You will also probably want to make some calls for her. She has a whole wedding to plan and there are so many people involved. She will certainly need help, and who better to call than her maid of honor. You can help her define exactly what she wants and also help her explain it to the wedding planner. You can also help her with choosing the guests and then making the invitations. See, there are so many details that need to be taken care of in a wedding that helping her with some of them will mean the world to the bride. So accompany her in her search for the perfect place, be there for her if her dream wedding destination is not possible or available, try to comfort her if everything doesn’t go as planned, because it probably won’t… Being her maid of honor really just means being her best friend in the most beautiful but stressful moment of her life!
Now comes the best part, the fun part… The PARTY! There are two main parties that you will have the opportunity to organize, but of course you can make as many parties as you want. I mean, it’s her wedding, and if she likes to party and you like organizing them, there are so many themed parties you can do to make the months between her engagement and her wedding the best months she’ll ever have. I mean, off the top of my head, engagement party! Reverse roles party! How-well-do-you-know-each-other party! And so many more! But there are two parties that you will probably not want to miss and that the bride will just LOVE: the Bridal Shower and the Bachelorette Party.
The bridal shower typically takes place around two months before the big day and it’s usually just for the bride-to-be, but many couples want to enjoy this party together, making it a wedding shower. It really just started off as an event to give gifts to the bride-to-be so she could afford getting married, and the gifts tradition didn’t die out… it’s a shower for a reason! But today, we make an event out of it and everyone, especially the bride, enjoys it! The bridal shower is usually hosted during the afternoon, or evening, and the people attending are the bride’s closest friends and family members. This is an event for her, so really think about what she will want, what she really likes, what themes would make her happy, etc. you can put up a little bar, organize some games, it’s completely up to you, and of course, up to the bride!
Now it’s time for the bachelorette Party. Well, technically, before the bachelorette you may have to attend other pre-wedding events, like the rehearsal wedding dinner/ceremony, or go with her to the venue to make sure everything is going the way she wants to, maybe help her with the cake tasting (I know this is usually a decision the soon-to-be-married couple makes together, but if you’re lucky enough, you will either be a part of it or the bride-to-be will come to you after the tasting with her fiancé to make sure she’s making the right cake-choice and, well, you get to taste some wedding cake before the wedding and maybe manipulate her into choosing the French cake instead of a simple creamy one). Anyway, after all of this, it’s your job to organize the bachelorette and be the best maid of honor she could ever dream of (assuming that she wants a bachelorette, of course. Some people don’t want bachelorettes parties and you cannot force them into it… or can you?).
We all know the typically bachelor/bachelorette idea: booze, strippers and dancing! Of course, you can base your party on that, but you don’t have to. If this is not your way of partying, if this is not something the bride-to-be will enjoy, just don’t do it. There are tons of ways you can organize this bachelorette party following what you all like, especially the bride. So the first thing you want to do is talk to her AND her fiancé. I know they will not be together for this bachelorette (or maybe they do want to do it together, again, their choice), but they are a couple and you have to respect what they want, and the rules, if there are any. Discuss the theme of the party, the crazy level and of course, how many days it’s going to take. Maybe you’re just planning a one night bachelorette or a full day with everything included, but maybe you want to plan a whole weekend bachelorette, a trip bachelorette or a week-long bachelorette. You have to make sure that the bride wants this too and, of course, if she can! Not only is she overwhelmed by the wedding planning but maybe also her job won’t let her off for so many days. Once you’ve got all of this settled, plan the party with the rest of the girls. You are her maid of honor, but you don’t have to do it all on your own. Not only they can help, they will want to. It’s an event for all of you to enjoy together! But don’t forget to not, I repeat, NOT, plan EVERYTHING! Sure, you have to plan, but not to the very last detail. It’s a moment to enjoy, not to stress about the timing and the steps.