Page 30 - Wedding Essentials & Essential Groom Issue 7

THE ROLE OF A MAID OF HONOR
The maid of honour, usually a sis-
ter or close friend of the bride who helps the bride in planning and the running of the run up to the wedding day and the wedding day celebrations. There are various duties and ways to help the bride that comes as part of the role. In this article we will be listing the main tasks in- volved with being the maid of honour.
WEDDING PLANNING
As the maid of honour, it will be your duty to assist the bride in the planning of the wedding. This can be in the form of going to dress ttings with the bride or providing input on choosing the bridesmaids dress- es.
As the maid of honour, you will be leading the bridesmaids. It is your responsibility to ensure that the bridesmaids are all organ- ised. You can assist by getting the brides- maids together for ttings, make a day of it by looking for places you all can go to for lunch and refreshments while you move from appointment to appointment.
The bride may also need your assistance with choosing wedding colours or ideas
for who to use as a DJ and the like. As the maid of honour you can provide some much needed stress relief and calmness to the bride.
You may also be required to assist with the more hands on tasks such as writing wedding invitations, arts and crafts for the décor as well as assist with gathering the RSVPs from the invites.
THE HEN PARTY PLANNING
One of the main tasks entrusted to the maid of honour is the planning of the Hen party for the bride. You will take the lead in organising the event, consulting with the bridesmaids for ideas and nding out who
the bride would like to attend.
Sometimes, you may nd the need to plan two parties. One for the brides- maids and bride, and a more mature celebration that the mothers and older relatives can attend.
You may also explore the idea of or- ganising a co-ed party, which will be a bachelor and hen party in one. This is a great idea if you wish to avoid the cliché bachelor and hen party ideas, rather focussing on a collective cele- bration. If you choose this route, you and the Best Man can come up with some interesting and fun lled ideas together (taking some pressure off the both of you).
PRE WEDDING CHECK LIST
On the run up to the wedding, make sure the bridesmaids know what time they need to arrive, where everyone is getting ready and if there is anything they need to bring with them.
You can create a check list ahead
of time to help you cover all of the wedding day needs. An example of
this would be to plan for all kinds of weather, perhaps arrange that there are large umbrellas at hand should the weather turn rainy.
A bridal emergency kit is also good
to arrange ahead of time, including a needle and thread (incase any tares in dresses should occur), medicines (like asprin or painkillers), plasters (for blis- ters – the bride may be standing long hours in new shoes) and anything else you can think of that may be useful
in case of an emergency. Better to be prepared than not.
30 | Wedding Essentials