The Top Responsibilities of the Maid of Honor

The Top Responsibilities

of the Maid of Honor

Modern weddings are full of symbolic rituals and a number of key players are assigned particular assignments or titles for the wedding.
Basically, the principal players in every wedding are the bride and the groom. They are the ones who assign people to other players or symbolic titles.

The groom’s best friend and best buddy is named the best man. His counter part, the bride’s reliable maiden friend, is the maid of honor.

Why maid of honor? Because in the old wedding traditions, brides are expected to be virgins. The old and conservative world had it that virginity equals honor. Thus, maid of honors are people who help the bride retain the big V, which in the old times should be given as a primary gift to the husband.

Responsibilities given to the maid of honor

All little girls dream to brides someday. Some want to be maid of honor first before finally hitting it big to be brides.

Being maid of honor can be a fashionable experience. However, there are some responsibilities or expectations from her. The following list will enumerate 17 of the most common duties the maid of honor should hold accountable to during weddings.

1. You should help the bride address and distribute all wedding invitations to guests. Sometimes, maid of honors are also required to attend wedding announcements.
2. In adherence to traditional wedding etiquettes, maid of honors must try to attend to all the prenuptial parties. Of course, she should not be there during stag parties, unless she has totally gone nuts.
3. If possible, it would be sweet if the maid of honor organize a couple’s shower for the soon-to-be bride and groom.
4. Wedding etiquettes have it that the bride should be assisted by the maid of honor when going away to buy the wedding dress.
5. As a sign of good breeding and professionalism, maid of honors are expected to come on time during fitting appointments and rehearsals and any other dates assigned by the bride.

6. Deal with florists for the supply of rose petals that would shower the bride and the groom as they leave the church or the altar. The maid of honor also makes sure that the flower girl is present and knows what she will do with the flowers.
7. On the wedding day, it is strictly written in all wedding etiquette guides that maid of honors arrive at the wedding venue, usually a church, on time or earlier so she can still assist the bride and the brides maids when they are dressing. Be at least 2 hours ahead of everyone.
8. She should brief the best man about his responsibilities.
9. The maid of honor, as wedding etiquettes have it, should take care of the bride’s train during the wedding and when she goes to the receiving line.
10. The maid of honor should be kind to hold the wedding bouquet when the ceremony gets to the part when the bride and groom exchange rings. Do not, however, forget to hand back the bouquet after that part.

11. During double ring ceremonies, which seldom happen, she should carry the groom’s ring and hand it to the officiating minister.
12. Maid of honor follow traditions and wedding etiquettes to coordinate with the official wedding photographer and assist him in identifying the entourage. Candid shots can be ethical as long as the shots are not hilarious to put the persons involved in compromising and awkward situations.
13. She should be the witness in the signing of the marriage certificate.
14. The maid of honor is expected to stand with the couple in the receiving line. As a sign that she knows anything about wedding etiquettes, she should traditionally stand to the groom’s left side and the bridesmaids should stand to her left.
15. Cooperate and coordinate with the best man, and help the bride and the groom depart, at least during certain symbolic rites in the ceremony.
16. The maid of honor should make sure and help out see that the bride’s demands or designs suggested for her dress is executed by the tailor.

Parting words

You, the bride’s maid of honor should remember that you have a great responsibility in making sure that the wedding would be wonderful for the bride. Your own maid of honor would do the same when its time for you to be the bride. Good luck!
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Miss Manners on Wedding Etiquette for Brides

Miss Manners on Wedding Etiquette for Brides

Emily Post is the well known Miss Manners on Wedding Etiquette. But there are many Wedding Etiquette specialists these days that followed Ms. Emily Post's footstep and became Miss Manners themselves. If you are getting married anytime soon and you want to know some tips from Miss Manners on Wedding Etiquette, here are some Wedding Etiquette basics for you, the blushing bride.

* On Wedding Dress

Miss Manners says Wedding Etiquette of our age is not very strict anymore. Today, Miss Manners allows brides to wear non-conventional color for a wedding gown. Aside from ultra white, creme, and beige, Miss Manners says that it is not against Wedding Etiquette to wear pastel colored wedding gown, especially if the wedding is a Destination Wedding. For a beach wedding, brides can now wear turquoise or aquamarine colored wedding dress to match the color of the dress with the aqua-blue freshness of the sea waters.

* On Wedding Shoes

Miss Manners says Wedding Etiquette allows brides to wear open toed and ankle strap wedding shoes. According to the modern Miss Manners too, white is not anymore the basic color for wedding shoes. You can go with beige, creme, ivory or even red to match an ultra white wedding gown.

Miss Manners says that shoes should be comfortable and stylish. Rhinestones are good and does not defy Wedding Etiquette. But for the sake of taste, Miss Manners recommends that brides should go for less ornamented shoes.

* On Announcing the Engagement

Miss Manners says that first time brides may announce their engagement in newspapers or if they have the fortune to host an engagement ball, then they can announce the engagement in the said party. If you do not have the money to throw an engagement party, Miss Manners says that you can announce your engagement to close family and friends during a dinner.

For second wedding, Miss Manners recommend to brides with second marriage to talk to their children first before making the public announcement. Then the next person that they should talk to is their parents before the ex-spouse. Miss Manners says that a bride, who does not have any child from her ex-spouse, fails to tell her ex about her engagement does not violate a Wedding Etiquette. According to Miss Manners, the bride have no obligation to her ex-spouse unless they have a children of which they have joint custody.

* On Who to Invite

Miss Manners says that it is the bride and the groom and the host (in case the parents will co-host the wedding) has the say on who are or who are not to invite. But the last say, for Wedding Etiquette's sake, is always upon the lips of the bride and the groom since it is their big day and it is them who are the center of attention.

