesmaids prepare for this infamous night. Feel free to adjust the timeframes according to your celebration style.

3+ Months Before

• Ask the bride what she wants (or doesn’t want) in terms of  a hens party. Will it be a night of craziness on the town, complete with Tequilla shots and dancers? A quiet weekend getaway? Martinis at a fun cocktail bar? A living room lingerie exchange? Pizza and and drinks at her favourite bar? Karaoke? Casino?
• Establish her comfort levels. If she wants G-rated instead of G-string, review your options together. If she does want to walk on the wild side? Get her to define exactly what that means. Remember, while you want her to cut loose, you don’t want to mortally embarrass her, or worse, totally freak her out.
• Set the date — shoot for a weekend night at least two weeks before the wedding. (If members of the bridal party are from all over and can only convene a few days before, that timing works, too.)
• Create the guest list.

2 Months Before

• Send out a casual “save the date” email to see if there are any major conflicts among invitees. If you’re partying far away, include specific details.
• Brainstorm possible game plans and party stunts with the maids (make it a surprise for the bride).
• If the party will be at a hot spot or out of town (a popular tapas bar, a cabaret theatre, a comedy show, a rock concert, someone’s beach house with hunky waitstaff…), make reservations, order tickets, and deal with lodging and transportation details.
• No matter what the format, alcohol and hens revelry usually go hand in hand. Be responsible. Start thinking about transportation arrangements — many ladies opt for booking a chauffeured limo or bus for the evening. Call around to compare rates.
• Research and book any talent that might make an appearance at the soiree.

SEE: 10 New Hens Party Ideas

1 Month Before

• Send invitations. Emailing and calling is okay, too. Make sure your invitation politely informs guests that a contribution to the festivities will be expected and name the price.
• If you’re going with the standard pub crawl, devise the itinerary. Start out with dinner at a rowdy restaurant (you don’t want to drink on an empty stomach) and map out all the establishments you want to hit plus what time you’ll be popping in. Planning it out this way will help you book your transportation for the proper length of time, and it limits the carousing so that you don’t overdo it or spend too much cash. Make all necessary reservations, even at bars. Ask about drink specials and special hens party freebies.
• Make your transportation reservation(s). Do it earlier if you live in a metropolitan area, are partying during Year 12 or Year 10 formal season, or in the summer, when the number of pre-wedding parties tends to peak.
• If you’re partying at home, help the hostess plan snacks, refreshments and activities. Make a shopping list. Divide up to-dos among bridesmaids: games, decorations, booze-buying, stereo and/or karaoke set-up, iPod playlists duty, etc.

1 Week Before

• Buy any hens accessories such as the novelty veil or tiara, a bride-to-be sash,  and other naughty props.
• Make a list of the games you want to play, with rules and how-tos, lest you forget after too many margaritas. Keep it handy.
• Confirm RSVPs
• Confirm transportation arrangements
• Confirm the at-home entertainment

SEE: 10 Hens Party Game Ideas

1 Day Before

• Debrief the bride (it’s okay to keep some of the details a surprise).
• Remind guests of the meeting place and time, reiterating the address. If there are several stops planned, name the second address, too, for latecomers.
• Re-confirm all reservations.
• Get plenty of sleep.

Plan your wedding...

13 Step Guide 

Sitting down and planning and coordinating your wedding can be both stressful and fun for you and your partner, which is why hitched.com.au is here to help you through every step. Our step-by step guide has been designed in a way to make the planning part both fun and easy. We wish you all the best for your forth coming marriage.

1. Step 1: Plan Your Budget

   If your current budget doesn’t quite add up you may want to consider speaking to one of the high street banks or the parents? However small or large your budget, you can be sure that there are services available that can fit within you budget and suit your needs. Visit our wedding diary planneron the hitched.com.au website for budget planning tips plus advice on how to allocate your spending.

2. Step 2: Find Your Venue

   Firstly we assume that you have a rough idea of the date you would like to get married. Choosing the perfect venue will almost dictate the actual date of the big day, unless you plan the date years in advance. Choosing the most suitable venue will take most of your time, but with our useful venue finder on the hitched.com.au website. There are hundreds of venues to browse through and we are sure you’ll find your perfect location for your wedding day. Once the venue and the ceremony have been arranged, the rest of the day planning will fall into place. One other important factor to consider when looking at venues is where you will spend your first night together as a married couple, as not all reception venues can act as a hotel, so it best to plan consider when viewing venues.

