Bridal couples ask us again and again what tasks we take on as wedding planners and designers on the wedding day. We often hear: “The best man and maid of honor are very active and would like to support us – what’s the difference?”
In this blog post, we explain what are the tasks of a wedding planner, the best man/maid of honor and the master of ceremony each take on and how they complement each other.
Clear distribution of roles for a relaxed wedding
First of all, a wedding planner or designer does not take any tasks away from the best man/maid of honor or the master of ceremony . Rather, we ensure smooth organization in the background, while the best man/maid of honour can concentrate fully on the bride and groom. There are tasks that best man/maid of honor or the master of ceremony can hand over to the wedding planner, but the tasks of the wedding planner should never be taken over by the best man/maid of honor. Especially because many things happen in the background – often at the venue before the guests arrive.
Everything went smoothly at Jana & Kevin’s wedding. The master of ceremony did a great job and looked after the guests very well, while we wedding planners stayed discreetly in the background and coordinated everything.
The tasks of the best man/maid of honor
Best men/maid of honor have a very special role on the wedding day: they are the moral support of the bride and groom and support them in many different areas. Here is an overview of the typical tasks:
- Accompanying the bride and groom
- Fix hair and dresses
- Checking personal belongings
- Organizing drinks and food
- Carrying the rings
- Holding the bridal bouquet
- Assisting with group photos and the bridal couple shoot
- Taking and writing names on gifts
The tasks of the master of ceremony
The master of ceremony is primarily responsible for the guests and ensures that the daily routine runs smoothly. This includes the following tasks:
- Welcoming guests to the venue
- Seating instructions during the ceremony
- Announcements for the guests
- Coordinating the movement of guests
- Support with transportation
- Moderation and activities in the evening
- Payment of tips
If there is no master of ceremony present, the wedding planner will take over most of these tasks.
The tasks of the wedding planner
A wedding planner is the central point of contact on the wedding day – for the bride and groom as well as for service providers, guests, best man/maid of honor and the officiant. Here are the most important tasks of a wedding planner:
- Contact person for the bridal couple, service providers, guests and witnesses
- Setting up the infrastructure
- Checking the settings for the ceremony, aperitif and banquet
- Testing the technology and checking the sequence of events
- Welcoming and moving guests
- Coordinating the service providers and clarifying their questions
- Ensuring that the schedule is adhered to
- Standing in for emergencies and making decisions at short notice
- Placing floral decorations and setting up table decorations
- Place signage and photo boxes
- Checking the table setting and photographing the decorations
- Taking down decorations and returning rental material
Good cooperation for the perfect day
As you can see, there are clear differences between the roles of best man/maid of honor, master of ceremony and wedding planner. It is important that everyone involved works well together and knows exactly what their role is on the wedding day. A joint final meeting, in which all tasks are distributed and open points are clarified, ensures that the bridal couple can enjoy the big day stress-free. This allows the bride and groom to concentrate on the essentials: their guests and celebrating their love!
We as wedding planners also enjoyed the day and the preparations with Jana & Kevin and the cooperation with the bride and groom and the wedding planner was great.
Am meisten geflasht hat uns die Unterstützung am Hochzeitstag selbst. Wir haben uns in den besten Händen gefühlt und konnten uns voll und ganz auf das liebensding-Team vor Ort verlassen und es hat alles reibungslos funktioniert. Als Hochzeitspaar ist das Gold wert, denn der Tag selbst ist schon an und für sich seeehr aufregend. – Zitat von Jana & Kevin
If you would like to find out more about professional wedding planning, please visit Liebesding.ch.
