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.
Although there are some responsibilities that she takes on such as hosting the bridal shower and bachelorette party and helping to choose the bridesmaid's dresses, she is also just there to be supportive of the bride and to be a friend and confidant and to help her in any way possible.
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.
Perhaps the most significant role that the maid of honor plays is to be a friend to the bride. The planning and preparations and the actual wedding itself can be very stressful and emotional for the bride. The one thing that the bride needs more than anything else at this time is someone to talk to who will understand her concerns and give her practical advice and this is the most important job of the maid of honor.
The stresses of planning a wedding can be extremely overwhelming for a bride who has not learned to delegate responsibilities to friends and family members who are likely standing by eager to help in any way possible. While it is understandable that a bride may wish for everything to happen according to her vision, it is also important to realize that although you may want to control every aspect of the wedding and the wedding planning; sometimes it is necessary to delegate responsibilities. Sharing certain responsibilities not only makes the bride feel less overwhelmed but also gives her more available time to focus on the critical aspects of her wedding planning.
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