3. Step 3: Get Some Insurance

   An Insurance policy may not be the first thing on your mind when planning your wedding, however with the average wedding costing $30,000, it is important to consider the unfortunate mishaps that could cost you dearly? For instance, the venue could be cancelled at the last minute or poor health could mean you have to postpone. If you have purchased wedding insurance you can relax knowing full well for the sake of $200-$500 you do not have to worry about these situations. A complete list of insurance detailscan be reviewed on hitched.com.au.

4. Step 4: Select Your Rings

   Once you have purchased insurance and have the date locked in you can really start to spend. We all marry because we are in love, but aren’t we just as excited about the beautiful piece of jewellery on our finger? The traditions of a wedding are reported to come from the fact that a vein runs directly from your wedding finger to your heart, connecting the two continually. When selecting your ringyou are taking a step towards bonding yourselves together forever.

5. Step 5: Your Guest List

   Here comes the fun bit! Where do you begin with your guest list? The fact is that you have probably already had some thoughts about it. When you planned step 1 of our guide on your budget you presumably now have a budget decided and so it is safe to assume an idea of the size of your wedding party. To begin with our advice is always to keep it simple and start with the people closest to you, the family members, best man, bridesmaids, etc. Get the key players down on a large piece of paper and at the top write your names and in a sort of friends and family tree style work downwards in rows starting with the most important people and working until you have included everyone you can think of. This maybe a fairly long list, but don’t worry about the total number of guests you have written down, but think more about not overlooking anyone. Once you are sure you have everyone included, you can start discussing with you partner about grouping them into daytime, evening or crossing people off. Remember that it is after all your very special day so if there is somebody there will make it special for you, stand firm!

6. Step 6: Choosing The Dress

   Choosing the dress is traditionally one of the most fun and exciting parts of the wedding preparation process. On hitched.com.au there is huge number of dresses to be found in the bridal wear section, and many accessories to complete the fairy princess look. The Grooms wear, ushers, bridesmaids, pageboys and every other member of the wedding party also needed to be thought through to make sure that all key roles of the wedding party are coordinated.

7. Step 7: Order The Stationery

   Many of your close friends and family will be aware of your up and coming special day; it is now time to make it official. The invitations must be sent out well in advance so, while it may still be a little early, it is important to at least begin investigating designs and colours. If you want to ensure your guests save the date in their diaries send out some card now just to say when the day is. The stationery order can be themed by the colours in the rest of the day and is customarily sent out by the bride’s parents. The complete stationery order can include everything from order of service cards, save the date cards, place cards and invitations. Placing your order with one single supplier may save you some money and get a common theme throughout. The hitched.com.au website contains many stationery suppliers to get the ideal set for your special day.

8. Step 8: The Honeymoon

   After dealing with months of planning and trying to make the most important day of your life just right, you will need a holiday. Your honeymoon is the first few weeks as a married couple so it will be an exciting time for both of you. Researching online or popping down to your local travel agent early will avoid stress and ensure you have a relaxing break after the Wedding day. Don’t forget to check that you have at least 6 months validity on your passport before you travel, if not order a new one well in advance. If you are planning a trip to an exotic island, be sure to check any medical requirements before you leave and to check the visa situation. A little planning will ensure the holiday goes without a hitch.

9. Step 9: Arrange The Photographer

   There will be many wonderful memories throughout your wedding day that you will want to never forget. By hiring a quality photographer/videographer you can be sure you will capture all of these moments and reminisce over and over again. At this stage we also recommend you book yourwedding car and decide on the right colour coordinated and meaningful flowers to complement your day. The important and essential cake to eat during the evening, along with entertainment and music need to be thought about now. Our directory at hitched.com.au contains loads of professional and reliable professional services to help you organise and add the finishing touches to your special day.

10. Step 10: Your Wedding Gift List

    The reason for getting married is for love, however one special benefit is all the wonderful presents you receive from friends and relatives and as a bonus, you and your partner are able to choose the gifts! It is a real treat to be able to go into a store or online and choose anything you want. Creating a gift list is a good idea for couples who are already living together and have many items for the home and also will avoid you receiving three of the same item.Wedding gift lists can be arranged at any leading department stores and even easier with a number of easy to use online guides. For more detailed information on creating your own gift list, use the Wedding List Ideas section on the hitched.com.au site.

