What exactly does a maid-of-honour do?
2022-09-16


What exactly does a maid-of-honour do?

Source: Katelyn MacMillan on Unsplash

If you’ve been selected as someone’s maid-of-honour, congratulations! Whether you’re her best friend or sister, you are now the bride’s right-hand-woman.

Naturally, you may have some questions about your role and responsibilities on the wedding day as well as the time leading up to it.

Read on to find out how to nail your new responsibilities!

The Modern Maid-of-Honour

It’s thought that the tradition of having a maid-of-honour can be traced back to Ancient Rome. Historically, her role involved helping the bride get dressed—and distracting evil spirits or village men that would like to thwart the bride’s special day.

She and her bridesmaids would dress to the likeness of the bride so that the ‘evil spirits’ believed to haunt wedding ceremonies would not know the bride from her maids. The confusion also deterred very real complications: men that may have been jealous of the union and would try to kidnap the bride.

As you may have guessed, the modern maid-of-honour duties look a little different.

They normally include:

1. Leading the bridal party
2. Planning the bachelorette party
3. Handling DIY projects

4. Answering guests’ queries

5. Be the bride’s best friend

Leading the bridal party

What exactly does a maid-of-honour do?

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The maid-of-honour is in charge of keeping the bridesmaids up to date and organised. Instead of overwhelming the bride, the bridesmaids may come to you for queries concerning the events or their roles.

Planning the bachelorette party

Although wild ‘prototype’ bachelorette parties have become the mainstream thanks to movies and social media, think about a bachelorette party the bride would really enjoy. Maybe she would love a crazy night of fun, or prefer a cozy setting with her closest friends. Have an initial conversation with her before you go on to plan the events or reach out to guests.

Prepare to handle lots of logistics, like coordinating budgets, possible hotel stays, vendors and calendar dates!

In some cultures, bachelorette parties may take a different form. For example, many Indian or Desi weddings include a ‘henna’ party, in which the bride and her close female friends and relatives get together for an evening of fun while she gets her intricate henna work done.

Talk to the bride about her cultural and personal preferences to see how you can accommodate the event planning and be the perfect guest!

Handling guests’ queries

What exactly does a maid-of-honour do?

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The maid-of-honour may also serve as the point of contact or middle-(wo)man for any questions guests’ may have about the wedding day, such as whether the bride is accepting gifts or the dresscode.

Most likely, the bride would already be overwhelmed with wedding planning, and answering small queries from friends or colleagues may only pack on the stress—that’s where the maid-of-honour steps in!

Be the Bride’s Best Friend

Most of all, remember to have your friend’s back!

Between each appointment and wedding decision, the bride may need her best friend’s support and warmth to keep her going until the big day. Make sure to check up on how she’s doing, and most of all—ensure you’re both having fun!

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