Believe it or not, choosing your Maid of Honor and bridesmaids can be more complicated and difficult than you might think. Asking a dear friend or family member is a special honor, and it comes with a certain amount of responsibility, one that some may not be able to handle. The maid of honor is the head, chief, and main personal attendant of the bride for her wedding and wedding day. Therefore the maid of honor dress is typically slightly different from the rest of the wedding party, as is the maid of honor bouquet. Specifically, she is the primary attendant with the most honors and duties of the bridal party, and is considered the equivalent of the groom’s best man. They also have many responsibilities in this role that they may or may not realize. While each wedding and bride are different, the tasks will vary from wedding to wedding, but the basic tasks of the maid of honor are listed below.
Assistance with General Decision Making
While the bride and groom are responsible for making the majority of the important decisions regarding the wedding, the maid of honor is there to give opinions, offer support, and lend a hand wherever and whenever needed. This does not mean that she should stay glued to your hip from engagement to wedding! Phone conversations, email, and brainstorming girl’s nights are a great way to get another viewpoint without ruling your maid of honor’s life.
Planning Bridal Showers and Bachelorette Party!
This is probably one of the most fun parts of being the maid of honor! Coming up with fun bridal shower ideas and games, putting together guest lists and organizing parties is a huge part of their duties. Also, the maid of honor is expected to attend and help the bride by making notes while she is opening gifts on who gave what for thank you cards.
Assisting the Bride Before the Wedding
Whether it’s helping the bride scout out great locations for the reception, helping address and mail wedding invitations, calling for quotes, or even helping make some great wedding favors, the maid of honor should try to make herself available for whatever she can do to lighten the load of the bride. This even includes showing up before the ceremony to help decorate the ceremony and reception location, if needed. Another great idea, try to take the bride-to-be’s mind off of wedding details to help preserve her sanity!
Being the Right Hand Lady!
One of the most important responsibilities of the maid of honor is that she’ll be acting as the bride’s assistant and right-hand lady for whatever the bride needs on her wedding day. She does much more than just stand by the bride and hold her flowers during the ceremony. Helping the bride with her dress, hair and make-up, running messages to vendor and other wedding participants, typically the maid of honor is also one to sign the marriage license after the ceremony, secure any money given to the bridal pair during the reception, giving a speech during the reception if necessary, and being a point of contact for other guests are just a few of her possible wedding day duties. An important task of the maid of honor is the maid of honor speech she is expected to make at the reception. To help out with this, see my article on Maid of Honor Speeches.
After Wedding Duties
The maid of honorary typically is in charge of taking care of the wedding dress once the bride leaves, as well as any gifts that are left, and sometimes helping take down decorations and any other duties defined by the bride.
The duties of the maid of honor are usually vaugely defined since they differ from wedding to wedding. When they are poorly communicated, it can cause problems, so make sure you are upfront about what you need from your maid of honor, while understanding that she does have a life outside of your wedding. Remember, that no matter how much of a treasure your maid of honor may be, she still has limits, so treat her well.
Related Content:
- Maid of Honor Lives Too Far Away?
- Should my Maid of Honor Look Different?
- What are the Duties of the Best Man?
- Who Should Be My Maid of Honor?
- Maid of Honor Speeches
- Bachelorette Party Ideas
- Mother of the Bride Duties
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