My best friend is getting married.

The Happy Couple

I wrote about this in an earlier post briefly and now I’d like to expand a bit.

One week prior to the proposal, my best friend called me early one morning near tears. She told me she had a dream the night before that I got engaged and didn’t tell her. At the time, I wasn’t dating anyone, so it was a preposterous dream, but she was livid at the idea that such a big moment would take place and I would leave her out of the loop.

The very next week, I received a phone call standing line to check in at the airport. Her boyfriend proposed and I was the first one she called. Granted, everyone else was there for the proposal, and I was out of town, but still. Of course, tears ensued in the middle of the Southwest line and then a beautiful picture message arrived showing the diamond he put on her finger asking her to spend the rest of her life with him.

I couldn’t be happier for her.

Last fall, my best friend and I were eating dinner at Chipotle (yes, I remember exactly where we were and how we were sitting) and she asked me to be her maid of honor. I was so honored and once again, tears ensued. I was so excited and nervous at the same time. I had no idea what a maid of honor was supposed to do.

I watched 27 Dresses (I know, I know. It’s just a movie), visited many Web sites and turned to my mom and step-mom for any clues.

From these resources, I became under the impression that the maid of honor was supposed to do everything. She was supposed to spend every second with the bride – dress shopping, dress fitting and altering, making sure all the bridesmaids were outfitted properly, visiting the florist, the caterer, the venue, tasting lots of food, helping design the cake, arranging the bridal shower, the bachelorette party, and being at the bride’s beck and call throughout the whole planning and execution of the wedding day.

I freaked out.

Not only was I just designated maid of honor, I was Editor-in chief of the CU Independent and a full-time student with a part time job trying to graduate.

To top it off, she wanted to get married in Costa Rica. Luckily, and after a long talk, she decided that she would rather have the people closest to her at her big day then lose out on people that couldn’t afford to fly to Costa Rica and spend time and money there for her wedding.

I later learned that her “sister” (a younger girl she grew up with and was very close to) and I were going to be “co-maids of honor.” Now, I was even more confused.

So, I decided to take a step back and see how everything panned out. Her “sister” began planning the bachelorette party which is to be an all-day event, and we agreed that she would plan the day part and, since she’s not 21, I would plan the bar night.

I am now also in charge of several other wedding tasks, such as the bridesmaids’ gifts (excluding her “sister’s” and mine) and the groomsmen gifts and arranging transportation for the bride and groom to their hotel after the wedding reception.

What I’ve learned thus far throughout this experience is that the responsibilities of a maid of honor really depend on the bride. Some brides don’t want to do any planning themselves; others want to do it all. It’s just important that you’re there and available to help when she needs it.

Now we’ll just have to see which “co-maid of honor” gets to stand next to the bride at the ceremony 🙂

Whoever it is, I know this wedding will be the wedding of her dreams and that’s all I could ever wish for my best friend.