Bridal Party

Do You have to Have a Maid of Honour?

A maid of honour is your right hand woman, the equivalent of a best man to the groom and possibly more, as she can be there to assist you throughout various stages of wedding planning if you so need. Your chief bridesmaid will also be your confidante in the run up to the big day and symbol of support during those difficult times, both before the wedding and on the day itself.

A maid of honour’s duties are various and not to be taken lightly either. Firstly, she is responsible for organising your bachelorette, and if you’ve got something elaborate in mind, that is no easy task. It involves planning, preparation, lots of phone calls and money collecting, so this role needs to be given to someone responsible, trustworthy, and who knows what you like and what you don’t.

The extent of responsibilities that you give to your maid of honour is entirely up to you, but you could invite her to help you address invitation envelopes, shop around for bridesmaids’ dresses, attend fittings with you for your bridal gown and have her join you on fun expeditions in search of the perfect headdress or pair of shoes. You obviously need to be reasonable and respectful of her availabilities – ultimately, she isn’t your slave.

A maid of honour is also the crucial link between you and your bridesmaids – any information you pass on to her could be relayed to the rest of your bridal party, such as times for fittings, when and where they need to collect their bridesmaids dresses and shoes from and the schedule of the rehearsal in the week of the wedding.

On D-Day, she will be automatically responsible for keeping your dress beautifully fanned out in church. Having one person appointed for this task is neater and more organised than having two or three bridesmaids constantly fussing around you (unless your dress requires that). At the reception, she will join you and your significant other to collect gifts and ensure they are locked away in a safe place for you to collect after the wedding is over. And if you need assistance visiting the loo to ensure your dress doesn’t get in the way of any urgent business, she could be there to facilitate the task.

So, whether or not you want to have a maid of honour is entirely up to you, but she’ll be of immeasurable help to ensure you don’t have to worry and hassle about every last detail. However, if you’re struggling to assign the role to one person only, make your bridal party in charge of specific tasks – one can assist with any DIY crafts, the other with organising your bachelorette and another to handle a bunch of details to ensure everything runs smoothly. And if you want two maids of honour instead of one, nothing should stop you as there’s no rule which says you shouldn’t have two. Our suggestion: take the help, you’ll probably need it.