11. Step 11: Send Out Your Invitiations

    If you have sent out ‘save the date’ cards to your guests then they should be aware of when the wedding is and will be standing by for the official invitation in their letter box. We recommend that you send out your invitations a minimum of 8 weeks before your wedding. If you are planning to invite overseas guests then it would be advisable to send the invitations earlier in order for the replies to come back. It could take a while before you have all your replies back to you so it is a good idea to have a reserve list of people that you would like to invite.

12. Step 12: The Buck's and Hen's Nights

    Your last night of freedom to really let yourself go wild is the stag or hen night. This night is all about you and should get you in the mood for your wedding. The responsibility of organising this lies with the bridesmaids and best man and they are usually big nights and a lot of fun. Stag and Henparties are now turning into weekend events.

13. Step 13: The Finishing Touches

    Each and every wedding is unique to the individual so it is difficult to pin point exactly what the final touches are that you will need to think about. Some things you may want to consider are speeches, readings, rehearsals, seating plans, order of service, first night accommodation, returning hired suits, thank you cards, etc. If you still need more advice and help, please look through the rest of hitched.com.au wedding site and for specific guidance from other wedding planners, check out the wedding planning forum.

Wedding Check List

Planning a Wedding...so much to think of....

Planning a wedding can be an incredibly overwhelming task for someone who has never planned one before. So much planning and so many details are involved in a wedding that it is difficult to know where to start. Rather than diving into the whole affair without a plan, make time to put together a wedding checklist so you know what you have to do.

To begin, sit down with a pen and paper and make a list of everything you need to do. The first step to maintaining wedding planning sanity is to draw out the plans for everything you will need. This includes coordinating details ranging from the bride’s dress to bridesmaids gowns, tuxedos, location of both the wedding and reception, officials, decorations, reception food and entertainment and much more.

Step one on the wedding checklist should be to have a clear understanding of what your vision is for your special day. A good place to start is finalizing colours for both the wedding and the reception.

Once the overall vision for the affair is settled and a date is nailed down, it’s time to move on to step two on the wedding checklist: the venue. Before you can plan decorations or anything else involving the ceremony or reception, you have to know where both will be held. With the date, call around to some possible places, including country clubs, reception halls, parks and more. The possibilities are nearly endless depending on your vision for the day. Enlist the help of the bridesmaids in checking out a variety of reception venues. 

After a venue is chosen, plan the decour. If it’s just the venue for the ceremony, plan how you will decorate or plan seating options, the aisle itself, the altar and more. The decorations can be as extravagant as you – and again the budget – dictate, or simple. Flowers are a must, regardless of the size of the affair, and for this you will need to once again coordinate with a florist who can make that dream come true. 

 

The florist will come into play again in planning the reception’s decor. All receptions have flowers, whether they are just on the registration table or make up centrepieces on each and every table as well as decor around the room. Make sure the bride likes the arrangements, and that they are elegant and do not in any way prohibit guests from getting around the room and conversing easily.

The reception will also involve food, and you must coordinate with the venue, if it provides menu options, or a caterer. You may choose to simply have finger food and drinks while others wish for full meals. Make sure the invitations, which you must also keep tabs on, dictate which will be available. Entertainment at the reception is also a must, since this a celebration of the couple’s new life together. Choose either a DJ to spin records or a live band in whatever genre is appropriate.

 Overall, your job is made significantly easier by simply following the wedding checklist. It will enable you to fulfill all of your wants while at the same time ensuring you stick within your budget. This entire process can become overwhelming for anyone, and if this happens there is no shame in suggesting the bride employ a wedding planner. A wedding planner is experienced in providing perfect days for couples, and can pick up where you left off and finish the task with excellent results. After all, the best part of the day will be knowing that the bride and groom had the wedding of their dreams, regardless of who planned the affair.

Matron of Honour Duties

 

Planning a wedding can be extremely stressful, because it's the one day that you have been waiting for all your life and you want it to be perfect! However, you do not need to go through the load of wedding planning alone. Having an ally or confidant by your side, will help you go through these nerve-racking times. As the bride, you need to just look pretty and enjoy your wedding day. Delegate your responsibilities to the matron of honour, who can be a close friend or family member, and just relax. Handling the bridesmaids, telling them what to do, getting other wedding preparations underway, etc. are all part of the matron of honour's duties. A matron of honour is truly a person of honour, because she takes away the burden from the bride's shoulders.

