Should the sister always be Maid of Honor?

No its not "normal". Its who ever you want by your side. Your sister doesnt have to be in the wedding party at all if you dont want her too.

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Have your MOH be the one (or multiple) woman/women in your life you want to honor whether that's your sister, your cousin, your best friend, your grandma, etc.

No it does not have to be your sister. FMIL tried forcing my FH to have his brother as his BM and it would have been awful. They are not close, they are awkward around each other. That would have made it awkward for his groomsmen who would have to be around that all day. And it wouldn't have been fair to FH who wanted his best friend to be there with him. You pick who you want based on who you are closer to.

Your MOH should be the person closest to you. If that's your sister, great! If it's your cousin, also great! There is no right or wrong answer to who you pick as your MOH.

No, my sister isn't even in my wedding party. We are not close AT ALL. I have my soul sisters standing next to me

No not normal, you do what you want.

My sister and I were each other's MOHs, but that's because we're very close. There's no rule that says is has to be your sister though.

It should be who ever you want it to be. If you are not close with your sister then she shouldn’t be expecting to be maid of honor or even in the wedding. If you feel that bad about it then make her a bridesmaid. There are no rules when it comes to these things at least not that I know of.

I think your cousin asked innocently. I'm sure she was just surprised you asked her. I wouldn't read into it too much. You're clearly closer with your cousin than your sister, so I don't think there is anything wrong with that, especially if you don't have a good relationship with your sister.

FH is very close with his two brothers, and he still didn't ask them to be best man. It's not necessary.

You definitely don't have to ask your sister just because she is your sister. You should ask someone who you feel closest to to be your MOH. I'm sure your cousin is actually honored.

My sister is getting married in July and neither me or our oldest sister is the MOH. I was not upset or surprised in the least. We are very close but she chose her best friend. There's absolutely no obligation - this sister is also my MOH as well.

I'm dealing with a similar issue. When I mentioned who I was planning on asking (it was someone who was not any of my three sisters) my mother and my sister looked at me like I was crazy.

My best friend is my MOH and my two sisters are bridesmaids. None of them questioned my choices. I wouldn't worry about it. You can always ask your sister if something is wrong.

MOH should be whoever you want to stand with you, who supports you the most.

i have two sisters in law who arent in my WP. i wouldnt dare think of putting them in my best friend's spot - i love them dearly, but my BFF Sarah deserves that spot.

if you're closer to your cousin, then it shouldn't be an issue. it should be who you're closest to.

I’ve never heard of it being normal for the sister to be a MOH. Just as PP’s said, it is who you are closest with!

Very often it is a sister if the bride has one, but I have been MOH twice for friends who have sisters but aren't super close to their sisters. One had her sister as a bridesmaid, the other had a wedding party of just me/MOH and the Best Man. My SIL has 3 sisters and selected her best friend as MOH and all 3 sisters as bridesmaids. In another wedding I was a bridesmaid and the bride's sister was her MOH, because even though they fight nonstop and hate each other half the time, they are BFFs the other half of the time and it was important to them. So..... You do you!

My sister wasn't my MOH.

It is whoever you want it to be. I have been to weddings where the sister is not even in the bridal party because the siblings are not close.

I've been a MOH two times for someone who had sisters but didn't choose them. One of my daughters asked a friend to be her MOH while my other 2 daughters are BM's. My other daughter made her two sisters co-MOH's It's really up to you.

Your maid of honor can be whoever you want.. my sister isn't even one of my bridesmaids. We have become closer in the past few months, However I stand by my decisions.