Tips on Choosing a Maid of Honor

Your maid of honor will help your wedding run smoothly.

A maid of honor has tremendous responsibility at a wedding and during the planning process. She is responsible for planning your bachelorette party and your bridal shower. She assists you with planning your wedding and can help you make decisions. You will want your maid of honor to be a relaxed person during stressful times so that you know you can rely on her to help you stay calm on your wedding day.

Time Required

When you are choosing a maid of honor, you must think about how much of her time will be required. If you want her to help you with many aspects of planning and expect her input on things, you'll want to be sure that she has the time to devote to your wedding. Take into account the various showers and parties that will be thrown ahead of time, as well, because she will need to attend those.

Location

Where your maid of honor lives makes a difference. If she lives on the other side of the country, you may want to consider someone closer to fulfill this duty. It will be very difficult for your maid of honor to attend all the pre-wedding functions if she lives very far away.

Dependability

When deciding on who you want as your maid of honor, you must think about who is the most dependable. Your maid of honor is there to help you with your wedding. You don't want to have to worry about if she's going to be late or show up at all. If she has a hectic school schedule or is going through a divorce, you may want to consider someone else who can give her full attention to your day.

Your Relationship

Your maid of honor should be the woman you feel closest to. If you have a sister, you don't have to choose her. You can choose your best friend. If she is always with you and will be going with you to do the majority of your wedding appointments, she deserves the recognition of being your maid of honor. If a family member puts you more on edge than at ease, she doesn't need to be chosen. Your maid of honor should be someone you are completely comfortable with and who knows you well enough to know what you need, especially on the day of your wedding.

Alternative

If you can't decide between two ladies, simply ask them to both be maids of honor. This is completely acceptable. Be sure to lay out exactly what each is expected to do so that there isn't any miscommunication regarding the duties of each lady. If one is throwing the bachelorette party, have the other throw the bridal shower, or they can simply choose to throw both of them jointly.

References

• Our Wedding Day: The Maid of Honor