There’s a lot to do when you’re planning your wedding, so having someone lend a hand makes all the difference.
Traditionally a lot of tasks would fall to the Maid of Honour and Best Man, and even as wedding roles change, we’re sure your besties or favourite siblings will be happy to take on the Maid of Honour mantle and help you out. One of the hardest tasks might well be choosing who to nominate. Not only do you have to pick one person from your friend group without offending the others, but they also need to be reliable, organised and have time to help. So, before you ask them, it’s a good idea to read through the checklist of duties and decide which ones you’ll want them to take on. Then you can give them an idea of your expectations, and they can decline if they don’t feel up to the commitment.
Checklist of Maid of Honour tasks
Your Maid of Honour doesn’t just have duties on the wedding day. They stand by your side throughout the preparation as well. Some of the tasks you might want to do alone, or with your family instead. If you’re planning on having a larger group of bridesmaids stand by your side, then your Maid of Honour can share some of the jobs out among them.
1. Dress Shopping
One of the most exciting parts of planning is choosing the wedding outfits, and although attention usually focuses on the dress, we don’t see why you can’t make an occasion out of choosing your groomswear if you want to.
Most bridal shops will make a private booking for you to try on dresses. Your Maid of Honour will usually accompany you, along with siblings, your mother and your bridesmaids.
2. Bridesmaid Dresses
While the bride usually has final say in the bridesmaid dresses, it’s always polite to let your bridesmaids have some say in the clothes you want them to wear, especially if you’re asking them to contribute. But at the same time, the more bridesmaids and opinions you have, the harder it will be to pick something to satisfy everyone.
One of the duties of your Maid of Honour is to help you narrow down the options. Sort through your preferred colours and styles with your Maid of Honour, and then present your favourites to the rest of the bridesmaids.
3. Planning the Engagement Party
Engagement parties are not as common in the UK as other countries, but if you want to have one, go for it. Ask your Maid of Honour to help plan the details.
4. Planning the hen party
One thing we do enjoy in the UK is a hen party. Whether you’re planning a simple pub crawl, a weekend on a Greek island or afternoon tea and an evening art class, you’ll need help putting the guest list together and coordinating the activities.
5. Organising the bridesmaids on the day
If your bridesmaids are adults, you probably hope they won’t need much shepherding through the wedding. But it’s always useful to have one person to coordinate the details. Have your Maid of Honour take charge of the bridesmaid brigade, including answering any questions about what to wear, when to meet and so on.
If you have young bridesmaids and flower girls, your Maid of Honour will be able to liaise with parents or responsible adults to keep the day running smoothly.
6. Think outside the box
You don’t want to think something will go wrong on your wedding day, but the more you plan ahead the better. Have your Maid of Honour brainstorm anything you can think may come up. Have a box of umbrellas on standby in case of rain; prepare a bag for the bride with touch up makeup, a spare deodorant and be ready to spray fresh perfume. Your Maid of Honour is the ideal person to look after your emergency kit, as she’s right by your side all through the day.
7. Be your point of contact
This may be a job that is often shared with the Best Man, but it’s a great idea to appoint your Maid of Honour as the main contact for your suppliers on the day, as well as any family members of guests travelling in from afar. Then, if anyone can’t find the venue, gets stuck in traffic or can’t make it for any reason, they have someone to alert without distressing the couple.
8. Taking part in the wedding ceremony
Your Maid of Honour has a few traditional duties during the wedding itself. As well as helping you prepare and accompanying you to the venue, your Maid of Honour holds your bouquet during the ceremony, stands beside you in the receiving line and sits at the top table by your side. You may ask her to give a reading or a speech, alongside the Best Man. As your best friend, she is the one who knows just what to say about you.
There are plenty of ways your Maid of Honour can help make the wedding planning easier. You just need to work out your priorities and share out the duties. We know that half the fun is in the planning, so bringing your friends in to help just makes it all more enjoyable.
If you do get stuck with the planning at any point, don’t hesitate to give us a call. Our wedding coordinators are on hand to help couples make your wedding dreams come true at Coton House Farm.
