Can You Have Two Maids of Honor (Pros and Cons of 2)
If you are trying to choose your bridal party and you’re asking yourself questions like, “can you have two maids of honor for the wedding“, we have some great advice for you.
So, can you have two Maids of Honor for a wedding?
Yes, you can have two maids of honor for a wedding. Having two MOHs is becoming much more common these days even though traditional wedding etiquette used to say that each wedding had one Maid of Honor and one best man.
Today, couples are ditching outdated wedding traditions and making their wedding day more personalized to them.
I have photographed and helped plan over 500 weddings and I have seen over 40 weddings that had two or more maids of honor (all of the photos in this blog post were personally taken by me).
Here is what we cover in this article:
- Should you have two Maids of Honor?
- What real brides and bridal party members are saying about having two Maids of Honor
- The pros and cons of having two Maid of Honors
- How to divide responsibilities between two Maid of Honors/Matron of Honors
- How to make your two Maid of Honors stand out from the rest of the bridal party
- Frequently asked questions about having two Maids of Honor
Should You Have Two Maids of Honor?
Should you have two Maids of Honor?
If you have two special people in your life who you can’t imagine NOT standing by your side on the day you get married, then yes, you should have two Maids of Honor (or one Maid of Honor and one Matron of Honor).
Maybe you have a best friend and a sister (or a different family member) who are equally as important to you.
Maybe you have multiple family members or close friends who you have always dreamed of being a major part of the wedding planning process.
No matter what your situation is or whatever the reason is, it is perfectly acceptable to have multiple Maids of Honor for your wedding (I once photographed a wedding that had 3 Maids of Honor!)
What Real Brides and Maids of Honor Say
I could give you my opinion all day long but I thought it would be much better to ask real brides and Maids of Honor from our community to give us their opinion.
We sent our readers the following questions:
Do you think it’s ok to have two Maids of Honor (or even more)?
What would you say to future brides trying to decide if they should have more than one Maid of Honor?
Just to show you how common having more than one MOH is, we received 730 responses!
Here are a few of the comments that we received:
“I have two maids of honor and one bridesmaid. It’s your day! Do what you want! I’m having one next to me during the ceremony and the other next to me during dinner. With two, it makes planning way easier on me because there are two people who are working hard to keep me sane and happy lol”
“I have two sisters and there was no way I could ever pick between them! So I have two!”
“I have two! One is my maid of honor (my best friend since we were born) and my matron of honor (my cousin who is pretty much my sister). My hubby has a best man and also asked his sister to be his “sister of honor”!
“I had two! One didn’t help at all and one was amazing. I loved having the backup lol”
“I’ve been in a wedding where I was the Maid of Honor and someone else was the Matron of Honor! We both gave speeches and both planned a bachelorette party and bridal shower. I loved doing all the planning with help.”
“I have two! They are my two best friends…we are a trio package so I couldn’t just have one of them.”
“I have a matron of honor and maid of honor. For dresses, I am going to let them pick whatever dresses they want but keep the same color as the rest of the girls that way they are each a little unique compared to the bridesmaids.”
The Pros and Cons of Having Two Maids of Honor For Your Wedding
Having two maids of honor can be a great way to honor two special people in your life. It can also make it easier to divide up responsibilities and share the workload when it comes to wedding planning for your big day.
Here are some of the pros of having two maids of honor:
- You get to include two important people in your wedding party
- It allows you to divide up responsibilities and share the workload
- You can have two different perspectives and ideas when it comes to planning the wedding.
A few potential cons of having two maids of honor:
While having two maids of honor can be a fantastic idea, there are also a couple of potential downsides to consider if you are thinking about having more than one Maid of Honor:
- It could be harder to make decisions and come to an agreement with two people in charge. They might not always be on the same page.
- You might have to spend more time coordinating and communicating with two maids of honor
- There could be confusion about who is in charge of what or who took care of what when it comes to the wedding, bridal shower, and/or bachelorette party (staying organized will be really important if you have two Maids of Honor)
Ultimately, the decision of whether to have two maids of honor or not is a personal one.
Consider the pros and cons carefully and talk to your potential maids of honor to see if they are willing and able to share the responsibilities when it comes to planning and decision making.
How To Divide Maid of Honor (Matron of Honor) Duties and Responsibilities
There are so many responsibilities that the Maid of Honor typically helps the bride with: pre wedding events and parties like the bachelorette party, bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, etc.
If you have two Maids of Honor, how should you split up some of the tasks?
Here are a few ideas when it comes to splitting up the responsibilities between your two Maid of Honors:
Divide the tasks based on strengths
Each Maid of Honor might have different skills or interests.
