This blog post was originally published by Maine wedding officiant Maria of A Sweet Start. For more great wedding day tips and marriage advice, check out her profile!

***

Are you looking for ways to honor special people in your life with roles during your wedding? It's common to choose bridesmaids or groomsmen or bridesmen and groomsmaids to stand with your during the ceremony. Of course, most people choose their very dearest friends and siblings for this honor, but what if you have a huge family and a ton of friends? How can you include them and make them feel special? Here are a few ideas for including those special people in your wedding.   

• Usher - the person(s) responsible for assisting the elders, or just special people, to their seats. traditionally groomsmen do double duty as ushers, but think about picking other folks to be ushers if you want to include more people.
   
• Ring Bearer - the person responsible for the ring and can guide the ring through the ring warming, if you doing that. this doesn't have to be a young child anymore.
   
• Flower Girl - this person goes down the aisle right before the bride (in a traditional wedding) and drops flower petals for her to walk on. aw! again, this doesn't have to be a young child. 
   
• Greeter - this person can greet the guests, answer any questions about the seating/ceremony, and hand out programs. it's nice to have at least two greeters.
   
• Reader - someone who comes up during the ceremony to read a poem or other bit of writing. typical topics: love, marriage, friendship, family, the couple's love story.
   
• Singer - a person with a great voice, who has sung in front of crowds, who sings you a lovely song during your ceremony.
   
• Musician - a friend or family member who is a professional musician to play your processional and recessional music.
   
• Huppah Holder - if you're having a huppah, you can choose four special people to hold the corners of the structure. this is a great way to include a lot of people in your wedding! 
   
• Candle Lighter - if you're having any candles on your "altar," use someone to come up and light them before the ceremony begins. 
   
• Witnesses - in maine you need two people to act as witnesses to your wedding who sign the marriage license after the wedding. witnesses can be anyone, of any age, as long as they undertand the implication of a marriage
   
• Map Holder - consider having someone hand out maps or directions to the reception site after the ceremony. 
   
• Water Boy/Girl - this person ensures the couple getting married always have and regularly consume water during the wedding day. it's crucial the couple stay hydrated throughout the day and they often forget to drink water.
   
• Point Person - sometimes it's nice to assign someone the role of point person for all your wedding vendors. this should be a very responsible person who knows your wishes and can make decisions for your so you're not bothered during your wedding. it may seem more like a job and less like an honor but: 1) you need someone to do this if you don't have a wedding planner, and 2) it really is an honor since that person is in charge in your stead. 
   
• Gift Monitor - the person who makes sure the gifts get to your after the wedding. many couples forget to assign this job to someone and then have to scramble at the last minute to make arrangements for gifts, especially if you're leaving for your honeymoon the next morning. 
   
• Guest Book Monitor - this person stands at your guest book and encourages people to fill it out. this is especially important if you have a unique guest book that requires a little more work than just a signature.
   
• Candy Station Monitor - this lucky person gets to help the party-goers with their candy fix. 
   
• Dance Starter - i can't underestimate the role of this person. getting the dance party started must be assigned to someone. once one person stars everyone else will feel comfortable getting out there. 
   
• Tip Giver - consider assigning someone the job of handing out the tip envelopes to the vendors near the end of the reception. i had all the tips in sealed and labeled envelopes so it was a pretty easy job, but somone needs the responsibility so you don't have to worry about it. 

Do you have any other ideas for including people in your wedding? Leave your ideas in the comments over on A Sweet Start's blog post!