Here are 15 helpful responsibilities moms can handle with ease.

• Help bride and groom scout out wedding and reception sites and ask friends/family for vendor recommendations.

• Serve as the main contact for wedding pros (especially if the wedding is taking place in your town and the bride lives elsewhere).

• Help bride choose her wedding dress, trousseau, and wedding-night peignoir.

• Compile and submit names and addresses of your family and friends to be included on the master guest list.

Traditionally, the bride's mother has absorbed most of the pre-wedding responsibilities, while the groom's family assumed more of a back seat. Nowadays, both moms take on a significant role in the planning process, especially if the two families are sharing the financial burden. No matter what the case, here's what's expected of the mother of the groom.

• When the engagement is announced, call the bride's parents as soon as possible. Express your happiness and invite them over for cocktails or out to dinner.

• Host a dinner to introduce the bride to the groom's side of the family.