CHOOSING THE MATRON OF HONOUR

The Matron of Honour (or Chief Bridesmaid or Maid of Honour if you prefer) is chosen by the Bride. It is essential that any good Matron of Honour possesses a number of qualities and attributes, and to simply pick someone just because you were Matron of Honour at their wedding is not necessarily a good idea!

Much thought should be put into the process in order to attain the best result, and there are certain characteristics any good Matron of Honour should posess. The things to look out for in any candidate are:

• A caring nature (she will need to have one of these for the various ups and downs along the way)

• Good organisational skills (she needs to be to handle everything that the Bride and Groom chuck in her direction)

• A good listener (planning a wedding is difficult and the Chief Bridesmaid is the ideal person for the Bride to talk to when things seem a little tricky)

• An eye for detail and flair (it's easy to overlook things - a Matron of Honour with a good eye for detail will help to prevent this)

• Confidence (she needs to talk to people she has never met, dance with the wierd chap that the Groom has chosen as his Best Man and perhaps even make a speech!)

• Reliability (say no more)

• A good sense of humour (from the Hen Night to the Big Day itself, the last thing any Bride or Groom wants is someone whose face is constantly tripping her up - make sure that the Chief Bridesmaid is the life and soul of the party and not a sourpuss!)

Of course it may be obvious who gets the job – perhaps you are close to your sister or have a friend who you have known since childhood – but if there are a couple of options, it is always worthwhile checking their credentials against the above skill-set before making any Matron of Honour final decisions. Then again, if you really are struggling to decide, you could always ask the candidates to arm wrestle!