Maid of Honour Checklist
Aside from the bride herself, the Maid of Honour holds great power at a wedding. If you have been given this honour, this is the perfect time to exercise your inner drill sergeant. A Maid of Honour’s duties begin the moment she is asked to fill this role, so be prepared for months of planning, organising, smiles and support.
To ensure you master your Maid of Honour duties we have compiled a checklist of all your responsibilities required for the lead-up to the wedding.
1. Keep everyone in line
Whether it is ordering around the groomsmen on the day of the wedding or planning the bridal shower, keep a detailed schedule of anything wedding related. Dates of appointments, venues, times, anything and everything should be kept in your diary to ensure everything runs smoothly.
2. Be the point of call
Make sure everyone has your phone number and act as the point of call person. Be on call to answer any questions from guests, the wedding party or family members and take this pressure off the bride. This will help ensure her big day is stress-free.
3. Be on call (within reason)
Just because your friend is the bride doesn’t give her the excuse to treat you like her personal slave. While you should be there for support and to help the bride, if things are becoming unreasonable say something delicately. Remember, a wedding is a very stressful occasion with tonnes of emotions flying around, so don’t be alarmed if you see many colourful new sides to the bride. Just try to stay calm and relaxed.
4. Plan a perfect Bridal Shower
Plan the bridal shower according to the bride’s taste, not yours. Just because you think party games and full-frontals sound like fun, doesn’t mean the bride will agree. A fail-safe plan is to keep the event intimate, tasteful and stylish.
When it comes to the cost of this event, if the bride’s family isn’t paying, don’t feel obligated to fund this alone. That is not your responsibility. Ask the guests to contribute a small amount of money per head to attend the event – this is completely acceptable.
5. Monitor consumption
Enjoying a few glasses of champagne while getting ready for the wedding is standard behaviour. But it is your duty to try and keep the bride and bridesmaids to just one to two glasses, maximum. No one wants to see a wobbly bride or bridesmaid walking down the aisle. Ensure everyone is drinking plenty of water and don’t forget to eat.
6. Help the bride get dressed
You will be expected to help the bride get dressed on the wedding day, so don’t be alarmed at where you may have to poke and prod. Getting dressed can be a very emotional part of the day for the bride, so just being there for support will help her. Remember, a wedding dress is possibly the most expensive, elaborate dress she’ll wear in her life, so getting it on is no small task. Lay all accessories and jewellery out in advance to avoid any last minute panics.
Be on standby to help the bride in and out of the bathroom in the hours before the wedding and after the wedding. Prepare for a lot of lifting, fluffing, and rearranging to be involved!
7. Plan your speech
If you are not a professional public speaker, we suggest planning the speech in advance. Add nerves, drinks and the fixed eyes of an entire room and any seasoned speaker will feel the pressure of public speaking. Write down your speech on small notecards and don’t make it up on the spot.
8. Drop off any reception items
Depending on how the wedding is scheduled, you may or may not have time to prepare the reception between the ceremony and the guest’s arrival. Drop off items such as a registry book with signing pens, seating cards or favours to the reception venue so everything is prepared in advance.
9. Be the mediator
Depending on the family dynamics, you may or may not have to step in as mediator between the bride and groom’s family. Not everyone will be thrilled to be joined in holy matrimony on this special day.
10. Just smile
A Maid of Honour’s role can be very stressful, and we don’t doubt there may be times you wished you weren’t one. At the end of the day, just try to smile.
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