Who can be a junior bridesmaid? Generally girls aged 9 – 14, too old to be flower girls, too young to be bridesmaids, and too important to leave out. They are often siblings or children of the bride or groom, or very close friends or relatives. My girls were both bridesmaids at our wedding and it was lovely to include them in our celebrations.

No matter how pretty they look in their junior bridesmaid dresses, sometimes it’s difficult finding them enough to do so that they feel like legitimate, valuable members of the bridal party. How can you incorporate special roles to include your junior bridesmaid?

The Junior Bridesmaid Role

The actual job of junior bridesmaid has its own, small set of responsibilities. Juniors may participate in pre-wedding parties like the bridal shower (likely not the bachelorette of course) and depending on age, might help with some tasks like assembling favors and invitations.

Junior bridesmaid dresses are generally a modest version of the bridesmaid attire and the girls usually carry a similar bouquet to the adults, just smaller in size. Juniors attend the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, and at the wedding, they pose with the bridal party in photos, participate in the processional and recessional and stand with the party at the altar. Sometimes they are introduced with the bridal party at the beginning of the reception, and they may be seated with the adult attendants or with their families during dinner.

Greeting Duties

You can extend the traditional role of the junior bridesmaids by assigning them greeting duties. They are easily recognizable in their junior bridesmaid dresses as part of the wedding party so guests naturally gravitate towards them. They may welcome guests as they arrive for the ceremony, distribute programs and even help the ushers with seating.

Ceremony Roles

Your junior bridesmaids can participate in the ceremony in many ways. If your religious tradition involves gifts or elements, they could act as gift bearers. Some ethnic traditions call for a bell ringer to walk in before the bride, and a junior bridesmaid could certainly fulfill the bell-ringing role. If old enough, they might be readers and if they have special talents, they could perform as musicians or soloists.

When junior bridesmaids are the children of the bride or groom, it might be appropriate to plan a special ritual that symbolizes the joining of two families – kind of a like a unity candle for the whole new family. There are many joining rituals to choose from, although one involving a child attendant should not involve anything inappropriate for the age (sorry, no wine ceremony!).

Reception Responsibilities

Juniors can once again be helpful at the reception with guest seating. They can assist with finding escort cards, and locating tables and seats. They might direct guests to the gift table and card box, or invite people to participate in fun activities like photo booths.

You can include your juniors in your formal dances, especially if they are your children or siblings. During the parent dances, they could switch in and dance with one of you for a portion of the song. A very mature or confident junior bridesmaid could even propose a toast with a glass of sparkling cider.

If there is a young lady important enough to you as a couple that she will be asked to be a junior bridesmaid, it’s worth looking for additional and different ways to include her in your special day. Take some time to think how you can enhance her role and she can help add to the celebration and she’ll certainly feel honored to take part in your day.

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It seems like we are always trying to raise money for something, whether it is a friends baby shower, teachers present collection or a hen weekend, let alone fundraising for worthy projects, so there always seems to be a need to find a few coins or a £5 note in your purse. Unfortunately if you are like me (or the queen) you never seem to have spare cash in your purse .... usually because the children "needed" it for a school project or something or other. It is worse when you have the organisers instinct inside you (this may be me) and feel the need to take control but be totally transparent too. 

Can you really create an online money pot?

With us being able to do most things online now, it makes sense for you to be able to to pool funds together online rather than in crumpled up envelope in the bottom of a bag. This is where Leetchi.com is rather handy! Founded in Paris in 2009 (the same year as the Lilypad), Leetchi.com has quickly become the leading European fundraising website with over 7 millions of users. The platform is now accessible from 150 countries, in 4 languages and 2 currencies! Leetchi provides an easy, secure and inexpensive way for people to club together online for personal projects, nonprofits or group gifts.... basically anything and everything!

That all sounds great in principle but how does it work?

We have all seen adverts for products that say in just a few clicks you can get started but with Leetchi, this is really true. With just a few clicks anyone can create a personalised money pot and invite friends, supporters ... in fact anyone, to contribute. Contributions can then be made to the online money pot by simply using their individual credit or debit card. Once the target amount of money has been raised, the organiser can choose when and how they’d like to spend it.

Does it cost anything?

We are always looking for the most savvy options and so it is good to know that it is totally free to spend on partner sites or there’s a small 2.9 - 4% bank transfer fee. There is also the added benefit of being able to transfer the money pot directly to the beneficiary via email. It is as simple as that!

Is it easy to set up?

The whole process takes minutes to set up and if you are usually the one who wears the organisers hat like me, whether it’s charity sponsorship, a present, or contributions to a girlie holiday, then Leetchi is definitely worth looking into with help on how to raise funds online.

What are you waiting for?

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