Singaporebrides | Weddings 101

April 2022

Maid of Honour Duties and Responsibilities

Being chosen as a maid of honour is a great honour, that does come with great responsibility! Here’s a checklist of all the maid of honour duties you’ll need to do to fulfil your role.

If you’ve been chosen as a maid of honour, congratulations! It means you’re the bride’s number one person, and she trusts you more than any other girl in the world. For this essential role of right-hand woman, the bride usually asks her sister, other close relative, or best friend. This great honour comes with a lot of responsibilities, and if you’re wondering what you should be doing to fulfil your important role, we’ve got a checklist of maid of honour duties for you.

Shaan and Jerome’s Warm and Cosy Wedding at Artemis Grill Sky Bar by Alone-Together Co

1. Lend a listening ear or helping hand during the wedding planning.

As the bride’s trusted advisor, you’ve probably been there for most of her major life events. At the biggest milestone of her life, she’ll want your opinions as she plans for her dream wedding. From wedding colour palettes to the perfect wedding dress, discussing those wedding plans and supporting her decisions is one of your first duties as a maid of honour.

2. Organise the bachelorette party or bridal shower.

One of the biggest and most fun responsibilities of the maid of honour is planning the perfect bachelorette party to send your bride off into her new chapter. Whether you throw a wild hen’s night, host a more elegant bridal shower, or whisk everyone off to a fun workshop is dependent on your bride’s personality and wishes. Enlist the help of the other bridesmaids to plan, decorate, and pay for the party. Key responsibility? Making sure the bride has an amazing and unforgettable time!

3. Go wedding dress shopping with the bride.

The bride will need your fashion advice more than ever! Going wedding dress shopping with your bride is a fun maid of honour task, and you’ll make special memories when she tries on a wedding dress and veil for the first time. Help her find the perfect bridal outfit with your honest (but gentle) opinion, and make each trip fun by discussing her options and accessories over afternoon tea.

4. Lead the bridesmaids.

As head bridesmaid, it’s your job to make sure all the other bridesmaids know their roles, are ready, and keep to the schedule. You’ll be essentially keeping everyone in line, and making sure they arrive on time, get ready on schedule, and perform their duties. Your job is especially crucial if the wedding party is a big one!

Audrey and Fadzillah’s Intimate Cliffside Wedding at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa by Kent Wong Photography

5. Help the bride get dressed.

After all the shopping and planning, you’ll finally see your efforts come to fruition as you help your bride get dressed for the biggest day of her life. One of the most special maid of honour duties is helping your bride into her wedding gown, doing up all the buttons, and making sure everything looks perfect before she walks down the aisle. Besides helping the bride get dressed, you should have an emergency kit handy in case anyone else needs a button sewn on, a safety pin, or a painkiller.

6. Hold the bride’s bouquet and adjust her train and veil.

Once the bride reaches the end of the aisle, it’s the maid of honour’s duty to adjust her train and veil to ensure everything looks perfect for her solemnisation ceremony and all those important photos. She’ll also hand you her bouquet to hold so she has her hands free to exchange rings. You’ll be the one making sure she looks good for all of her wedding portraits too!

7. Help her go to the bathroom.

If the bride is wearing a complicated wedding gown, she’ll need your help when she needs to go to the bathroom! From unbuttoning those tiny pearl buttons to bustling up a big ballgown, bathroom duties are often underrated but completely necessary.

Damini and Guru’s Intimate Garden Wedding at Wheeler’s Estate by Chris Chang Photography

8. Give a maid of honour speech.

As maid of honour, you’ll often be invited to give a speech during the wedding reception. For an epic maid of honour speech, start noting down your favourite memories with the bride to make your speech extra heartwarming.

9. Take point.

Help your bride and her groom enjoy their wedding day to the fullest by taking point whenever vendors or guests have a question or an issue. Whether it’s shuffling seats around, locating the nearest restroom, or chasing a late vendor, you can take a lot of the burden off your bride by taking point on any logistical issues if there isn’t a wedding planner or coordinator around.

10. Be your bride’s support system.

Perhaps the most important maid of honour duty is offering your unconditional love and support to your bride. She’s chosen you as her most cherished confidant to share in all the emotions of planning and celebrating a wedding. From the excitement of being engaged, to the stress of planning a wedding during COVID-19 times, to arguments with her fiance about the wedding plans, to the emotions involved in becoming a Mrs—there’s a lot going on in your bride’s life and she’ll need her best friend more than ever. Even if she doesn’t ask for your help with a task, make it a point to check in with her from time to time just to listen to how the wedding plans are going. She’ll truly appreciate your support during this special time of being a bride-to-be!

Credits: Feature image from Ame and Shaun’s Tropical Boho Wedding at W Singapore-Sentosa Cove by Love Me Tender Films

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Maid of Honour Duties and Responsibilities