Having Two Maids of Honor

We’re seeing a wonderful trend among our brides and their bridal parties – the brides have named two of their closest friends or sisters as their co-maids of honor. These lucky brides experienced the enviable dilemma of having two fabulous, supportive women close to them, and when it came time to decide which would be their maid of honor, they decided not to choose.

The role of maid of honor is a sizeable one, with many assisting tasks, shopping trips, online searches, and especially planning a bridal shower and perhaps a bachelorette party for the bride. It’s actually quite wise to hand this role to two maids of honor, dividing the time-consuming responsibilities among them. Each spends half the time, tackles half the To-Do list, spends half the money, and the bride experiences the relief of knowing her wedding tasks are in good hands.

If you’re fascinated by the idea of having two maids of honor, here are some of the ways that your closest ladies can divide the tasks associated with the role:

• By location. A best friend who lives in your hometown can easily accompany you on dress-shopping expeditions, as many of our brides have reported of their own gown searches in Short Hills, Princeton, and other top shopping meccas in New Jersey. The second maid of honor can take on the lion’s share of online research on trends, bouquet designs, cake designs, etiquette answers and more.

• By personal interest. A sister who loves fashion may be the perfect candidate to lead the bridesmaids in their dress search and selection, and a friend who has a talent and passion for graphic design may create your Save the Date cards, wedding invitations, shower invitations, wedding programs and more.

• By financial position. A maid of honor who is in a higher tax bracket than the other may volunteer to take on the pricier tasks, such as booking a limousine for the bachelorette party, while the co-maid of honor tackles more time-consuming yet inexpensive tasks such as tracking down shower guests’ current mailing addresses.

Two of the most important roles of the maid of honor are holding the bride’s bouquet during the ceremony and signing the marriage license, so divide these tasks among your two maids of honors so that one gets the bouquet to hold and the other gets the pen to sign with. Both maids of honor can walk in the processional side-by-side to show their equal ranking in the bridal party, and of course you’ll title your unmarried friend or sister a maid of honor while a married friend or sister would be given the title matron of honor, according to age-old wedding etiquette rules. Whatever their title, your two maids of honor — or honor attendants, as you may wish to call them – will be there for you every step of the way, to help you plan, support you emotionally, and wish you well in this new chapter of your life.

Best,

Michael Mahle, Director of Communications, Pleasantdale Château