What exactly does a maid-of-honour do?

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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

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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

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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!