When you are making the transition from just thinking about a wedding to sealing the deal, it’s like you’ve been immersed in a whole new world with a whole new language to go with it. More and more people are crowdsourcing inspiration and vendors through the use of message boards, and when you venture onto them yourself, you will quickly realize that there is a code that is being used. Learning how to read through these message board responses and threads is tough when you don’t know what all of these acronyms stand for, but once you get the hang of them you’ll be part of the online wedding community in no time.
Wedding-Related Acronyms And Abbreviations
What does it mean when a desperate bride-to-be posts, “Augh, FH and FILs are insisting on an OTT church ceremony but I have my heart set on a DW.” At first glance, you may not know what these acronyms stand for and this sentence appears to be total gibberish.
For the record, the above turns into “Augh, Future Husband and Future In-Laws are insisting on an over the top church ceremony, but I have my heart set on a destination wedding.”
People who are going to have weddings are a frantic busy group, and after a while, it makes sense that the abbreviations are going to show up. Soon enough, you start with easy abbreviations like DIY for Do It Yourself, and then it becomes a lot easier to type RB and RD rather than ring bearer and reception dinner.
Wedding abbreviations reduce the amount of time that it takes to write up responses on forums, and you will quickly find that they are ideal when you are looking at posting from a mobile device. When everyone is on the same page regarding the abbreviations being used, wedding abbreviations can make conversations fly by. Everything requires less time and less effort to type, and you will quickly realize that the abbreviations are not that hard after all.
However, when you first get to a wedding forum, the abbreviations might feel a little dizzying. No matter how much you want to, you will not be able to get away from the abbreviations entirely, so here are a few to get you started.
Remember that MIL and FIL stand for Mother-in-Law and Father-in-Law. These terms pop up all the time, but you might see a lot of them in forums having to do with psychologically surviving the stress of your wedding.
BM and MoH stand for Best Man and Maid (or Matron) of Honor respectively. There are plenty of threads on the popular wedding forums about choosing your BM and MoH carefully and with consideration, and some of the threads unfortunately focus on what happens if you do not! In some cases, BM can also stand for Bridesmaid.
RB and FG stand for Ring Bearer and Flower Girl, and in these threads, not only will you find plenty of adorable pictures of cute kids, you will also find some great tips for how to keep little kids focused, how to make sure the ring does not fall off of the pillow and some of the best children’s wedding outfits around.
When To Avoid Wedding Abbreviations
After a while, you will be typing about your DH and your E-Party (Darling Husband and Engagement Party) along with everyone else, but every now and then, you might be wondering what you need to make sure that you are staying on the side of good taste. Wedding abbreviations are handy, but there are definitely times when you should avoid using them.
First, avoid them when things get serious. Weddings are happy, if stressful, times, but sometimes, when you go on the forums, you’ll find that someone has been struck by tragedy or misfortune. Life goes on, and as part of a temporary community, you will want to chime in and offer your help or your sympathies. When the time comes, avoid using wedding abbreviations. They are a bit flippant, they are a little cutesy and they have no place in a serious conversation.
The second place to avoid using them is in conversation with people who are not planning a wedding. If your friends offer to take you out for a night on the town, allowing you to get away from the wedding craziness for a little while, do not text them back stating that you are “so happy to get away from your FSIL.” They have no idea what you are talking about, and you are wasting valuable time that you could be out enjoying yourself.
Take a moment to think about the wide and wonderful world of wedding forums and to consider what abbreviations you need to learn. The list is a lot shorter than you might think, and when in doubt, you should always feel free to ask. People on wedding forums are very friendly and willing to help, and most of these acronyms are quite simple once you think about it!
All The Wedding Abbreviations You Need To Know
Abbreviation |
Meaning |
AHR | At Home Reception |
AI | All-inclusive |
BF | Boyfriend |
BIL | Brother-in-law |
BD | Baby Dance (used when attempting to get pregnant) |
BM | Best Man or Bridesmaid |
BP | Bridal Party |
CM | Certified Midwife |
DF | Darling Fiancé or Fiancée |
DFH | Darling Future Husband |
DH | Darling Husband |
DIY | Do It Yourself |
DW | Destination Wedding or Darling Wife |
E-Party | Engagement Party |
E-Ring | Engagement Ring |
FFIL | Future Father-in-law (sometimes written FILTB, or father-in-law-to-be) |
FG | Flower Girl |
FH | Future Husband |
FI | Fiancé |
FIL | Father-in-law |
FILs | Future In-Laws |
FMIL | Future Mother-in-law (sometimes written MILTB) |
FNF | Friends and Family |
FOB | Father of Bride |
FOG | Father of Groom |
FSIL | Future Sister-in-law |
FW | Future Wife or Fertile Window (used when trying to get pregnant) |
GF | Girlfriend |
GM | Groomsmen |
H2B | Husband-to-be |
HM | Honeymoon |
IHO | In Honor Of (Not to be confused with IMHO, internet speak for “In my honest opinion”) |
ILs | In-Laws |
JP | Justice of the Peace |
LDR | Long-Distance Relationship |
LTBM | Living Together before Marriage |
MIL | Mother-in-law |
MOB | Mother of the Bride |
MOG | Mother of Groom |
MOH | Maid of Honor or Matron of Honor |
MUA | Make-up Artist |
NH | New Husband |
NWR | Not Wedding Related |
OOTG | Out of Town Guests |
OOTB | Out of Town Gift Bags |
OTT | Over the Top |
RB | Ring Bearer |
RD | Rehearsal Dinner |
SAHD | Stay-at-Home Dad |
SAHM | Stay-at-Home Mom |
SAHW | Stay-at-Home Wife |
SIL | Sister-In-Law |
SO | Significant Other |
STBMrs | Soon To Be Mrs. |
STDs | Save-the-Date Cards |
TTC | Trying To Conceive |
WP | Wedding Party or Wedding Planner |