How to Be a Maid of Honor
You are SO excited that your friend picked you to be her Maid of Honor (MOH)!! But wait, now what? What are you supposed to do as a MOH? How do you help? Where do you begin?
Well, obviously this role is going to change, depending on the bride and the couple. For example, I was a co-MOH in a wedding, so I did some things and the other MOH did other things. And we both helped out the bride wherever we could! That said, it’s nice to have an idea of what is in store for you. So here you go!
- Go shopping with the bride. While some guides indicate that this is just shopping for the dress, I think this includes all areas of shopping – for invitations, favors, centerpieces, decorations, or anything else that the bride wants help deciding.
- Communicate and delegate to other members of the bridal party. The bride doesn’t want to have to call everyone or have to repeat everything; the MOH should be able to do that for her.
- Plan a bachelorette party/wedding shower. Make SURE that your bride wants one, though! Some brides aren’t into it and won’t be pleased to have to attend one or both.
- Sign the marriage license, along with the best man. Again, this depends on the couple and the laws and whose names the couple wants.
- Hold the bride’s bouquet during the ceremony.
- Adjust the veil, wipe tears, and generally keep the bride calm.
- Participate in the dance with the best man, assuming they do that.
- Give a speech at the wedding reception. And if you want some tips, here they are!
- Make sure the bride eats, dances, and HAS FUN!
If you want to go above and beyond, here are some ideas for things you can do to be that much nicer!
- Create a photobook of all of the activities and planning from before the wedding & ask the bridesmaids to sign it also.
- Make a slideshow for the rehearsal dinner.
- Have an emergency pack of q-tips, lotion, bandaids, cameras, and anything else you can think of that the bride might want, but forget on the day of!
- Give a photo album where the bride can collect photos from all the guests after the wedding.
You can also check out pictures of real bridesmaids to see how others held up on the big day! If you have other responsibilities that I’m missing, let us know!
~ Natasha
Best Man Survival Guide
Lenicam
Laura Taylor
Eugene
Alouise
I am going to plan my best friend’s bachelorette party. She said it was ok to get a male stripper and hired him. Here’s the problem… My husband doesn’t like the idea of me going to a party where there is a male stripper. I can not attend because I am the maid of honor. I would like some opinions on what is the best way to handle this, or what I should do. Thanks in advance for your help!
That’s definitely an interesting situation. What do YOU want to do? Does it bother you too? Or only your husband? What if you attend for only part of the bachelorette party or maybe go into another room while he is there?
could you talk to the bride about having a male stripper there? it sounds like she is “okay” with it, but that she doesn’t have to have one. maybe she’d be willing to let it go so that you wouldn’t be in such an awkward position.