Well, some brides would have you believe that the maids of honor are their serfs for the duration of the engagement.
According to Miss Manners, the maid or matron of honor acts as the bride’s best friend, listens to confidences, etc.; helps with tasks to get the wedding to its conclusion; attends all wedding-related functions; motivates the bridesmaids to pitch in with her and give the bride a shower; fusses over the bride before the wedding while she is dressing, adjust her train if she has one during the ceremony, takes charge of the bride’s bouquet at the appropriate moment, produces the groom’s ring at the appropriate moment, and is in the receiving line at the reception. She helps the bride pack for her honeymoon, and tries to make sure the best man does not allow the groomsmen to stuff the get-away car full of paper, or write obscenities all over the back window.
Under normal circumstances, she is one of the two witnesses of the sacrament required by the Church besides the priest.
Your friend might need a little more support than the average bride, as she is also an expectant mom and if I read you right, she isn’t getting married until October 2006.
Without knowing her exact circumstances (and those are really none of my business), might an older woman offer some advice to you as you assume this duty for your friend? Waiting to get married is not a bad thing, pregnancy or not. It is better to be an unwed mother for a bit than to make things worse by not taking the time to fully consider all that Matrimony encompasses. Prayer, contemplation and preparation for her new life are of the utmost importance.
You might want to guide her, however, if possible, toward keeping her wedding a little more casual and inexpensive, for the baby’s sake. It can still (and will be) beautiful and momentous without the biggest dress, the flock of doves released afterwards, the champagne fountain, and the big band or best d.j. Those little darlings (babies) get expensive in their first year, and on a sailor’s salary (you said New Brunswick), a big wedding, even with Mom and Dad’s financial help, can be a strain on the budget. She shouldn’t count on money gifts from her reception guests. In the long run, an afternoon Mass and cake-and-punch reception might be the best way to go. The money she saves can be used for a host of other things that I can almost guarantee will occur the first five years of married life.:twocents:
