The Brides “Maid of Honour” or “Chief Bridesmaid” will be a key figure in the planning and organisation of the Wedding. It is your job to help the Bride in anyway you can such as, choosing invites, venues, favours and most importantly, her dress. Most Brides have admitted that with regards to planning her wedding, her Bridesmaid was much more helpful than her fiancé! help the Bride with her train for her great entrance, and generally be the calming influence on what is normally a bag of nerves and excitement! You will need to take hold of the Brides Bouquet during the ceremony, and keep the small Bridesmaids under control. You may be asked to make a speech at the Reception, and are supposed to dance with the Best Man. Last but not least, if you are single, you are supposed to catch the Bouquet! got this off a website

The bridesmaids have responsibilities and help prepare for the wedding. It also provides a chance for unmarried women to dress up and feel important, even though they're not getting married.

I did a quick Google search on the history of bridesmaids and came upon some interesting info: During the "marriage by capture" era, close friends of the groom-to-be assisted him when he kidnapped the bride from her family. The first ushers and best men were more like a small army, fighting off the brides angry relatives as the groom rode away with her. Bridesmaids and maids of honor became more common when weddings were planned. For several days before the marriage, a senior maid attended to the bride-to-be. This maid or matron of honor, as we know her today, ensured that the bridal wreath was made and helped the bride get dressed. All bridesmaids helped the bride decorate for the wedding feast. For a long time, bridesmaids wore dresses much like the bride's gown, while ushers dressed in clothing that was similar to the groom's attire. This tradition began for protection against evil rather than for uniformity; if evil spirits or jealous suitors attempted to harm the newlyweds, they would be confused as to which two people were the bride and groom. from http://www.birthdayexpress.com/bexpress/planning/WeddingTraditions.asp