The maid of honor is the most important of all the bridesmaids since she has to take care of many wedding activities before and during the celebrations. The maid of honor has to be with the bride for almost 24×7 after the wedding date is decided. This is because the bride needs assistance in every chore that has to be arranged for the wedding. She needs a helping hand or, sometimes, a second opinion which she trusts her maid of honor to give her, without holding back the truth. The maid of honor is the bride’s right-hand lady and needs to accomplish all the maid of honor duties on the wedding day, but most importantly, before that day too.
List of Maid of Honor Duties and Responsibilities
Once you are appointed as the maid of honor by the bride, it is suggested that you maintain a record, on your mobile or in a notebook/diary (whatever you carry with you always), of the maid of honor duties checklist.
Discuss with the bride about the kind of wedding she wants. This will give you an idea of what preparations you will need to make, especially if you are going to arrange a bridal shower for her.
Begin searching for bridal shops with the desired bridal accessories that may be needed for the typical wedding that the bride and groom want. This will be necessary only if you do not wish to hire a wedding coordinator to make all the arrangements. If you are getting help from a wedding coordinator, you will be relieved of most of the arrangement burden, and you must maintain constant communication with the coordinator.
The next thing to be done is to maintain proper communication with the other bridesmaids and the groom’s best man. The maid of honor has to be like a messenger for the bride, who must communicate well with the bride’s and groom’s parents, friends and relatives. As her maid of honor, you will have to throw her a bridal shower and buy her a gift for the same. Also, a bachelorette party is an expected affair that the maid of honor has to take care of.
Then comes the wedding shopping. This aspect needs a lot of patience and attention on the maid of honor’s part. Again, the most important sub-aspect of wedding shopping is the bridal gown. You have to be with her every time for her bridal gown trials and give her honest opinions about the dress. You have to suggest any alterations if required, and at the same time, manage the bridesmaids’ dresses too. Now, help the bride shop for the rest of the accessories, such as wedding shoes, bridal jewelry, bridal makeup, etc. Book a hair stylist or a make-up artist for the wedding day.
The wedding decorations and wedding catering arrangements will have to be looked into by the maid of honor. While deciding the venue, menu, and interiors of the reception, the bride will need your help and views. Also, as the maid of honor, you must help the bride sort out the guest list, rehearsal dinner, and wedding invitations, seating arrangements, etc.
The rehearsal dinner is another important event for the bride and the groom. The maid of honor is supposed to look out for any minute details that may have been missed out initially and help the bride to fix them before the wedding day.
The very important wedding maid of honor duties begins on the wedding day when you will have to escort the bride everywhere, help her to get ready, help her put on her dress and makeup, take her to the beauty salon if needed and the most important of all, is to take care of the groom’s wedding ring. You will also witness the marriage and, during the marriage, will have to perform traditional maid of honor duties like holding the bride’s bouquet, handing her the ring, straightening her gown, taking care of the bride’s possessions and gifts, etc. During the wedding reception, you will have to deliver a speech in honor of the newlyweds and make a toast to them. You will have to think a lot in advance about the maid of honor speech ideas and prepare a short and sweet speech.
Last but not least, the most important duty of the maid of honor is to support the bride emotionally, especially when the bride wavers or becomes over-sentimental, which happens a lot since the bride in under the extreme stress of the wedding. She may confide in you with some of her deep and dark secrets. Your utmost duty is to keep them to yourself and not reveal them under any circumstances. The bride needs assurance about her marriage, and as her maid of honor, you have to ensure that she feels gratified about it by performing all your maid of honor duties with devotion.
