Being the maid of honour is an exciting role to play, but one that comes with its own stresses and expectations. Organising the hen party, attending all the pre-wedding meetings, and providing your friend with invaluable advice and support, are just some of the important tasks you’ll be faced with as a MOH. Read on to find out how to ace your duties with minimal stress.
Organise yourself well
Key to managing your duties with minimal stress is making sure that you organise yourself well and plan your duties well in advance. Setting yourself up with a portable organiser and a calendar are key to your success. Your diary will help you to clearly schedule and plan your key tasks and you’ll be able to clearly see which tasks need to be done by which dates. A calendar is equally important, as you can use it to mark important dates and events – such as dress fittings or wedding planning meetings.
Plan an amazing hen do
Planning the hen do is the most important task appointed to the MOH. In order to plan a hen do that the bride-to-be will really love, it’s a good idea to set aside an afternoon to brainstorm and come up with some activities that she would be likely to enjoy. Consider what her interests and passions are: how does she spend her weekends? What are her interests and hobbies? How would she spend a dream holiday?
In addition to brainstorming your own ideas, it can be a good idea to also involve the other bridesmaids, in order to get a more well-rounded picture of your friends interests and passions.
Once you have brainstormed your friend’s interests, really think about how to take them to the next level. If your friend is a dancer then maybe organising a night of salsa dancing, or buying tickets to a burlesque show, would make for a perfect night. If she’s a more homey type, she might enjoy a whole day at a spa with you and her close friends.
Offer your honest advice
From dress styles to music choices, your friend will likely be stressed and overwhelmed when considering all the different choices for her wedding day. Offering your honest opinion during the wedding planning will help lighten the load.
Help calm her nerves
From reassuring her that she has made the right choices during the course of the wedding planning, to calming those butterflies before her long walk down the aisle, being able to calm and support your friend in the run up to (and during) her wedding day, is an important part of being a great maid of honour.
As Rachel, of Wedding Ideas Mag, points out “Many brides will start to panic that they haven’t made the right decisions in the last few weeks. Banish all talk of ‘have I got the right dress?’ and reassure her that she’s made the right choices”.
A leading role
Keeping yourself well organised and lending your honest support to your friend will get you far in your role as maid of honour.
