How to Be a Great Maid of Honor

It is always such an honor to be chosen as someone's maid of honor for their wedding, but there are a lot of responsibilities that go along with it.

The Wedding Shower:

It is up to the maid of honor to make sure that their bride has an excellent, well coordinated wedding shower. In many cases, members of the bride's family will set up the wedding shower, but if they do not, it is the maid of honor's responsibility. The maid of honor should decorate the venue of the wedding shower, come up with a few games to play, and of course have prizes for the winners. The maid of honor will also hand the bride her gifts, and keep a list of what gift came from what person, so that the bride can send out thank you notes later.

Wedding Invitations:

Your bride may ask you to help her pick out or design the wedding invitations. In today's day and age, many people create and print invitations from their home computer, while some people still opt for the more traditional route of having the invitations printed professionally.

Party Favors:

Whether the bride wants rice, birdseed, bubbles, balloon or some other party favor for the end of the wedding, it is your responsibility to make sure they look lovely. Usually the party favors will have some ribbon on them and in most cases display a little tag that has the newly married couple's names on them.

The Wedding Day:

On the day of the wedding, the maid of honor should get up very early and start getting ready for an eventful day. The maid of honor should be at the bride's side helping her with anything the bride needs. The bride will need help getting the dress on, getting her hair and makeup done, and may need other things such as a drink or a snack.

When the time comes for the bride and groom to recite their vows, the maid of honor will be asked to hold the bride's bouquet. The maid of honor will walk down the aisle with the best man in arm. In most cases the maid of honor will also be a witness to the wedding, meaning that they will have to sign the marriage license as a witness. The maid of honor along with the rest of the wedding party will then need to stick around for thousands of pictures.

At the reception, the maid of honor should have at least one dance with the best man. The wedding party will sit together at their own table, and the best man and the maid of honor may be expected to make a toast at this time. Tell the guests of the wedding how much the bride means to you and wish them the happiest marriage they could possibly have.

Wedding Gifts:

At the wedding reception, most people will bring a gift. The maid of honor should assist the bride and groom with keeping a list of what gift came from what person, just as she did at the wedding shower.