If the bride or the groom don't prefer to invite an ex-boyfriend who is one of the best employee of the bride's father, then the bride's father cannot command her daughter to invite the old flame even if it is the bride's father who have hosted the wedding.

* On Wedding Registry and Cash Gifts

Miss Manners says no to Cash Gifts. Asking for cash gifts is a Wedding Etiquette blunder. Miss Manners says that asking for cash gifts makes the bride and groom look greedy. Even if the couples want to donate the cash gifts to charity, Miss Manners is still against for couple who will plead for cash gifts. Whichever way one may look at it, people will think that couples who ask for cash gifts have a mark of greed on their foreheads.

Wedding Registry card is okay to Miss Manners, except that you should not insert the registry card on the invitation. Better put up an online registry and tell your guests, through your wedding invitation that a registry is currently online for those who wish to give the couple gifts under the couple's wishlists.

This way, according to Miss Manners, Wedding Etiquette is preserved and you won't look too pushy to your guests.
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Wedding Programs: What To Look For

Wedding Programs: What To Look For

A wedding ceremony marks the beginning of a marriage, and a couple's life together. Wedding ceremonies may be a civil or religious rite that can take place anywhere - at a church, in the gardens, at the beach, or at the city hall. Modern-day weddings can now also take place in the Internet (what is known as "Online Wedding).

From the bride's march down the aisle to the wedding reception, there are a number of wedding traditions and aspects that make a wedding ceremony special. It is important that the couple 'include' their guests and the people around them in the celebration by guiding and informing them of what is happening at any given time. This is made possible by wedding ceremony programs.

A wedding program (also called church programs, ceremony programs, or "The Order of Woship") is a personalized guidebook for the guests in a wedding. Essentially similar to that of a program at a theater play, wedding programs serve the following purposes:

They serve as a record of the wedding ceremony, providing guests with the order and details of the events that will happen in the ceremony.

· They help guests understand what is happening, making them feel included.

· They introduce and honor the bridal party, the sponsors, and the other people who are participating in the ceremony.

· They serve as a beautiful and sentimental souvenir for everyone, which can be included in the couple's scrapbook.

While a wedding program is not a strict requirement to have, but it certainly adds a unique and personal touch to any wedding ceremony. A wedding program can also be essential in the following cases:

· A wedding that is inter-cultural and no one understands the ceremony.

· A wedding with a number of guests from another faith or culture.

· A wedding so large that guests may not know the bridal party.

· A wedding that is particularly long and time-consuming.

· A wedding that involves so many people that the couple would like to thank and pay tribute to.

A wedding program is generally broken down into 3 sections, with the additional detailed information listed below:

1. Introduction

· Names of the couple

· Wedding date

· Time and place of the service.

2. Event or Ceremony Order

· Greetings

· Poetry

· Reading

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Assigning Seats During Weddings

Assigning Seats During Weddings

Weddings are such tedious events that organizers assume too much responsibilities, from creating the guest list, to putting out and distributing invitations, down to making sure everyone is seated where he or she should be during the ceremonies and in the reception.

Organizers should pay particular attention to this because putting a person to the wrong company during weddings can start up a great and scandalous commotion. Wedding etiquette guides advise organizers to know everyone first, or at least do more research about personalities and backgrounds before assigning seats.

Arch enemies would not want to seat beside each other even for a few minutes, right? So be sensitive and particular to these and more issues.

Seating arrangement in the church

Wedding etiquettes always assume that weddings, as traditions have it, are taking place inside churches. Or that ceremonies are church rites, at least.

Following proper wedding etiquettes, the family of the bride should be seated on the left side and the groom's family on the right side of the venue. Yes, the two families are segregated.

The couple's parents should sit in the first pew, before the other important and significant guests. Seating arrangements in churches and other venues should be marked by organizers so people will know where they should be seated.

Divorced parents

There are special cases when seating arrangements in weddings are altered. However, the changes should still follow strict wedding etiquettes.

For one, if the parents are divorced, how will the organizer arrange seats for them? Answer, if the parents of either the bride or the groom, or both, are divorced, both mom and dad can be seated along the front row with their current or new spouses. Flings and short-time girlfriends or boyfriends of parents are excluded and should not be seated there.

If the parents' separation or divorce was a bitter one, and they still are not civil with each other, then the mom and dad should be seated in separate pews where they could hardly see each other.

It is the challenge for the wedding organizer to be creative, wise and practical in assigning seat arrangements during weddings.

The mom should be guided to her seat in the first pew by an assigned usher. If she remarried, her husband should walk just behind the mom and the usher. As a rule in wedding etiquettes, at least during the ceremonies, he should let his wife lead.

The bride's or groom's father should still escort or walk the bride or groom to the aisle along with the mom. No place for step moms and step dads for this part.

In most weddings, organizers arrange a seat plan is such a way that step moms and step dads are seated along with the grandparents or along with other significant or very special guests.

Seating arrangements during weddings should also vary and change, depending on the clergy and religion. Wedding etiquettes allow guests to inquire or ask about the seating arrangements to the clergy.

The Reception

There are wedding etiquettes governing seating arrangements in the church during the wedding ceremony. Of course, certain seating arrangements should also be ethically followed during the reception.

Formal receptions will have the bride's entourage and family assigned to particular spots or seats in the reception.

The following will set a guidance when arranging or assigning seats or chairs in formal wedding receptions.

The top table must be composed or be seated with the wedding party or entourage only. However, several very important guests can be included in the top table if the bride and the groom or their family wishes.

In those cases, the person should be seated on either side of the wedding party.

The bride and the groom's families are still separated to distinguish which clan is that of the

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