Outlining the Responsibilities of a Maid of Honor
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What an honor it is to be asked to be someone’s maid of honor! Although you may feel special and on cloud nine, there are a lot of responsibilities that come with being a maid of honor that you need to be aware of.
As a maid of honor, you play a vital role in the bride’s journey to marriage. You will officially become the bride’s right-hand woman during the wedding planning process.
This post outlines the essential maid of honor duties and responsibilities that need to be followed to ensure the bride has an amazing and flawless wedding planning process.
Providing Emotional Support To The Bride
First and foremost, as a maid of honor, you are a friend, a confidante, and a support system. The bride would not have asked you to be her maid of honor if she did not think of you so highly. You will play a pivotal role in keeping the bride sane during the wedding planning process.
Wedding planning can be extremely stressful, especially if planning is a completely new process to the bride. She will inevitably experience moments of pure bliss, but also experience moments of complete frustration. If you have any experience with the wedding planning process or any sort of event planning, she will undoubtedly need your help.
Listen to the bride as she vents her thoughts and feelings. Support her in this process and try not to pass on any judgment as you are listening. There will be times when she needs solutions, and there will be times where she just needs to release her thoughts. Learn to understand the difference.
Prepare to offer a shoulder to cry on when necessary. As a maid of honor, you provide a different type of support than what she can get from her partner.
Cheer on the bride and help her celebrate the process. She booked a venue? Yay! Let’s celebrate! She finalized her guest list? Awesome, let’s get appetizers! Knocking small tasks off of the never ending wedding checklist is worth celebrating.
When the bride is stressed, keep reminding her of the journey that lies ahead. Soon, the frustrating planning process will all be over and she will have her happily ever after.
Planning the Bridal Shower
One of the most important parts as the maid of honor is to plan a bridal shower for the bride. You’ll need to get the contact information of each one of the bridesmaids in order to make this a success.
Keep the bride’s wishes in your thoughts as you begin the planning process. Does she have a specific date or month in mind of when she wants the bridal shower? Is she set on having a particular theme? Or, does the bride want every bit of the bridal shower to be a surprise?
Coordinate with the bridesmaids to solidify a few dates for the bridal shower. Once some dates have been suggested, begin looking at bridal shower venues and see if they have dates that line up with the ones you chose.
Each of the bridesmaids (including the maid of honor) is responsible for contributing financially to the bridal shower. If you’re lucky enough, members of the bride’s family will contribute as well.
Have the bride generate a guest list for the bridal shower. The maid of honor is responsible for mailing out the invitations and collecting RSVPs.
Decide on the menu or if you are having the bridal shower catered. Purchase or DIY decorations for the bridal shower and be sure to provide entertainment with bridal shower games.
Delegate tasks to the bridesmaids to ensure that you are not carrying all of the weight of planning the bridal shower.
Finally, coordinate a group gift (optional) for the bride from the bridesmaids.
Be sure to read my posts on bridal shower ideas for inspiration:
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Planning the Bachelorette Party
Back in the day, bachelorette parties used to be fairly easy to coordinate as they were as the title sounds, a “party”.
Now, it is more common to see bachelorette weekend trips.
Weekend trips can be totally fun and amazing, but it does involve more to get these coordinated.
Price can also play a huge factor in these trips. Your role as maid of honor is to find out what each bridesmaid is comfortable contributing.
If you are planning a bachelorette weekend, try to make the location drive-able. Airline tickets have been ridiculously priced lately and that could provide a financial strain to the bridesmaids.
If you are renting a house for the weekend, communicate with the bride to see if she wants to invite more people than just the bridal party. This could lower the cost per person.
Plan restaurant nights and other entertainment to ensure a fun bachelorette party.
Be sure to purchase and bring food to have for snacks or to not spend as much money dining out.
Gifts aren’t necessary for a bachelorette party, but some favors would be fun.
Find a theme that the bride likes and DIY or purchase decorations to create an ambiance.
Assist the Bride with Wedding Planning
An important role of the maid of honor is to assist with the wedding planning process. Volunteer to help the bride with whatever she may need.
One of the more fun jobs of the maid of honor is to help select wedding dresses. The maid of honor should attend wedding dress appointments to help the bride pick out her own wedding dress. Be sure to provide constructive criticism to the wedding dresses that she tries on, but also keep her feelings in mind and your strong opinions to yourself.
Assist the bride in picking out bridesmaids dresses. Begin your search online for great bridesmaid dresses that are affordable and have much variety. Try to find dresses that come in a variety of styles so that each bridesmaid looks and feels great in their bridesmaid dress.
Volunteer to help the bride with her wedding invitations or save the dates. You could help stuffing envelopes, writing addresses or creating address labels, and applying postage to the envelopes.
Become the Bride’s Personal Attendant on Wedding Day
On wedding day, your role as the maid of honor is to ensure the bride remains calm and composed and that the day itself runs smoothly.
Help the bride get into her wedding dress and put on her jewelry, veil, and accessories.
Always stay close to the bride in case she needs help with anything. There is always potential for a wardrobe malfunction or a makeup mishap, so be sure to keep a sewing kit, safety pins, stain remover, and makeup wipes on hand. Organize a bridal emergency kit to keep on hand with anything the bride or members of the bridal party may need.
Hold the bride’s bouquet during the wedding ceremony and be sure to give it back to her as she leaves the altar!
Always fluff the bride’s dress train. Always!
Maid of Honor Speech
Finally, you will need to give a toast to the bride and groom on wedding day, which is your maid of honor speech.
I have outlined suggestions and guidelines to write a stellar maid of honor speech in this post.
Be sure to read it carefully as you craft your maid of honor speech!
In conclusion, the role of the maid of honor is more than just wearing a cute bridesmaid dress and standing next to the bride during the wedding ceremony. Being a maid of honor can be a process that spans over one year or two years, depending on the length of the engagement.
Throughout the wedding planning process, you’ll need to be a support system, an efficient planner, and a reliable friend. Be flexible and make sure you are adaptable as this is a very fragile time for the bride. By following these guidelines, you are sure to create a wonderful wedding day for the bride and the newlyweds.
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