Wedding Vocabulary

DIY, ,MOH, STD what do all of these mean?  When you started your wedding planning I bet you didn’t know you would have to learn a whole new vocabulary.  Here is a quick guide to wedding jargon.

DIY, this acronym is most popular among the wedding set. It stands for Do It Yourself, sentences it can be used in include: “I am a DIY Bride”, “I intend to DIY my flowers”, And my personal favorite, “DIY is not always easy or less expensive.”

MOH, she is your rock, your shoulder to cry on and your confidante, I am of course talking about your Maid or Matron of Honor.  And please tell your groom to pronounce it M-O-H not MOE.

STD, a Mother of the Bride (ooh another acronym MOB) once saw me mention this in an email and she was scandalized because I wrote, Megan’s STD is coming next week.  An STD is a Save the Date, usually sent out about a year or more before the wedding date. And really it SHOULD have a better acronym.

OOT-No, this isn’t the word “out” in a Canadian accent, it stands for Out of Town, can be modified using the nouns Guests, Gift Bags or Wedding.

FOG, MOG, MOB, FOB, as you saw above MOB refers to Mother of the Bride, the others refer to the rest of the parental units-Father of the Groom, Mother of the Groom and Father of the Bride. Note: Most parents do not like being referenced this way.

BM, FG, RB, GM, these are the others participants in the wedding party-the BM is interchangeable between Bridesmaid and Best Man, so be specific when referencing, the others refer to wee ones-Ring Bearer and Flower Girl.  The last one while also a brand of car means Groomsmen.

E-Session, Some couples decide to take pictures before the wedding in a fun, casual way, these are often referred to as engagement pictures, and the E-session is where this occurs.  This article about a groom and an engagement session is pretty funny.

Trash The Dress, this is not what the catty ladies at table 19 are saying about the brides dress. Instead it is a way to wear your dress one more time for fun pictures that may include, walking the lakefront, sitting on a L-train or other ways of “trashing” your dress and bonus you get really COOL pics for your album.

DOC, Ahh the DOC the one that will make all of your wedding stresses go away, and not by telling you to take two aspirin and call me in the morning.  A DOC or Day of Coordinator is a person hired to oversee your big day.  In reality there aren’t any true DOC’s no one would be able to handle your wedding coordination stepping in that day.  Instead your DOC is more aptly named a Wedding Day Manager (WDM). The WDM may work with you the last few months or weeks leading up to your wedding.  Every wedding should have a WDM so the bride, the groom, the MOB, FOB, MOG, FOG, MOH and BM etc can enjoy the wedding that day.

It’s your turn to share with us your favorite wedding vocabulary words, and your definition of them.