The Wedding Day is Drawing Closer
February 26, 2021
Métis words of wisdom and core values: love (shaakihiwayhk) – An open loving heart is highly valued in the traditional Métis way of life. Developing unconditional love for yourself, your family, community, nation, and for all of creation is important in order to create a healthy Métis community. Serving as role models and teachers, elders teach their grandchildrenhow to live in a loving way. The grandchildren will then know who they are and where they come from. Plan your wedding with love in your heart!
The To-Do List: 4 Months to the Wedding Day
You’re almost there! This journey can be both exciting and exhausting, which can result in you and your loved ones finding yourselves at odds with one another. It is a time that can reveal the true nature of those around you and stresses the importance of expressing feelings in a positive manner. Take this opportunity to show your gratitude for one another.
4 Months Out
Have Your Final Tasting with the Caterer
The final tasting provides you and your caterer with a final thumbs-up. This is especially important when you have culinary delights that are brought to life with locally sourced ingredients — a staple in Chef Brad Lazarenko’s kitchen.
Choose Your Cake
Sign me up! We’re sure that most individuals won’t have to be reminded to carry out this important task, however, for those without a sweet tooth, do consider the cake connoisseurs who will attend the wedding.
Buy Wedding Bands
You have now reached the stage where wedding bands should be selected. This is one of the most important purchases that you will make on your wedding planning journey, as the rings are perhaps the only items from your wedding that will be prominently displayed for years to come.
Select the Groomsmen’s Attire and Schedule Fittings Within the Month
Last, but certainly not least, are the fittings for the groomsmen. Similar to the bridesmaids’ dresses, their attire should be fitted within a month from now.
Hair and Makeup Trial
You do not want to see your beautiful white dress elegantly extend from the floor up to an outdated beehive perched atop an unnaturally painted face! We suggest you take this time to perform a hair and makeup test run.
3 Months Out
Order the Invitations and Hire a Calligrapher
The enduring beauty of exquisitely written invitations proves that these two steps are a must.
Create or Plan Your Menu
DO VISIT THIS WEBSITE LINK, AS THE FEAST TOOK PLACE IN NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR.
Wild Game Dinner | Métis Week Menu | Wild Feast (Métiscrossing.com)
Brainstorm Guest Favors and Gift Bags
If you’re looking for something truly unique to give to your guests, then you may want to consider the workshops that Métis Crossing offers. The hands-on craft-making experiences are a fun way to show your appreciation.
Book a Photo-Booth Rental
Since its inception, the photo booth has served as a beacon for capturing a moment. As time has progressed, this simple-shaped cubby has become a cultural staple that has provided friends and families with a space to pile on top of one another while making goofy faces, sharing a kiss, or showcasing their pearly whites, forever captured in memorable photos. Let your guests capture the sentiment of your wedding by reserving a booth today.
Write Your Vows
It’s time to write your vows. Thoughts can be sporadic, so this most certainly is a step that should not be left to the last minute.
Select Readings
Readings are passages from books — either religious or not — that are read to your guests during the wedding ceremony. This is an intimate selection that should be carried out with your fiancé to ensure that it represents both of your values.
Meet with the Officiant and Invite them to the Rehearsal Dinner
This is a good time to meet with the officiant to formally introduce yourselves and undergo a practice run before the main event.
Start Crafting Any DIY Items if You Haven’t Already Done So
As mentioned previously, Métis Crossing offers one-of-a-kind workshops that foster its participants’ creative spirits while creating items such as moss bags, trapper hats, and Métis ribbon skirts.
2 Months Out
Send the Wedding Invitations with RSVPs Due One Month Before the Wedding
The doors open, the music is playing, and as you walk down the aisle you realize that something is missing — your guests. Now, while this is an unlikely scenario, you could find that all the allotted seats have not been filled if you wait until the last minute to invite your friends and family.So, send out those wedding invitations in a timely manner.
Send Out Rehearsal-Dinner Invitations — They Can be Included with the Wedding Invitations If You Like
You’ve orchestrated this masterpiece and the rehearsal dinner ensures that everyone is on the same page, but only if you invite them.
First Dress Fitting
That’s correct, the FIRST dress fitting. A wedding dress is often the most talked about topic in any wedding, so you want to make sure that it has been designed and tailored properly, which means multiple fittings will more than likely be necessary.
Apply for and Get Your Marriage License
This is a crucial step in the wedding planning process, as the license provides the officiant with evidence that you are legally permitted to get married.
Buy Wedding-Party Gifts
There is not a pre-set definition of what wedding party gifts should be, so use your imagination.
Do a Floral Mock-Up with Your Florist
The day is here, your dress is elegant, your hair is just right, and your makeup WAS perfect until your mascara began to run down your cheeks while you sneezed from the allergy you didn’t know you had to tulips. If only you had performed a floral mock-up before the actual event. Now is the time.
Give the Song Selections to Your Band, DJ, or Ceremony
If you want to have that moment where you look at your spouse and say “This is our song”, then make sure the music players know what song that is.
1 Month Out
Assemble Gift Bags
Gather your bridesmaids and start assembling, as this, depending on the number of guests that you have, could take a while.
Pay Your Vendors in Full
Paying a deposit without rendering the rest of the payment for vendor supplies and services leaves you in a precarious situation that may result in one or more of them not following through on the big day. The best thing you can do is pay them in full today.
Create a Seating Chart
Creating a seating chart avoids the confusion and awkward moment when your Great Aunt Beth finds out that she is sitting next to her arch-enemy, Phyllis. Don’t do that to them — be prepared!
Order or Make Your Escort Cards and Place Cards
Remember Great Aunt Beth? Ordering or making your escort and place cards now ensures that your seating chart is adhered to.
Have a Final Venue Walk-Through
This is the stage where you confirm that everything meets muster —making any last-minute adjustments as you see fit.
Put Cash in Tip Envelopes for Your Planner/Delegate to Distribute
The image of a bride pulling a wallet out from somewhere inside her dress just doesn’t seem appropriate, so leave the tipping to the planner by providing them with envelopes with varying quantities of cash.
Final Week
The last threads of your wedding plans are coming together, so this the perfect opportunity to either finish your wedding vows or make any last-minute modifications.
Night Before and Day of the Wedding
Okay, now you can start panicking. Wait, no, you’ve got this under control. You followed your wedding plan which has led to these surreal moments — ones that will be filled with joy.
Métis words of wisdom and core values: respect (kishchitaytamik) – respect is integrated into all areas of life. Respect for the creator, mother earth, the living world, and oneself is paramount towards living in a good Métis way. Your wedding is the start of your life as a couple, living with respect for each other and building family values for future generations to follow.
