So, your best friend asked you to be her maid of honor! As fun as this job is, it’s also important to remember that it comes with responsibilities—every bride is different in how much help she wants, but we thought it’d be helpful to cover some of the typical Maid of Honor duties on the blog (other than the bachelorette party, of course!). Helping plan your best friend’s wedding is a memory you’ll cherish forever, so it’s best to know what to prepare for going in!
Before the Wedding
We always think it’s a good idea to have a conversation with the bride about her expectations. Some brides may want you to be fairly hands-off, while others may want you heavily involved in every step! Check with your bride so you’ll have a good idea of what to expect.
Once she’s picked her bridesmaids, get contact information for all of them so that planning is easier down the line. After getting a few dates from the bride, send out a survey for weekends that work for the bachelorette party, so you can find something that works for the majority of the group. It’s also a good idea to talk about budget—you don’t want to plan an entire destination trip to Mexico only for girls to pull out because they can’t afford it.
If your best friend is making anything DIY (invitations, centerpieces, decor, etc), you’ll likely need to help out. Make it fun! Bring a bottle of wine and have a girls night while you stuff envelopes or arrange flowers.
More than likely, she’ll want you to come along to pick out her wedding dress. Make a day of it! Find a cute spot for lunch before or after your appointment to stretch the day out and make it that much more special.
Most importantly, familiarize yourself with the details of the wedding—it’s great to be a point of contact for the other bridesmaids (and sometimes even guests) to ask questions so that the bride can focus on planning.
Day of the Wedding
Pack yourself a little bag of emergency necessities—think safety pins, tissues, water, deodorant—for any unforeseen hiccups throughout the day. Most likely, things will run smoothly, but it’ll alleviate some stress to know you’re prepared just in case.
Morning of, you may need to run a few last minute errands to get everything ready, whether it’s taking centerpieces to the reception venue or running out to get snacks for the bridesmaids.
While getting ready make sure the bride eats something. It’s common for brides to get nervous and forget to eat or drink with how hectic the day is, so make sure you get her to take a little break and eat something.
Find a good keeping place for the groom’s ring, but make sure it’s somewhere easily accessible so you don’t have to fumble around during the ceremony when it’s time.
After the Wedding
If the bride needs any help cleaning up, moving gifts, or any other miscellaneous post-wedding errands, you’ll likely need to lend a helping hand. Other than minor clean up, you are more than likely off the hook for wedding support.
While it comes with responsibility, being a Maid of Honor is fun! You get to be involved in every step of planning the wedding, sharing in your friend’s joy and supporting her through one of her most important life milestones. It’s important to remember that through this whole process, you’re also there for stress relief—planning a wedding is stressful, so it’s good to make sure the bride is relaxing sometimes. Plan a few non-wedding related girls’ nights throughout so you both get a little break!