Being the Maid of Honor is nothing short of a blast – while the job is certainly a lot of work, it is also a huge privilege! Make the honor less of a stress with our maid of honor’s survival guide.

The maid of honor is one of the most demanding positions in the bridal party. It is your responsibility to keep the bride cool, calm and collected throughout the whole wedding planning process. Any mishaps, misunderstandings, or problem areas are up to you to help her solve. No, I mean it – you are her go-to gal for all things wedding. You help with scheduling, planning, cake, food, drinks, reception, seeing the 85 dresses she tries on before she finds ‘the one’, and even staying on top of the unorganized groomsmen.

 

Photographic Memories by Tammy

Before you go running, relax. Although it is a job that comes with a lot of pressure, it is really kind of a fun responsibility. You get to help plan the whole wedding! Now I may be biased, considering I’m a wedding planner, but it’s the best job in the world! Trust me.

And lucky for you, we have narrowed down the most important roles for the maid of honor, and how you can totally excel at each of them!

Before the wedding:

Help with wedding tasks: Offer to assist the bride and groom in any of the pre-wedding tasks they need help with. This could be anything from addressing envelopes to coming to cake tastings! Offer your time and a lending hand to anything that might make the bride and groom’s lives simpler.

Keep the bridal party organized: As the head maid in charge it’s your responsibility to make sure the rest of the bridal party is informed about the time of any get-togethers, parties, fittings, etc. This can get tricky, because you never want to come off as overbearing or bossy, but be as informative and kind as you can be at all times!

Organize the bridal shower/bachelorette party: This should be fun! As MOH, you are in charge of planning both the bridal shower and bachelorette party. However, you are definitely not alone in this duty. Feel free to ask the bride’s mother, siblings, or other relatives for help with the bridal shower and/or bachelorette party if you feel comfortable doing so. As long as you make sure to spearhead the conversation aobut each, there’s no reason why you can’t collaborate with the other people close to the bride to make sure she has the best parties ever.

Keep track of gifts: At all the parties, and even the wedding itself, the bride and the groom are going to be way too occupied to take the time to record who each gift is from for thank you notes. Make sure you make a list at each of the gatherings leading up to the wedding so when it comes time for thank you cards, the bride and groom will be informed.

The day of:

Keep the bridal party organized: The day of the wedding is hectic even for the most organized group. Make sure that the bridesmaids have their dresses, shoes, jewelry, and flowers with them and make sure that everyone is getting their hair/makeup/manicures and pedicures done according to the schedule.

Maid of Honor Speech: Okay, we all heard Taylor Swift’s MOH speech at her childhood best friend’s wedding, but since most of us aren’t Grammy winning songwriters, our speeches probably won’t be as eloquent. To make sure you give a speech that will either have the crowd laughing or crying or both, start keeping notes of any inspiration you have for your speech AS SOON as you get asked to be the maid of honor. Start drafting the speech early so that you can read and reread it many times before the wedding. It’s important that you’re comfortable speaking in front of everyone at the wedding, and if you know your speech and all its jokes or anecdotes like the back of your hand, you’ll be golden.

Take care of the bride: This might seem like a no-brainer, but the bride’s wellbeing is so important, especially during the wedding. I’ve heard countless stories of brides who don’t even get a chance to eat because they’re so busy during the wedding day, so don’t let that happen to your bride! Make sure she is eating and drinking enough so that she stays hydrated and nourished. The last thing you want is a bride to pass out on the dance floor from hunger or dehydration!

At all times:

Keep the stress away: Even for the most organized or creative of a bride, planning a wedding and then executing everything the day of is very stressful. Make sure that as the MOH, you are doing everything in your power to keep the stress off. Brides can get very emotional and overwhelmed quickly, even if they are working with a wedding planner or have a long timeline to work with, so always offer your hand or your ear whenever needed.

And through it all, always remember that you are the person that the bride wanted to stand next to her during the most important day of her life, so chances are you already know exactly how to keep the bride stress-free and laughing. Have fun and cherish these times with the bride, so that one day she can repay the favor, or you can tell your kids (who will also be best friends, duh) about your wedding adventure together.

Be sure to check out our first installment of Roles & Responsibilities, and pass it on to all the bridesmaids you know!

Download our Printable Maid of Honor Duties Checklist