Maid of Honour Duties – 4 Key Responsibilities Prior to the Wedding

by Kathy Balski

Congratulations! You have just agreed to be a maid of honour, but you are not quite sure what you have gotten yourself into! Regardless of whether the bride expects you to plan her wedding alongside her or simply walk down the aisle, there are four important duties that you must fulfill in order to help keep the bride happy and healthy.

1. Be supportive: Listen, listen, listen! - In the wacky wedding world, you must be the bride’s biggest fan. There will be times when she is ecstatic after finding an amazing deal, and there will be times when she is inconsolable after arguing with her fiance about the wedding budget. This can potentially be a very draining responsibility, so be sure you do not spend all your time with the bride discussing the wedding. It is a good idea to encourage the bride to get outside and away from wedding planning. Take her for a walk, grab some coffee, watch a movie. You want to ensure that both you and the bride have time to relax and focus on other aspects of your lives, too!

2. Plan as necessary. – Not every bride wants her maid of honour to help plan the wedding, but the majority of brides want as much assistance as they can get! Double check with the bride to see how you can help out. She may want you to research and brainstorm ideas, or she may want you to visit different venues and vendors with her. Some ways in which the maid of honour typically helps include:

- Researching, visiting and selecting the ceremony and/or reception venue
- Shopping for the wedding dress
- Shopping for the bridesmaid dresses
- Paying for her own dress
- Researching, meeting with and selecting the: officiant, caterer, photographer, videographer, florist, and DJ
- Shopping for the invitations, decorations and favours
- Planning for and creating the gift registry
- Addressing wedding invitations
- Creating the seating arrangement

3. Organize events. – You and the other bridesmaids are responsible for planning and hosting the bride’s bridal shower and her bachelorette party. Typically, the budget is created by you in consultation with the bridesmaids, as all of you should pay for the parties. Planning each party involves similar duties:

- Decide on a budget with the bridesmaids
- Decide on a location, date and time.
- Send out invitations
- Select various games and activities to participate in throughout the party
- Buy light snacks and beverages
- Keep a record of the gifts received

In addition to hosting the bridal shower and bachelorette party, you must attend the ceremony rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner prior to the wedding, and, if asked, you should assist in planning it.

4. Prepare a speech. - At the wedding reception, you will most likely be asked to give a toast to the bride, so planning this speech in advance is certainly recommended. Your speech can include memories that you and the bride share, funny stories about the bride, your first impression of the groom, words of wisdom for the newlyweds, and anything else along those lines that you would like to share with guests.

Fulfilling these four key duties will make a world of a difference to the bride. They will demand your time and energy, but providing you stay focused in maintaining a healthy lifestyle outside of wedding planning, the work you put in will be well worth it. Good luck!

If you would like more information on bridesmaid duties, visit http://maidofhonour.wordpress.com/ For more information on wedding planning resources, visit http://www.wed-works.com.