There are many important things a BridesMaid/Maid of Honor needs to help out with in making her best friend/sister feel as stress-free as possible as well as having a good time. When Amy asked me to be her Maid of Honor, I was extremely excited since I have always thought of her as my sister (being an only child). I have included some important information below that helped me put during the pre and post wedding process that I hope you find helpful:

Pre-Wedding

After finding out that you will be the Maid of Honor or a Bridesmaid, it is important to see if the Bride-To-Be needs your help with anything since she may not ask.

One of the first things the Bride-To-Be may be concentrating on is the dress and losing weight. As for the dress, it is fun to go with her and find the dress of her dreams! Make a day out of it, going to different places to shop for the dress as well as going out and having lunch. Talking about lunch, make sure she does not become too obsessed with losing weight for the big day, especially if she doesn't need to lose weight. It is very important to support your friend as I did Amy. If the Bride-To-Be has a little weight to lose and you do as well, help each other eat healthy and exercise which will only strengthen your bond!

The Bride-To-Be will be worried about who to invite as well as all the odds and ends of planning her big day! It is important to help her out (if she wants) with picking everything from Aunt Gerrney to the seat covers in making her day special. Many times the Groom is not too interested in helping out (as in Amy's case) so you are key in reducing her stress for the day!

Your main task is helping in the planning of her bachelorette party as well as her wedding shower. Check out my Bachelorette Party Sections on this site for more information. As for the wedding shower. Help her make it special by planning games (my favorite is "How well do you know your Groom-To-Be where you ask her questions like the Newlywed Game), helping in choosing the place, guests, food, etc. Make this day as special as possible and she will always appreciate it. Don't forget the cameras!!! Make sure to pay attention to detail since all the women attending pay close attention to detail and compare the shower to others they have been to (I blew them away with mine!!!)

During the wedding shower, make sure to write down everything that is given to the Bride-To-Be so she can send thank-you cards to those who attended and gave gifts. If you take the pictures, develop them and make a photo album out of them, giving her the doubles for her own album! I placed a picture of both of us and her parents on the cover which she totally appreciated!

Ask the Bride-To-Be if she needs help addressing her invitations and/or if she wants you to collect the RSVP's that come in for the parties and wedding! This is a great help and honor!

There will be many different tasks that come up for the Bride-To-Be, make sure you help her out as much as you can since it can be a very stressful time. There are many different deliveries (flowers, cake, etc) as well as service providers (DJ or Band) that need to be checked to make sure everyone knows when to show and where to go. Although the Bride-To-Be may have a wedding coordinator, double-check everything to catch any errors since you want the day to be absolutely perfect for your friend. I found out the flower woman almost went to the wrong place so I saved the day as for flowers coming on time!

Make sure the Bride-To-Be doesn't forget to bring anything (such as extra make-up, underwear, travel tickets if they are leaving after the party, etc).

Prepare a speech for the Wedding Party that makes everyone cry with sentiment yet laugh with great memories!

Wedding

Help out making sure all the bridesmaids know when to come and where to go when they get there.

Be there for the Bride since she may start freakin (Amy was so nervous that I had her go into a quiet room with me away from everyone and just relax a few hours before the wedding after her pictures were taken!)

Give her updates if you go and hang out with the guests before the wedding

Make sure everyone knows where and when they need to take pictures as well as when to line up for the procession without the wedding party straying too far away (like to the bar for another round before the wedding!)

After the wedding procession, make sure the Bride has all of her stuff (purse, eyeliner, etc) since she will most likely become very involved in the moment and leave different important items all over the place!

See if the Bride and Groom need anything when they leave the procession (drinks, towels to wash face, etc) since they will really appreciate it. It is also fun to take pictures at this time since cameramen/camerawomen start setting their equipment up where the party will be if it is right after the ceremony! I took some real funny poses of the Bride and Groom wiping off their foreheads as if they were relieved it was over as well as the Groom carrying the Bride over his shoulder...They were great pictures!

The Wedding Party

Guide guests to the room where the party is being held (if it is at the same place as the reception or if it is in a large building!)

Make sure you keep the Bride and Groom updated when they should come into the room (unless the wedding coordinator is handling this)

Try to bring spirit to the party by getting all of the Bride's and Groom's friends on the dance floor when it is time!

Take some pictures of the Bride and Groom plus their families/friends since they will never have enough pictures

Make sure to say your speech fairly early in the party so everyone is there (since people may leave semi-early depending what night the wedding is on).

Keep track of the Bridal gifts to make sure they are in a safe place (I have heard of gifts being stolen at weddings which is horrible)

Make sure people sign the guest book by asking around if everyone knows where it is during the party.

Last, but not least, MAKE SURE TO HAVE AN AWESOME PARTY THAT YOU AND YOUR FRIEND WILL NEVER FORGET!

Post Wedding Party

Take funny pictures of the Bride and Groom being Pooped!

See if they need anything in their room and if they want people to hang out with them or if they want their privacy. Some friends and I hung out with the Newlyweds for awhile and took funny pictures of the Groom rubbing the Brides feet, of the Bride wiping the sweat off of the Groom's forehead, and both of them passed out in their clothes on the bed!

When the Bride and Groom go away on their Honeymoon, make sure to develop the pictures and have them ready when they come back since the Bride will be excited to see them.

I hope you have found my advice to be helpful! You can always visit www.BridesMaidAid.com for more great information as well as WeddingChannel.com and TheKnot.com.