Duties of the Matron of Honour 

The matron of honour is somebody who will not only help you with preparations for the wedding, but is somebody who will stand by you for every little, or major need on the wedding day. Let's have a look at the different matron of honour responsibilities before and on the wedding day.

Pre-Wedding Matron of Honour Duties
She helps the bride and groom with decisions regarding the wedding theme, wedding location, reception site and even looks into the stay arrangements for out-of-town guests.
She helps the bride find an appropriate wedding decorator, helps find a wedding cake baker and also assists in selecting the best designs for the reception site, cake, etc.
She helps the bride pick designs for the wedding invitations and get them printed. Moreover, helps the bride organize her guest list and address the invitations to all the guests.
She also helps the bride prepare the bride wedding day emergency kit and makes sure every essential item is placed in the kit.
She helps the bride with the wedding gown preparations. If the bride is getting a ready-made gown, then she helps the bride shop for it, else she goes with her to buy the gown material and also accompanies her to the designer. She also helps the bride with the purchase of other bridal accessories like shoes, tiara, jewellery, etc.
The matron of honour also helps the bride pick the bridesmaid's and flower girls' dresses. Moreover, she coordinates with the bridesmaids and informs them about the days for fitting, etc.
She helps the bride with the wedding favor arrangements and gives her valuable advice in this matter as well. She also helps pick gifts for the bridesmaids.
The matron of honour also helps the bride select wedding favors for the guests.
She also plans the bridal shower and bachelorette parties, with the help of the bridesmaids.
Organizes the wedding rehearsal and dinner rehearsal and ensures everybody involved attends it. She also handles all queries regarding the same.
She also makes appointments at a hair/beauty salon for the bridesmaids and ensures all of them get ready in time.
During the Wedding
The matron of honour makes sure the bride reaches the parlor, gets ready and reaches the church on time. She also ensures the bridesmaids are ready on time and are well aware of their respective duties.
The matron of honour should also shepherd the bridal party into the Church for the bridal march, at the appropriate time. She is to oversee the flower girls, page boys and bridesmaids. She should ensure the flower girls have their baskets, the page boy has the ring cushion, etc.
During the wedding ceremony, she holds the wedding bouquet of the bride.
The matron of honour can also be witness while signing the marriage certificate in Church. However, this is optional. You can ask anybody to be the witness.
After the wedding ceremony is over, the matron of honour gathers the bridal troop for photographs.
She also sees to the car arrangements for the bridal couple to drive in and reach the wedding reception site (of course, this is only if the wedding and reception site are different).
During the Reception
At the reception site, she oversees the different wedding arrangements and ensures everything is in order.
If the bride plans to change her attire before the wedding reception, then the matron of honour assists the bride in these arrangements as well. The matron of honour also gives the matron of honour speech.
During the wedding dance, the matron of honour dances with the best man.
She, along with the bridesmaids invite guests to sign the guest book.
The matron of honour also keeps an eye on the bride throughout the reception and ensures she gets a drink or a bite or two during the reception. She also helps her with some makeup touch ups.
The matron of honour also keeps track of the gifts received at the wedding reception and stores them properly, if nobody else is assigned for the task.
After the Wedding
She ensures all the gifts are carefully assembled and sent away to the required location by car, or any other means of transport.
Helps the bride change into her going-away outfit and stores the bridal gown and other accessories neatly and safely. She also makes sure the belongings are sent safely to the bride's house.
She also reminds the bride to give the bridesmaids, flower girls and page boy their gifts.
The bride will be on cloud nine, so it's the matron of honour's duty to thanks the bridesmaids and the other members of the bridal party for their good efforts.
There are no hard and fast rules pertaining to the matron of honour duties. The above list may seem intimidating to some, however, these were some general guidelines with respect to the role of a matron of honour. The bride may delegate some responsibilities to other people, considering all this is too much for a single person to handle. The matron of honour responsibilities will vary from one bride to another. Just remember to choose somebody reliable, responsible and trustworthy as your maid of honour. All the best!