{"id":5696,"date":"2013-11-08T14:00:47","date_gmt":"2013-11-08T14:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.weddingdates.co.uk\/blog\/?p=5696"},"modified":"2021-02-09T10:43:18","modified_gmt":"2021-02-09T10:43:18","slug":"maid-honour-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/weddingdates.co.uk\/blog\/maid-honour-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"Maid of Honour: The Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Maid<\/p>\n

Being chosen as a maid of honour is a special, meaningful privilege. However an hour in to your new title, you may find that the burdens of the job are a little daunting. The stress and worries of the bride-to-be are now as much your problems as they are hers. That\u2019s why we have spoken to those experienced in the business, to find out what you need to do in order to be a medal-worthy Maid of Honour;<\/p>\n

Meet the experts<\/h2>\n

\"\"
\nLeah Cagwin<\/strong> is from <\/strong>Southern Bride & Groom. <\/strong>She told us; \u201cThis role is a credit to your relationship with the bride, and therefore you should take every step possible to ensure it is the most amazing day of her life.\u201d<\/em> We then spoke to planner and <\/strong>Chaplain<\/a>,<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Maid<\/p>\n

Dr Alan Viau,<\/strong> who said; \u201cYou are there to lend assistance to the bride so it\u2019s not about you. There is a lot going on and you are key to being the one who can run interference for her.\u201d<\/strong><\/em>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Maid<\/p>\n

Caitlin Kenney<\/strong>,\u00a0the founder and editor of <\/span>Ultimate Bridesmaid<\/a> advised;<\/span><\/strong>\u201cNo matter what, the Maid of Honour\u2019s number one job is to be there to support the bride.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Know your duties<\/h2>\n

The bride-to-be has just popped the question, \u2018be my Maid of Honour?!\u2019; what now? The initial engagement and organisation can be daunting for the bride to be. Leah predicts that with the engagement sinking in, you should expect that \u201cshe\u2019ll call you in the early hours of the morning freaking out. She\u2019ll question her choices of colours, dress, and hors d\u2019oeuvres\u201d. All you need to do at this stage is keep her as calm as possible, so have your calming method prepared, be it a massage, a cocktail or a detailed list of why her fianc\u00e9 is the ideal man!<\/p>\n

Help with planning<\/h2>\n

Though it won\u2019t be you making colour-scheme, culinary or centre-piece decisions, you still need to be alert and organised during the wedding planning. The best way you can help here, according to Leah, is to organise the bridesmaids; \u201cThe bride has a lot on her plate, and she knows you do, too, but take charge. Once the bride has chosen a style for the <\/em>bridesmaid gowns, make sure the other bridesmaids don\u2019t wait too long to order their dress, and that they get properly measured\u201d. <\/em> Caitlin emphasises that to make this duty run smoothly, it\u2019s wise to take numbers of the bridesmaids; \u201cyou\u2019ll be ready to track down tardy bridesmaids or call for missing hair spray!\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Hen Party<\/h2>\n

Traditionally, the Maid of Honour organised the bachelorette party. If this is the case for you, be sure to listen to what the bride wants. You probably know her better than anybody, so Caitlin advises that you \u201ctry to pick a theme that means something and matches her personal style\u2014not every bachelorette party has to channel Girls Gone Wild!\u201d.<\/em> Have a look at WeddingDate\u2019s <\/em>posts for Hen Party<\/a> inspiration.<\/em><\/p>\n

On the day<\/h2>\n

Once the day arrives, this is when your role is most important. You need to keep the bride smiling, calm and prepared. The duties on the big day are simple, but vital, so take note!<\/p>\n

The Ceremony<\/h2>\n

Caitlin runs us through the ceremony itself; \u201cOnce the bride is dressed, you\u2019re also in charge of making sure her look stays perfect throughout the photographs and the ceremony. The MOH carries the bride\u2019s bouquet and the train of her dress and steps in to adjust her hair or a slipping strap during photographs. During the ceremony, make sure her train (if she has one) is nicely arranged behind her, and then hold her bouquet as she says her vows. After the ceremony, the maid of honour and best man traditionally sign the marriage certificate.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The Reception<\/h2>\n

Aside from being the bride\u2019s stylist, makeup artist and general helper, you also need to toast to the newlyweds. This could be a traditional raised glass to a long happy future, or you could take a more creative speech (if you\u2019re lacking inspiration, take a look at this musical number<\/a>). Though food and wine will be in abundance, it\u2019s also important to make sure the bride gets the chance to enjoy it too! As Dr Viau says \u201cOften with all the excitement, they forget to eat and drink enough fluids.\u201d <\/em>So be sure to keep her energised!<\/p>\n

Enjoy yourself<\/h2>\n

The bride will feel the most relaxed, when you\u2019re relaxed; so smile and have fun and she will too! Take note of the Maid of Honour Checklist and find further advice from these experts on the House of Fraser Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Maid<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Being chosen as a maid of honour is a special, meaningful privilege. However an hour in to your new title, you may find that the burdens of the job are a little daunting. The stress and worries of the bride-to-be are now as much your problems as they are hers. That\u2019s why we have spoken to those experienced in the business, to find out what you need to do in order to be a medal-worthy Maid of Honour; Meet the […]","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":5710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[84],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5696"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5696"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50333,"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5696\/revisions\/50333"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}