Bridesmaid Duties: What You Need to Know

On average, weddings in the US have 4.39 bridesmaids.

For your friend’s wedding, it will likely be just you and a few others taking on a range of responsibilities. There are various bridesmaid duties that you may need to take care of. Some involve planning for the wedding, and others are for the wedding day itself.

In this bridesmaid guide, we’ll give you a rundown of some of the key responsibilities both before the wedding and on the big day.

Shop for Bridesmaid Attire

The bridesmaids may all need to go shopping together, or might just be able to coordinate their measurements. Many brides will want their bridesmaids to be matching – she might ask for all of them to be wearing champagne colored bridesmaid dresses, for example.

It’s important to make sure this is done well in advance. You don’t want to have any last-minute wardrobe issues you need to deal with.

Plan the Bachelorette Party

You might be wondering how to be a bridesmaid if you’ve never done it before. The bachelorette party is one of the most important (but also most fun) parts of the whole experience. This will usually fall to the MOH (maid of honor) but the rest of the bridesmaids can also help.

You can assist with things like travel plans, activities, accommodation, and more. It’s a good idea to split the costs between the bridesmaids to cover the bride’s expenses.

Help With Wedding Planning Tasks

A typical wedding will involve florists, cake bakers, caterers, etc. but there are also plenty of small tasks that you might help with as a bridesmaid. This can include:

  • Alphabetizing escort cards
  • Stuffing envelopes
  • Attending hair/makeup trials
  • Helping pick out rentals

This will all depend on what the bride needs help with in preparation for the wedding.

Get Ready With the Bride

On the day, you should arrive with everything you need (dress, shoes, makeup, etc.) with plenty of time to spare. On top of helping the bride prepare to walk down the aisle, you’ll need to do other things like ensuring she eats and stays hydrated, dealing with any logistics (texts, calls, etc.), and helping her stay calm and collected

Assist the MOH

The maid of honor has a lot of responsibility, so you should help her ensure things go smoothly. This typically involves things like coordinating with the photographer and wedding planner, keeping track of a wedding day emergency kit, and dealing with any last-minute issues.

Maintain a Stress-Free Send-Off

At the end of the night, there’s likely to be a lot of stuff that needs to be transported from the venue. You may need to assist the MOH, the couple’s parents, and others. Some of the items that will need to be dealt with include:

  • Clothing
  • Decor/signage
  • Bouquets
  • Wedding gifts and cards
  • Guest book
  • Leftover alcohol
  • More

It can be tricky to make sure everything goes into the right vehicle, so there may be some corrections to be made in the following days.

Taking Care of Bridesmaid Duties

It’s important to be aware of your bridesmaid duties well in advance of the wedding. You’ll need to help out on the lead-up to the big day and on the day itself. This will help ensure your friend has the perfect wedding.

For more wedding-related articles, check out some of our other blog posts.