The maid of honor is a very special person at a wedding. She is the one woman that the bride has chosen to be her top honor attendant, closest support person, and key assistant during the ceremony. Such an important person deserves to be distinguished from the rest of the attendants at the wedding. These are some ideas on how to set your maid of honor apart and to make her feel extra special.
Brides give bridesmaid gifts to their attendants to thank them for participating in their weddings. It is customary to give the maid of honor a gift which goes beyond the ones given to the rest of the bridesmaids. For instance, if you selected a pair of crystal earrings and a bracelet as your bridesmaid gifts, treat your maid of honor to the matching necklace as well. Or upgrade her bridesmaid jewelry set from silver to gold. A gift-within-a gift is another nice idea for your top honor attendant. If the bridesmaids were being given monogrammed cosmetic bags as their presents, you could slip a small bottle of your maid of honor’s favorite perfume into her cosmetic bag. She will be sure to see how extra special she is to the bride.
At the wedding ceremony, brides often like to set the maid of honor apart with her bouquet or attire. The top attendant could be given a larger bouquet to carry than the rest of the bridesmaids. Or her floral arrangement could be the same size, but a different color. Another idea is to use a special embellishment on the maid of honor’s bouquet, such as a crystal brooch pinned to the handle. If you want to do something very simple, you might even distinguish her bouquet just by tying the stems up with a big bow with long streaming ribbons, while doing a smooth bouquet wrap with no bow for the other girls.
As for attire, there are plenty of ways to showcase the maid of honor. If the bridesmaid dresses have sashes, hers could be in a different color. Often this is done by having the bridesmaid sashes be the same color as their dresses, and the maid of honor’s sash made in a contrasting hue. Or the bridesmaids could have colorful sashes while the bridesmaid wears one in white or ivory to visually tie her to the bride. Sometimes different necklines are used to set off the top attendant’s dress. Or perhaps she can wear an entirely different color than the other girls. I have seen this work very well when the bride chose a color for her bridesmaid dresses that her maid of honor (often her sister) did not want to wear. Letting the bride’s sister select a dress in a complementary color can both help to distinguish her and keep the peace in the family – both great goals!
A fantastic way to make your maid of honor feel extra special is to give her some one-on-one time with the bride, beyond the group bridesmaid activities. This is an especially good idea when the top attendant is also the bride’s sister. Too often sisters of the bride feel like they are pushed aside during the wedding planning process, and the relationship can suffer as a result. By taking her out to dinner or to a spa afternoon, the bride can really emphasize to her maid of honor how important she is in her life. That also sets the foundation for when the bride becomes a wife, and lets her sister or best friend know that their relationship will always be cherished, even as the bride starts a new phase in her life.
How else can you distinguish your maid of honor? There are countless ways, from giving her unique shoes to wear with a shorter bridesmaid dress to asking her to do a special reading during the marriage ceremony. In the end, everyone will be sure to see how important your maid of honor is to you.