Always the bridesmaid . . . .

I am a professional bridesmaid, or at least I feel that I am. I have been a bridesmaid 5 times in the last two years with three more times coming up in the next year. When it all comes down to it, I really do love being a bridesmaid because I keep saying yes. There are things I hate about being a bridesmaid (which you will read about later on) which have made me a bit of a bitter bridesmaid. But when push comes to shove, I am a good and compassionate friend. And I have to take some pride in being a bridesmaid so often. It shows that I have quite a few friends who are so close and dear to me that they feel confident in me being by their side on the Big Day. Basically, I’m popular.

So these are my tales and adventures of always being a bridesmaid and never being a bride (hurrah!). The ups and downs, the temper tantrums, and the happy tears that come with a wedding. But these will also be tales about being a girl in the city, auditions, bad bosses, and being in a relationship that is headed to a wedding of my own.

So let’s get started with my Top Five list of the day:


Top Five Things I have learned about being a Bridesmaid

1. At some point, some woman is going to go temporarily crazy before the wedding. It might be the bride, it might be the mother of the bride, it might be a fellow bridesmaid, or it might be you; but someone is going to get a little bit freaky.

2. After the wedding, you need a ‘de-briding’ time from the friend in which you were the maid for. The point above is often the reason or it is simply that you have spent too much time ‘worshipping’ her and clearly you need a break.

3. Suck it up. Suck up the ugly wedding hair (it’s inevitable). Suck up the dress that you are never going to wear again (even if you get a dress you could wear again you’ll always know it was your bridesmaid dress and so will always feel as if you are in a wedding while wearing it). Suck up the fact your friend is acting like a two-year old child. Suck up the matching purses, shoes, earrings, etc. Basically suck it up.

4. Be honest. Nothing hurts a friendship more than a bitter bridesmaid. If the manicure and pedicure that the bride is insisting upon is going to tip you over into credit card debt hell then TELL HER. She might pull a #1 on you, but quite frankly a good friend should understand that you have limits: financially and emotionally. And if she doesn’t, then she really isn’t a very good bride.

5. Have fun and get drunk. You deserve it! The bride might think she deserves it the most but in fact it’s you who deserves to let go. You have had to deal with #1 and #3 so drink that champagne! And even if you are wearing a bright blue caftan and have a nightmare of a bride, it always makes for a funny story for later. Much later (See #2)