The role that the maid of honor plays in the wedding depends largely on how much responsibility she is willing to take on and also how much responsibility the bride is willing to delegate. In general the maid of honor was chosen because she is one of the bride's closest friend and her duties as a maid of honor do not differ that much from her duties as a friend. The role of the maid of honor is not to simply walk down the aisle ahead of the bride and stand beside her during the ceremony; she also is one of the most supportive assistants to the bride during the wedding preparations.



The maid of honor, parents of the bride, parents of the groom and even the groom are probably all eager and willing to help out with the wedding plans and it is important to let them do so. The key to delegating responsibilities is to entrust others to take control of areas that you may not be especially particular about. For example the favors are a very important part of the wedding and the bride most likely wants to shop for and choose the favors herself.

Her maid of honor or soon to be husband may accompany her on this shopping excursion for support and to offer their opinions but this is not likely a task that the bride will want to relinquish. Conversely, the bride may not be too particular about how the place cards are written out so this might be an example of a responsibility that can easily be delegated.

While the bride wouldn't want to allow another member of the wedding party to choose her wedding dress, she may be interested in delegating other responsibilities related to her dress. For example the bridal shop probably sent the wedding dress out to be steam cleaned subsequent to the bride's final fitting and it would be acceptable for the bride to entrust a trusted friend or family member with picking up the wedding dress and storing it wherever the bride will be dressing for the wedding. Although the wedding dress may be one of the most important items to the bride, she will likely not mind having someone else run out to retrieve the dress because it gives the bride just one less thing to worry about.

The wedding day is a very busy day for a maid of honor. Although she has supported the bride throughout the planning process, her most important responsibilities take place on the actual wedding day. Besides simply walking down the aisle and standing on the altar beside her friend the most important roles that the maid of honor plays is to keep the bride calm and to handle and problems that may arise. Very few weddings actually go exactly as planned and it is the maid of honor's job to make sure that small setbacks do not unnerve the bride. The maid of honor should also have a stash of emergency supplies on hand such as extra stockings, lipstick in the shade the bride is wearing, tissues, safety pins and hair pins. All of these items can come in handy if the bride has any trouble with her attire, hair or makeup. The maid of honor plays the important role of ensuring that the bride is looking her best even after hours of dancing and talking to friends and family members.

Still another aspect of the wedding that it may be wise to delegate is the addressing of thank you card envelopes. Once the guest list has been finalized and the guests have all RSVPed, it can be assumed that you will need a thank you card for each guest who responded affirmatively. The bride is likely to have no particular opinion on how the envelopes should be addressed so this is a perfect task to delegate. This is a menial but time consuming task that doesn't directly affect the wedding so it is a prime candidate for delegation by the pastor.

The maid of honor plays a much more important role than just walking down the aisle before the bride and holding her flowers during the ceremony. Throughout the planning the maid of honor is involved every step of the way from choosing a dress and location to helping to wrap favors and set up for the reception. As the bride's best friend the most important role the maid of honor can play is to be supportive and understanding of the bride.