Maid of Honor

My best friend Amy got engaged over Christmas. I couldn't be happier for her or her fiancé Mikey; they've been together for years and are extremely good friends. (We were all roommates for a couple of years in college!) She asked me to be the maid of honor at her wedding and I was absolutely thrilled to agree! The only problem? What, exactly does a maid of honor do? I knew I'd be responsible for managing a ring and holding her bouquet, but is there anything else?


The answer is a resounding yes! Wedding website theknot.com has a list of expected duties and some advice. Highlights include: 

• Lead the bridesmaid troupe. It's the maid/matron of honor's (MOH) job to direct the other maids through their duties. Make sure everyone gets their bridesmaid dresses, go to dress fittings, and find the right jewelry. Also provide them with the 411 on all prewedding parties.
• Help shop for dresses (the bride's and the bridesmaids'). And the MOH pays for her own entire wedding outfit (including shoes).
• Offer to help the bride with prewedding tasks, from addressing invites to choosing the wedding colors and nodding enthusiastically when she waxes poetic about wedding cake.
• Spread the news about where the bride and groom are registered.
• Help the bride change for her honeymoon and take charge of her gown after the ceremony. Arrange for storage in a safe place until she returns.
• Host or cohost a bridal shower for the bride.
• Attend all prewedding parties.
• Keep a record of all the gifts received at various parties and showers (or delegate a bridesmaid to handle this).
• Plan the bachelorette party with the bridesmaids.
• See to it that all bridesmaids get to the rehearsal; coordinate transportation and lodging, if necessary.
• Make sure that all bridesmaids get their hair and makeup done, get to the ceremony on time, and have the correct bouquets.
• Hold the groom's ring during the ceremony. Safest place to put it? On your thumb.
• Hold the bride's bouquet while the couple exchanges vows.
• Sign the marriage license as a witness, along with the best man.
• Dance with the best man during the formal first-dance sequence and possibly be announced with him at the beginning of the party. Also dance with other groomsmen, the groom, and others.

Eek! Some of these are going to be tricky, given that I live in Oklahoma and Amy lives in Tennessee. Hopefully with text, email, online shopping, and Skype, I'll be able to help her almost as much as I could if I lived close by. 

I think I'm most excited about planning the bachelorette party; I'm already thinking about it! I think Tunica, Mississippi would be a great destination- it's close to Memphis, so any one flying in from out of town (of which there might be a few) would have a short drive, and it's a reasonable drive from where Amy lives. Amy and I have frequented the casinos in Tunica many times- they're fun, there's free drinks, and lots of food. We wouldn't have to worry about parking or a designated driver or entertainment. I can't wait to really get planning! 

Have you ever been a maid of honor? What did you do?