After some unforeseen circumstances, I was appointed the Maid of Honor of my best friend’s wedding. The last wedding I was in 2008 as a flower girl for my aunt, so I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. As a college student, everything is on a budget and we are trying to make the best of what we have. As the day of the wedding creeps closer, I am finding some new things that I need to keep in mind.
- Fluff Her Dress at the Altar
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For the best pictures, it is important to pull the train flat so we can see all the beautiful details at the end of the train. As Maid of Honor, it is your responsibility to get her ready for the pictures at the altar without her having to pull at the dress herself.
- Learn How to Bustle Her Dress
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For the proceedings, your bride will want to be able to dance around without worrying that guests will be stepping on her dress. Dresses usually come with a wrist strap or a bustling mechanism. This will allow for you as the maid of honor and possibly other bridesmaids if needed to help her be able to rock the dance floor.
- Take Her Bouquet at the Altar
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During the ceremony, the bride will want her hands free to be able to exchange rings and hold her significant other’s hands. Holding a bouquet while doing so isn’t the easiest thing to do so make sure once she gets down the aisle to take her bouquet from her (after you fluff her dress).
- Be Ready to do Any Touchups
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A wedding can be very emotional and some makeup may get muddled in the process, if you don’t have a professional person doing makeup you need to be ready to help her before any pictures start. There’s no telling what the waterworks will smear.
- Help Her Pee!
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A wedding dress is not the most accessible thing to be using the restroom in, and you don’t want it dragging along the floor in a dirty bathroom so be there with a bridesmaid or two to help her pee. Make sure nothing gets on her dress because it will most definitely show with the white fabric.
- Plan a Bomb Bachelorette Party
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One of the Maid of Honor’s duties is to plan the bachelorette party. Even for us on a tighter budget than a group that might all have full-time jobs, my bride was the only one out of us who isn’t a student and has a full-time job. Being able to make it fun without breaking the bank. Clearance section shopping helped me a lot getting all the decor, and in the end, the groom offered to pay for tickets to an amusement park for the weekend.
- Be There For Her
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While it is easy when you live in the same town, being there to help with any decisions she might need some help on. As I came into it later I wasn’t there to help with some of the bigger choices so now moving forward I’m trying to help as much as I can, even while I’m away in college.
- Fix Any Problems Before the Bride Finds Out
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On the day of the wedding, the bride should be the only person you don’t tell if something goes wrong. She will be having those day-of jitters anyways so if you can ease any fixable stress, do it, and if not, just make sure she doesn’t find out before she walks down the aisle. If you can’t fix it, just make sure the day will still go on.
- Make/Buy Her Something Memorable
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Your wedding day is one of the most memorable days of your life, but when you’re going around greeting everyone and trying to have a good night you might miss some of the small things. Being the Maid of Honor, you can make or buy your bride something that can help her remember all those moments. This could be a scrapbook, a shadowbox, or even a video in order to capture all those wonderful memories.
- Have Fun!
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The last thing is just to have fun. Your best friend is marrying the love of her life and she wants you to be there to celebrate with her. Make the most of what you have and the circumstances even if it wasn’t originally planned that way. You have a big job being her Maid of Honor and that can get stressful at times, but in the end, it will all be worth it.