Wedding etiquette for divorced parents of the bride
A wedding should be a happy time for a family, and yet when the bride’s parents get divorced, it can also become a stressful occasion. It is not only the bride who has to handle difficult family situations, but also her parents. To help make everything as smooth as possible, take a look at the wedding etiquette guidelines for the divorced parents of the bride.
When the bride’s parents have divorced, it is often difficult for the bride to reconcile her vision of the “perfect” family she believes is a part of everyone else’s wedding with the more challenging reality of her own family situation. It is important that the father of the bride recognize this and do his best to be sensitive to her daughter’s feelings. This may well mean putting her feelings before yours during the wedding to minimize conflict and stress for the bride’s sake. Even if the divorce was not amicable, it is imperative that the father of the bride try to get along with her mother and her stepfather, if any, at least during the time of the wedding.
The involvement of a divorced father of the bride in his daughter’s marriage will largely depend on the type of relationship they have had over the years. There are traditional roles that the father of the bride often fills, particularly when it comes to paying for the wedding and walking her down the aisle. In many cases, the bride will want her father to do these things, even if they haven’t been that close over the years. Of course, when it comes to opening her checkbook, the father of the bride also has to use his own discretion and make a decision about whether or not he can finance a wedding and, if so, how much he says he . he hopes to have in the planning process.
One of the most emotional questions for a bride with divorced parents is who should walk her down the aisle. Etiquette says that the father of the bride should let her make her own decision without pressure or guilt. When the bride’s divorced father was not the main father figure for her growing up, she may feel that her stepfather is a more appropriate companion. On the other hand, feeling and tradition tend to prevail when it comes to a wedding, so the bride may well prefer that her natural father be her companion, even if they have not always been close to her.
There are a few things that the father of the bride should always plan to do, divorced or not. It is customary for him to stand and toast briefly during the wedding reception. The key is to keep it short and upbeat. If he hasn’t been very involved in the bride’s life, he shouldn’t mention that fact; everyone here probably knows all about it anyway. You should stick to the kind platitudes about how happy you are for the newlyweds and how beautiful the bride looks. When the father of the bride shares some special childhood memories with his daughter, one of those might be a sure thing to include in the toast.
Parents of the bride often give their daughters special gifts of wedding jewelry to mark the occasion. If a divorced father isn’t sure about her daughter’s taste in wedding jewelry, he needn’t be ashamed to ask her what gifts she would like best. Hopefully, when all is said and done, the wedding will be a time where a father and daughter can grow closer, regardless of what their previous relationship has been like.