bridal party luncheon

kellycatalo

So, i guess i want to get your guys' opinion on this. i've only been in one wedding so i don't have much to go off of. when i was a BM in my MOH's wedding, she all took us out for lunch the day before the wedding. then afterwards we all went to get our nails done together.

i'd like to do something like this, but at the same time i feel sort of bad because the day before the wedding is a friday, and i don't want to make everyone take off an extra day of work. my MOH and another BM live about 5 hours away, so if they want to make it for daytime activities on friday, they will have to drive up here thursday night. my MOH is a nurse and she often works night shifts, so i think she might have to work thursday night in which case she would probably rather sleep til about noon and then drive up here in time for the rehearsal (6pm).

basically my question is: which would you prefer if you were a BM? would you rather have to take off another day but get treated to lunch and mani/pedi, or would you rather just have a normal work schedule and not have that?

and also, how common are these things? are you planning on having a bridesmaid luncheon? i figure that i will give my girls their presents at that time instead of at the rehearsal dinner itself, in the case that i do have something like this. basically i want them to have their own special time and feel honored, but i don't know how to do this with the distance in the way.

jessa1228

Personally, I wouldn't mind taking off work and being treated to lunch/mani/pedis, BUT that's because I only work part-time and if I request a day off, my boss just schedules me on a different day. I would imagine that's not the case for most people, so they may not be willing to take a personal day. I guess it really is going to depend on the flexibility of their jobs. They could always take a half-day too I suppose.

BMcLeodTeam

My situation is a little different, we are doing a DW. My girls will all be at the resort the day before, and the resort has its own spa so we are doing a spa day on the Friday

mamameech

Just ask them! We're prob doing a rehearsal lunch instead of supper because everyone will be here but we would have made a plan that suited everyone if that didn't work out. 

It's a great idea to have a lil get together pre-wedding; it can really build the excitement

junebug19

I'm always looking for a day off, lol, and if a mani/pedi & "girls day" came with it, that would be awesome! But I agree with mamameech, just ask them if they would like to/ are able to, even if they aren't able to take the day off they will probably appreciate you thinking of them (I would at least).
My wedding ceremony & reception site is kind of far from my house so I was thinking of finding a nice hotel nearby and having a girls night, hopefully there will be some kind of spa and we can get mani/pedis, and I was going to put together tote bags for each of them.

tclopes

I'm actually going to do a brunch w/ my girls this spring just so some of them can get to know each other (mix of family & friends) and a thank you for all they have done for me.  I think it's a nice gesture and I like the fact it's not the day before the wedding since things might be a little busy during that time.  I got the idea from my sister-in-law who did the same thing and I thought it was really nice to get together and thoughtful.

AriesAngel86

It probably depends on their situations, but when I've been in weddings I expect that I will take the day off the day before for nails/lunch/rehearsal dinner. 

DirtyWater

I've been in a few weddings and they didn't have a brunch or lunch.  What one of them did was have a bachelorette day, two weeks before the wedding..  It started at 10am for breakfast, shopping, the spa, dinner and then out for the night.  They invited everyone who was invited to the wedding pretty much and anyone could attend whichever part they wanted.  It was a bit much.

SCogs18

I lost my job a while back, so it's no problem for me to take a day, but when I did have my job taking a friday off was a huge deal.  There is no way I could have gotten a Friday and a Saturday off unless I absolutely HAD to.  The company only had three store empoyees and my boss was a major b!tch.

I'm not doing a bridesmaid lunch.  Two of my bridesmaids don't get along and a third is flying from London the day of the rehearsal and wouldn't arrive in time for a luncheon anyway.  The others are a thrid year law student who would have to miss class, a first year accountant (my wedding is during "Busy Season") and the other is still in college.  It's not practical for me, but I think it's a cute idea.  Just don't make it "mandatory" and put people in a tough spot.

kellycatalo

hmm thanks for the info guys. it seems like it's not so much of a requirement as i thought it was. i think i'll just need to ask them all once it gets closer to the actual time. i know one of my BM's is going to be graduating in May so she may or may not have started work by then.

i guess i sort of figure they will be willing to take an extra day though because 2 of my BM's were in my MOH's wedding with me (when we had this bridal luncheon), and had to take a day off (i had to too). but i was so excited i didn't mind. i'm just hoping they will be as excited for my wedding as they were for my MOH's, but i guess i can't count on that.

thanks for the feedback!

smartlypretty

I wouldn't have minded taking the day off for a friends wedding. Just make it optional and if a BM can't come she can meet up after work at the rehearsal.