Maid of Honor Duties

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 24x7, 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 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 do, specially if you are going to arrange a bridal shower for her.

Begin searching for bridal shops that have the desired bridal accessories that may be needed for the typical kind of wedding that the bride and the groom want. This will be necessary only if you do not wish to hire a wedding co-ordinator for making all the arrangements. In case, you are taking help from a wedding co-ordinator, you will be relieved of most of the arrangement burden and all you have to do is to maintain constant communication with the co-ordinator.

Next thing to be done is to start maintaining proper communication with the other bridesmaids as well as the groom's best man. The maid of honor has to be like a messenger for the bride, who will have to 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 has to be taken care of by the maid of honor.

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, at the same time manage about the bridesmaids' dresses too. Now, help the bride shop for the rest of the accessories such as wedding shoes, bridal jewelery, 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 the interiors of the reception, the bride will need your help and views. Also, as the maid of honor, you have to help the bride to 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 begin 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 be witness of 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 newly weds 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 the least, in fact, the most important duty of the maid of honor is to be a strong support for the bride, emotionally, especially when the bride wavers or becomes over-sentimental which happens a lot since the bride in under extreme stress of the wedding. She may confide in you with some of her deep and dark secrets. It is your utmost duty to keep them to you 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.