If one MOH is good at organizing and planning, she could take charge of planning showers (bridal and/or bachelorette) or researching important vendors like wedding venues, photographers, or a wedding planner.
If one of your MOHs is more creative, they could help with DIY projects or helping with any design aspects of the big day.
Maybe one of your Maid of Honors has a passion for fashion. They could help with dress shopping for the bridal party.
If one of your girls is really great dealing with people, they could help chase down late RSVPs from wedding guests who have not sent them back (this will 100% happen)
Have them both help with some of the pre-wedding event planning
Sometimes it is simply better to have more than one person helping the bride.
The bride is going to have so much on her plate. Having two of the most important people in her life offering advice and emotional support during the planning process is going to take so much of the stress off the bride.
How To Make Your Two Maids of Honor Stand Out
One concern that many brides have when having two MOHs or a Maid of Honor and a Matron of Honor is making each one feel equally special.
There are so many ways to make each girl stand out.
The best way (and easiest way) to make your Maids of Honor stand out is to have them wear different dresses than the rest of the bridal party.
And if you want one MOH to look different than the other Maid of Honor, you could have them each wear a different dress style or color.
As one of our readers mentioned above, she let her two MOHs pick whatever dresses they wanted but kept the same color as the rest of the bridal party. That way each Maid of Honor looked a little unique compared to the other bridesmaids.
Here are a few more ideas to consider if you want your Maids of Honor to stand out from the rest of the girls:
- Have Maid of Honor bouquets made that look a little different than the rest of the bridal party (maybe a little bigger or a different color)
- Have each Maid of Honor do a special reading during the ceremony
- Ask each to give a Maid of Honor speech
- Make one of them a Matron of Honor if that works for your situation
Frequently Asked Questions About Having Two Maids of Honors (FAQ)
If I have two Maids of Honor, which Maid of Honor holds the bride’s bouquet during the ceremony?
This answer is going to apply to this question and the next few questions. You could split up some of the traditional MOH responsibilities so that each MOH gets to help with some of the special tasks.
Maybe one Maid of Honor could hold the bouquet and the other could fix the dress once the bride gets to the alter.
During the wedding ceremony, who stands next to the bride if there are 2 Maid of Honors?
As mentioned above, you can split some of these duties between the two girls.
One MOH can stand next to you during the ceremony and the other can sit next to you at the reception.
When having a Maid of Honor and Matron of Honor, which one sits next to the bride during dinner at the wedding reception?
One Maid of Honor can sit next to the bride during the dinner and the other can stand next o her at the ceremony.
If I have two Maids of Honor, which one plans the bridal shower and/or bachelorette party?
Both of the girls can help plan the pre wedding events. We go into detail on how to split up the responsibilities above.
Can you have 2 Maid of Honors on your wedding day?
Yes, you can have 2 Maid of Honors. As mentioned above, there are no rules when it comes to choosing your wedding party. You can have as many Maid of Honors as you want. We once photographed and planned a wedding where the couple’s dog was the MOH.
If I have Two Maids of Honor, do I have to have other bridal party or wedding party members?
No, you do not have to other bridal party members. Remember, this is your wedding day and you get to make this day look however you want. We have personally seen many weddings where there are two Maid of Honors but no other bridesmaids.
Can a bride have 3 Maid of Honors for her wedding day?
Yes, you can have as many Maid of Honors as you want on your wedding day. There are no rules when it comes to choosing your wedding party. There is no need to follow old-fashioned wedding etiquette these days.
If you have multiple sisters or close friends who you love and want to help you plan the wedding, have 3 or as many as you like.
What do you call a second Maid of Honor?
A 2nd Maid of Honor can either be called a Maid of Honor or a Matron of Honor (A Matron of Honor is simply someone who is married)
Who signs the marriage license as a witness when I have two Maids of Honor?
Anyone can be a witness on the wedding day. Ask each of the girls if they want to do it. If more than one wants to be the witness, flip a coin or have them play rock-paper-scissors lol
Are Matron of Honor duties the same as the Maid of Honor duties?
Yes, all of the responsibilities and duties are the exact same. The only difference between a Maid of Honor and a Matron of Honor is the Matron of Honor is married (The Maid of Honor is not married).
More Wedding Planning Tips and Resources
- The ultimate guide to Maid of Honor responsibilities
- 100 will you be my bridesmaid (maid of honor) proposal ideas
- How to end your Maid of Honor speech
- Maid of Honor planner and organizer
- How to write the best Maid of Honor speech
*All photos in this article were taken by Thomas from PA Unveiled (Please give proper credit if you use them)
