Previously, the presence of a witness at a wedding celebration was mandatory. Today, weddings are held without witnesses, but many brides still prefer to appoint someone to this role, because many signs are associated with it that promise happiness to the newlyweds. For example, she must pin pins on the clothes of the bride and groom. In addition, on such an exciting day, any bride will need good support and support, as well as assistance in organizing the wedding. The Svadebka.ws portal has prepared an article about the signs and responsibilities of a witness at a wedding, which will help you understand all the nuances of choosing a suitable candidate.
Responsibilities of witnesses at a wedding
Close friends who have known the bride and groom for a long time are taken as witnesses or groomsmen and will help share the wedding chores. Traditionally, the witness can be an unmarried girl - a friend, and the witness - an unmarried young man, the groom's best friend. But if your friend got married before you, you shouldn’t refuse her the role of witness, because she can help organize the event and be there. It’s also worth taking care of the other halves of your important guests so that they don’t get bored.
From the groom's side
The groom's witness also plays an important role. As you might guess, this is the person who is the best friend of the hero of the occasion. The one whom the groom trusts. Just like on the bride’s side, the future husband puts forward only one witness. It is appointed in advance. Now this is done at the stage of sending out invitations.
The witness is an important person. Some compare this person to the groom's "right hand" at the wedding. He will have to help his future husband in competitions and at ransom. We can say that the groom is the groom's keeper. And the groomsman at a wedding is the bride’s keeper. Previously, their presence was considered extremely important. Now, as already mentioned, this is not a mandatory point for a wedding.
Wedding preparation
Witnesses provide support at all stages of the pre-holiday bustle: choosing a dress, accessories, jewelry, garters for the bride and a suit for the groom, buying flowers, ordering a car for the newlyweds, transport for guests, selecting music for the celebration, participating in the entertainment program, accompanying guests.
On the eve of the wedding, the witnesses organize a farewell party for the bride and groom. The groomsman's task is to gather friends for the bachelor party, and the groomsmen's task is to invite girlfriends for the bachelorette party. The holiday should be organized as fun and noisy, but, of course, within reason, so that you won’t be ashamed to remember.
Morning before the wedding
On the wedding day, witnesses must be on the threshold of the newlyweds' house in the morning. The bridesmaid gathers the bride, helps her get dressed, prepares towels for the ceremony, collects everything she needs for a walk in front of the restaurant, and helps prepare the bride for the photo shoot.
The witness is the main character, an assistant in the ransom of his friend's future wife. He must be prepared for surprises and surprises prepared by the bridesmaids. The main task of the honorary witness is to “sell” the bride at a higher price.
Actions at ransom
The bridesmaid carefully thinks through and prepares the ransom of her best friend, monitors the actions of the groom’s friends, and organizes the girls to help. The witness should not be confused in the presence of beautiful girls; he actively helps to win the bride away from her girlfriends, dances, answers questions, sings, gives a ransom, pours and distributes sweet gifts.
After the meeting of the bride and groom, the invitees are seated in cars and in a friendly cortege are sent to the registry office. Witnesses do not forget to make sure that the cars are decorated with balloons and ribbons.
Registration and wedding
You must arrive at the wedding building 15-20 minutes before registration starts. Witnesses give the newlyweds' passports to the registry office registrar, invite guests to the hall, and choose a melody that will accompany the ceremony. All actions are coordinated with the bride and groom.
When the ceremony begins, the witness takes the groom's side, and the witness takes a place next to the bride. He is given the right to hold the wedding rings of the newlyweds. Not so long ago, the marriage registration procedure was confirmed by witnesses with their signatures. Today, this measure is not necessary, but if the registrar asks to complete this formality, you should not object.
At the end of registration, the guests congratulate the newlyweds; the witnesses are the first to express their congratulations. The witness opens champagne and pours it for the bride and groom, the witness accepts flowers from the guests.
Many young couples want to seal their union with a wedding. You can get married in a church on your wedding day or at any other time. The duty of witnesses in the temple is to support the crown over the heads of the bride and groom. They must be believers and baptized. Now this ritual has already lost its relevance.
