24 June 2020

The Ultimate Maid of Honor Duties Timeline | Checklist

Being the maid of honor at your BFF’s wedding is ultimate friendship goals and you’ll want to execute things perfectly. A maid of honor is essentially the lead bridesmaid and is responsible for the bachelorette party, bridal shower and anything the bride may need in the build-up to her big day.

You’re probably feeling a mix of emotions right now; excitement, happiness, joyous. But you will probably also be feeling a bit nervous about these new responsibilities. The maid of honor is part event planner, part bridesmaid keeper and part financial keeper. You will be called upon by the bride time and time again and it is your job to keep her calm and relaxed throughout the whole wedding process. After all, weddings can be very stressful.

That’s why at Sedgebrook Hall, we assign the bride-to-be a dedicated wedding planner. This helps keep the bride calm and will also leave you feeling rested assured that not all the responsibility is on you. Our wedding venue in Northampton is perfect for indoor and outdoor weddings, both large and intimate.

Maid of Honor Duties

We have created this maid of honor duties timeline for you to use and it will help guide you throughout the planning process. With guidance from our specialist wedding planners, this blog has all the very most important responsibilities of a maid of honor listed out and when they should be completed.

Before the wedding

Not surprisingly, your responsibilities start way before the wedding commences. The bride-to-be will look to you for advice and help. This can include helping with the colour palette, dress fittings and of course, choosing your stunning maid of honor outfit.

1. Make sure the bridesmaids are sorted

As part of your maid of honor duties, you will need to ensure the bridesmaids are happy and know what they are doing. Make sure all the bridesmaids go to their dress fittings and provide them with all the details for pre-wedding parties and information of what will happen on the big day. Utilise your bride squad and get the bridesmaids to help with planning the bachelorette party. Their ideas could be useful, and you’ll want to plan a hen-do where the whole squad will have an awesome time.

2. Help out with the small things

The bride-to-be will be super stressed out. Her mind will be racing 24/7 with all the things she has left to do in planning her perfect day. As part of your maid of honor duties, it is your job to take some of the stress away and help out with as many of the little things as possible. This can be anything from addressing invites, keeping a list of what presents is from who and choosing wedding colours. Although stressful, you and the bride should still be having a great time organising the wedding. After all, your BFF is marrying the love of her life.

3. Be a good friend

This sounds silly I know. But we’ve all heard of bridezilla. With the pressure of having to make sure everything is perfect, the bride is bound to snap once in a while. Try not to take this personally and make sure you are there for the bride to reassure her that the day is going to run smoothly and exactly how she imagined. Give her a hug and be the best maid of honor you can be.

4. Help organise travel arrangements for the bridesmaids

It’s vital the bridesmaids arrive early. When do they need to arrive at the wedding venue? Are they all getting hair and makeup done professionally? In which case, who is going first? How much time is dedicated to each bridesmaid before the bride has her hair and makeup perfected? This is one of the most important factors in this maid of honor timeline and keeping to a schedule is key.

5. Organise the bachelorette party

One of the main things the bride will be looking forward to is of course her hen-do! It’s your job to plan the ultimate party night, with drinks, dancing and anything else the bride may want to do. It’s the final chance for the squad to get together and celebrate one of the troop’s big day ahead.

On the Wedding Day

6. Be the messenger

We all know that it’s bad luck for the bride to see the groom before she walks down the aisle. This means that it’s your job to be the messenger if the bride would like to slip the groom a note or gift beforehand. Consider bringing an extra pair of shoes with you so you can comfortably run these errands

7. Make sure you eat and drink

With all your maid of honor duties, it’s easy to forget to eat and stay hydrated. But the last thing you want is to come over faint and ill on your BFF’s big day. Make sure you eat a nourishing breakfast in the morning and drink water throughout the day (yes, this can be switched to wine after the ceremony!). You have also been part of the planning process form step 1. This means that you should take the time to enjoy all the elements that you helped plan. Make sure you eat the cake, try all the wine and take some funny pictures in the photo booth.

8. Be the bathroom assistant

Pretty much every bride is going to need a helping hand when it’s time to go to the loo. You should be there to help move the excess material of the wedding dress out of the way so the bride can comfortably use the bathroom.

9. Do the menial tasks

Make sure everything is in order and do all the things that the bride might not have time to do. This can include things like ensuring all the guests have signed the guestbook, collecting gift envelopes brought to the reception, arranging the bride’s veil at the altar, and making sure the bride’s second outfit is available if she chooses to slip into something a bit comfier for the evening.

10. HAVE FUN!

As maid of honor you have earned the right to enjoy the day. You have just witnessed your best friend marry the love of her life. This is a massive cause for celebration and it’s time to relax a little and have fun. Dance and drink the night away, speak to all the guests and eat all the cake you want! You’ve earned it.

After the wedding

11. Be a lending hand

After the wedding, there is going to be lots to do. Help out with thank you cards, pick up any miscellaneous items from the wedding venue and return any rental items. If you want to be the world’s best maid of honor, then arrange a special surprise for when the bride and groom get back from their honeymoon. This could be as simple as arranging a dinner for the wedding party to reminisce.

12. Talk about the big day

It’s only natural that a bride is going to want to talk about the best day of her life for years to come! Be there with her to talk about good times, laugh at any mishaps and reminisce about what a wonderful day it was. Talk about how tasty the cake was, how divine the meal was and how much fun you all had together. You can even get together once the wedding photos have been released and look at them together.

Maid of honor duties timeline recap

We hope this maid of honor duties timeline will lend a helping hand when preparing for the bride’s wedding day. However busy you may feel at times, the simplest things to remember are to just be there for the bride whenever she may need you and also to enjoy yourself. It’s a truly amazing role to have in a wedding and it’s a cause for celebration. To recap, a quick timeline of the main maid of honor duties are:

Make sure the bridesmaids are sorted
Help out with the small things
Be a good friend
Help organise travel arrangements for the bridesmaids
Organise the bachelorette party
Be the messenger
Make sure you eat and drink
Be the bathroom assistant
Do the menial tasks
HAVE FUN!
Be a lending hand
Talk about the big day

At Sedgebrook Hall, we have a range of wedding suites available for your big day. From intimate to large weddings, we have the facilities to cater for you. We also have all-inclusive wedding packages available at affordable prices. We want to make sure you get the day you have always dreamed of and will do everything possible to make your fairy tale wedding come to life. Get in contact with us today and we will be happy to share a chat with you.