The wedding day is no doubt a lot of excitement for female attendants and with dress fittings and hair and beauty appointments, it can be easy for fathers to feel left out in the build up to the wedding. While the father of the bride has traditionally taken a back seat in the planning, this is no longer the case. The role of the father of the bride has changed somewhat in recent years and more and more fathers are adopting a more hands on approach. You will probably find that the father of the bride is more than happy to get stuck in and help out with the wedding. Here are some useful ideas to get the most out of Dad:

Experienced Advice

Fathers have more often than not been through the process of getting married and their experience in this field should not be underestimated. While their wedding will have no doubt been quite different from the one you envisage, fathers can still offer advice on almost all aspects of the wedding planning, from money and budgeting, music and food. And while you may want to leave decisions on color schemes and decorations to the ladies in your wedding party (as they are usually the more stylish), an opinion from a guy can help – remember their will be men present at the wedding too and you will definitely want to tie the knot in and environment that the groom feels comfortable in.

Business and Organization

Dads are often great when it comes to organizing more major details, leaving you to get busy with the finer details that will add the finishing touches to your big day. One great way to get the father of the bride involved is to have him do background checks and reviews on locations and vendors you are considering. Why not give him a list of possible businesses you are considering using and ask him to check out their history, reputation and cost. He should be able to come up with a list of pros and cons for each vendor. This should help you to create a shortlist before you approach the vendor yourself, saving you precious time in the wedding planning process. On top of this the father of the bride can always take on the more menial tasks such as sealing invitations in envelopes.

The father of the bride can also be a great logistical coordinator, and is often a dab hand at making sure guests get directions to and from ceremony and reception venues. Even if you father is not the most organized, he will more than likely come through for you on the big day.

Crisis management

If the unthinkable happens and something does go wrong close to your wedding day, you will no doubt be able to rely on Dad to help out. Whether its shouting down the phone at florists and caterers who have messed up your order, or helping out with a few unexpected expenses, any assistance the father of the bride should hopefully remove a bit of the burden off the bride's shoulders and make her time a little less stressful.

One of the major and often a common role of the father of the bride is to try to calm any pre-wedding jitters or cold feet, providing emotional support for their daughter.

The father of the bride can take on a variety of roles and should be encouraged to join in with the wedding planning wherever possible.