Creating the image of a witness
Of course, the bride should attract the attention of guests on this day. But the witness should not be too lost against her background and should be different from the other guests. The image of a bridesmaid should be thought out as carefully as the image of the bride herself.
Bridesmaid hairstyle for wedding
In our country, unlike Western countries, bridesmaids do not have their outfits and hairstyles chosen. Here the girl herself thinks through everything. But don’t do everything quickly, take time and think over your image.
The hairstyle should not overshadow the bride. If the young woman decided to stick to elegant and simple curls, then the witness should not do her hair with a lot of pins. Work with your hair without using a lot of rhinestones, extensions, hats and combs.
Last throughout the day. Complex shapes and clutter on the head are not our way. You will have to take an active part in competitions and dances, and help young people. Therefore, depending on the length of your hair, use hairspray and 1-2 accessories. It is worth entrusting the creation of hairstyles, as well as decoration of the wedding hall, to professionals.
Outfit
The witness's dress should be simple, but at the same time beautiful, not too flashy. You can consider a white version, but not floor-length and not made of satin/tulle, a lace version is acceptable.
- Do not choose too revealing outfits - a deep neckline and open back are not acceptable.
- It is better to use a pastel-colored outfit in which the use of rhinestones will be kept to a minimum. Avoid options with gold trim and other pronounced decorative details.
- We advise you to avoid heels, as you will have to run.
- If dresses of the same color are chosen for all bridesmaids, then the main one should choose a lighter option, this will allow you to stand out from the rest.
The witness should be beautiful, but still the background of the main character of the evening.
Wedding walk
It’s difficult to do everything in one day, so you need to clearly allocate time. It is better to organize a walk after visiting the registry office. If you plan to visit several beautiful places in the city, you need to create an optimal route to save time. A wedding walk in winter is best spent in a cozy cafe or photo studio.
Witnesses accompany the newlyweds everywhere. They make sure that the guests are not hungry, that everyone has glasses of champagne and sweets. The bridesmaid constantly monitors the bride's dress and helps to make it beautiful. She should have napkins, threads, a cosmetic bag, and spare stockings in her purse.
What are they needed for
On the wedding day, the groomsman helps the bride with her wedding dress and throughout the entire celebration monitors the bride’s appearance, adjusting her veil and, if necessary, makeup. And the friend must keep an eye on the bride’s shoe so that it is not stolen, and help the groom buy it back if this happens.
When the groom comes to pick up the bride, his friend and groomsmen participate in the bride ransom ceremony and accompany the newlyweds to the wedding and wedding ceremony. At a wedding they help to welcome guests, accept gifts and bouquets of flowers.
Witnesses and toastmasters help by making congratulatory toasts, funny speeches, entertaining guests, involving them in various competitions and games.
They are always the first and most active assistants to the presenter, regular participants in competitions, events, and dances. The mood of the newlyweds largely depends on their mood. If there is no toastmaster at the wedding, then the witnesses take on this role and entertain the guests.
At the end of the wedding evening, after the groom and the bride leave, all responsibility for seeing off the locals and accommodating the visiting guests rests with the friend. They must ensure that each of the invited guests has the opportunity to safely get to their home or hotel.
What to take to a wedding?
Guests bring gifts and good mood to the wedding celebration. For witnesses and young people this day is full of pleasant worries. If you don’t want to ruin your holiday with an unpleasant surprise, collect the necessary little things in advance.
You will need at least two bags. In the witness's purse you need to put:
- cosmetics, hair clips, hygiene items;
- money, mobile phone, band-aid;
- stationery.
In another, more spacious bag, you should put everything you need for the ceremony and wedding walk.
The list of required things includes:
- documentation;
- receipt of payment of the state registration fee;
- a folder in which you can put your marriage certificate;
- things for the ceremony: glasses, towels, rings, flower petals for sprinkling, cereals, coins;
- medications: ammonia, activated carbon, peroxide;
- needles, threads.
