Maid of Honour Duties: A Complete Checklist

Being a Maid of Honour (MOH) is one of the most beautiful privileges of friendship, sisterhood, or being a loving family member. 

However, it also comes with much responsibility and high expectations from the bride. Here, we share our checklist of Maid of Honour duties to ensure you don't disappoint your BFF (best bride forever).

Be Prepared to Listen

Listening skills are likely one of the reasons you've been asked to be the MOH. You've been there for the bride through thick and thin, sharing her highs and lows and providing a shoulder to lean on. 

Preparing to listen to the bride's challenges and offer support, tea, and sympathy helps make the wedding planning experience more effortless.

Help Her "Say Yes to the Dress"

Chances are you'll be involved in dress shopping. You must be honest yet gentle to help the bride find the wedding gown of her dreams. 

Be on her side when others involved in the process are less than enthusiastic with her choices, and help ensure she gets her way. 

Manage the Bridesmaids

MOHs must be organized and ready to reign in the bridesmaids for all sorts of things. 

From planning the bachelorette to bridal showers and choosing the wedding party dresses to keeping everybody on the same page the day of, you need to manage the bridesmaids with diplomacy and finesse. 

Also, please make the most of your gang of besties so you can enlist them for help, such as RSVPs, planning showers and the bachelorette, running errands for the bride, etc.

Help Find Even Ground on the Wedding Party "Look"

It just takes watching "Bridesmaids" to understand how complicated it can be to get the right look for the wedding party. 

Your job is to help find even ground so everyone is comfortable with their dresses. Still, more importantly, the bride gets the look she has always envisioned. 

Be the Guest Liaison

The bride has enough on her plate without worrying about silly questions from guests. Your job is to pick up the flack and provide your contact information on the Save the Date message so guests have someone they can reach out to and discuss annoying details like food allergies. 

Be prepared for a lot of back and forth, and set aside some time to manage the questions. 

Tip: This might be a good job to share with the bridesmaids. 

Know the Gift List Inside and Out

As part of liaisoning, make sure you keep a gift list handy to keep track of registries, etc., as you're sure to get many questions about gifts!

Tip: Make sure you know what the couple needs, so you can recommend them should guests ask what to get. 

Plan the Bachelorette

You'll need to include the bridesmaids for this job. But summon your patience, diplomacy, and creativity to pull it off. There will be much input and controversy, so you need to find a solution that, first and foremost, makes the bride happy. 

It would be best to have the proper bachelorette party venue in Vaughan where you can have fun, enjoy some excellent food, and create a customized cocktail in honour of the bride. 

You want a one-of-a-kind event that resonates with the bride and creates memories you'll all cherish for life.  

Help Plan the Rehearsal Dinner

Rehearsal dinners are another big pre-wedding event where you must lend a hand. The rehearsal dinner can be stressful as the bride has to contend with two separate families, potential conflicts and differing expectations. 

Again, choosing the best bachelorette party venue in Vaughan and helping to recommend a lovely rehearsal dinner venue where the menu can be customized and managed helps make this special occasion run smoothly so the bride can enjoy herself.

Keeping Things Calm on the Wedding Day

Once the big day arrives, your job is to ensure the bride arrives at the ceremony looking lovely, calm, cool, and collected. 

Maintaining peace is a challenging task as you have your own preparation. If the couple chooses a venue for both the ceremony and reception, it helps to find one that provides a private suite for the couple. 

The suite can be the bride's domain pre-ceremony so that you can coordinate things like hair and makeup for the bride and bridesmaids. If not, plan something at the bride's home, and ensure transportation arrives at the designated spot to collect the wedding party on time. 

Coordinate the In Between Time from Ceremony to Reception

A great way to make this often frantic moment between the ceremony and reception easier is to ensure you have all the contact info for the vendors. You can work with them or the wedding planner to ensure everything is ready for a smooth transition. 

Again, it's easier for everyone if the venue has some bridal suite or private area where the couple can arrive and enjoy the moment. They need somewhere to refresh themselves with a glass of champagne and where the bride can reapply her makeup before she makes her grand entrance.

Tip: Put together a bridal emergency kit with her makeup, a nice spritzer to help cool her and the groom down and some little troubleshooting items like bandages, a needle and thread for "costume malfunctions," some pain killers for unexpected headaches, super adhesive glue for broken heels, tummy meds for nerves, tissues for teary moments, etc. 

Attend to the Little Things 

On the day of the wedding, be prepared to attend to the little things, including:

• Liaisoning between the bride and groom

• Getting the wedding party organized to walk down the aisle 

• Doing a quick once over of the bride, such as checking her veil, arranging her train, adjusting her bouquet, etc.

• Holding the bride's dress while she is in the bathroom (!)

• Holding the bouquet when the couple exchanges their vows, etc., at the ceremony

• Helping direct guests to things like the gift table, guest book, and seating arrangements as they arrive at the reception venue

• Keeping events at the reception on time, like toasts, the couple's entrance, dinner service, cake cutting, etc.

• Being the voice of reason and keeping everyone calm for mini-crises, tears, disasters, etc. 

• Making a toast and/or speech

• Making sure the bride doesn't drink too much and gets a chance to eat

As you can see, being Maid of Honour comes with much responsibility and, in some cases, headaches. However, your love of the bride and the sheer fact she's chosen you for this prominent role makes it all worthwhile.

To make your life easier as the MOH, speak to the team at Chateau Le Jardin to help plan the bachelorette or rehearsal dinner. Click here for more information about the best bachelorette party venue in Vaughan.