Required actions for assistants
During a wedding, folk signs and superstitions oblige witnesses to perform the following actions.
- The groomsmen hems the hem of the bride's dress with threads to prevent the evil eye and pins a pin for good luck.
- Under the threshold of the groom's house, the witness places an open lock. After the newlywed has transferred his wife, he closes it and gives it to the newlyweds, and throws away the key.
- Go everywhere first in front of the newlyweds, so that no one and nothing can cross their path.
- Prepare a white thread in case one of the newlyweds drops the wedding ring.
- Keep an empty box or cushion for the rings after the couple puts them on each other.
- Witnesses shout, “Sweet!” while others chant, “Bitter!”
- Kiss at the end of the wedding reception. This is how they insure the young and take upon themselves the possible negativity of someone present.
When hemming the hem and pinning the pin, the groomsman must be extremely careful and not prick anyone, otherwise the bridesmaid will have an unhappy personal life.
Appearance of witnesses
The bride thinks through her image down to the smallest detail: the veil, accessories, jewelry, flower arrangements and even the outfits of the witnesses must harmoniously fit into the main style and idea of a traditional and themed wedding.
For example, the color of the witness's dress should match beautifully with the witness's tie and shirt. The bridesmaid's and bride's outfits should be chosen in different tones and shades so that the girls do not look the same. In general, the image of the heroes should be restrained and laconic - a classic jacket, white shirt, trousers, the image can be complemented with a bright bow tie. Among the guests, this couple is distinguished by colored ribbons with an inscription or boutonnieres.
What are the persons called?
Witness identities are called differently depending on the country and region.
From the groom's side
Often the groom's witness is called the best man, which means "shepherd" in German. The name originated in ancient times, when the groom's friend would walk around the wedding cart in a circle, cracking his whip as he did so. It was believed that with this action he drove away evil spirits. Best men are common in Western and English-speaking countries, but other names are popular among the Slavs - friend, witness, boyar.
From the bride's side
As for the bridesmaid, she is most often called a groomsman or a noblewoman. Her main responsibility is to support the bride emotionally before and during the ceremony. Traditionally, the bride's main friend took her to the bedroom before her wedding night.
Help with banquets
Throughout the banquet, witnesses must entertain the audience and be the center of attention. At the wedding table it is necessary to monitor the newlyweds and help them. Don’t forget to respond “sweetly” to the guests’ cries of “bitter.” They are entrusted with the main mission - to keep an eye on the bride’s shoes and try not to lose them. Otherwise, the groom and best man risk getting the difficult task of kidnappers.
The wedding witnesses complete their important mission after they send the newlyweds home, after which they need to take care of the guests so that they get home safely.
Responsibilities of a bridesmaid in preparation for the ransom and its conduct
The ransom today is an important component of the wedding celebration. That is why its preparation should be treated with extreme care. Some brides hire a professional host to conduct the ransom. This is most likely not worth doing. After all, a witness can easily cope with these responsibilities. You should prepare for this procedure in advance. It is better to conduct the ransom according to a thematic scenario, since this will help the young people to relax and put aside their worries, and the guests will have fun. The witness can come up with a ransom scenario on her own, or she can find a ready-made version on the Internet . The girl should remember that most of the guests present at the wedding have probably already been to similar events, so it is better to choose original ones for both the ransom scenario and the competitions for it.
The props and costumes that will be needed to carry out the ransom are also the responsibility of the witness. Their preparation is her direct responsibility.
You should carefully prepare for the groom's meeting : learn the words, lay out the attributes that will be required for the competition program, and also mentally prepare the bride's relatives for the fact that they will have a comic fight. The witness must meet the groom, invite him to participate in competitions, and also collect as much money as possible from him for the right to go with his beloved to the registry office . Here, however, the main thing is not to overdo it, since there are cases when the groom reacted inadequately to the ransom procedure: he created a scandal, turned around and left, and so on. Therefore, before joking and showing persistence during the ransom, the witness should be sure that the hero of the occasion has good patience and a sense of humor.
