6 Things Great Bridesmaids Should Know

1. Be on time.

This is probably the most important one. If you ignore the rest and keep this one in mind, the bride (and her wedding photographer) will thank you a lot. You see, the wedding day’s logistics depends on everyone being on time. If one portion of the day goes late, say hair and makeup for example, everyone else involved will have to play catch up. And often when that happens, rise in stress levels among brides occur. And you don’t want that.

Seriously.

2. Help organize the bride’s details.

I’m talking about the dress, the bouquet, her shoes, jewelries. Be proactive and get the dress ready. Find a place to hang it, take it out of the bag, and make sure it looks perfect. Steam the dress if needed. Put her bouquet and her shoes close by as her wedding photographer will ask for these. I’ve photographed weddings where the bride was the only person in the room who knew where her things were and so instead of just concentrating on getting her hair and makeup done, she was too busy gathering these things for me. It was not her bridesmaids fault really as they didn’t know what was to be expected of them.  But now you do ;)

3. Make sure the bride eats something.

Scariest thing I’ve ever come across was a bride almost passing out during portraits because she was hypoglycemic. Luckily the groom and his groomsmen were close by and they were able to catch her before face planting on the ground.

Yikes!

With everything that’s going on, sometimes brides forget to eat. I know on my own wedding day, I only had breakfast at 8 am and didn’t really get to eat until dinner time at 7pm. I was lucky nothing happened then. My point is, it’s not uncommon for abride to be in need of sustenance as the day progress. If they don’t get enough food, they either pass out or become someone else (because you know, they are not themselves when they’re hungry.) So please remember to pack something to eat, not just for the bride but for everyone in the wedding party. Granola bars, juice, pop (something with sugar) are a few things you can easily put in a bag and stash in the limo.

4. Don’t point out any minor problem.

The worst thing you can do to someone who’s already stressed is to stress them even more. If you find something that potentially could be a problem, solve it yourself if you can. If not, delegate someone else. Better yet, if it’s really, REALLY minor, (like, bridesmaid A’s shoes is half a shade darker than everyone else’s) don’t even mention it.

5. Anticipate the bride’s needs.

Get the details ready for the photographer. Get yourself dressed before you help the bride put hers. Get her dress prepped once she’s ready to put it on. Offer her something to eat or drink. Basically, you’re her personal assistant for the day and that’s an honour because she trusts you. I hate to say it but being a bridesmaid is not just there to look pretty. You’ve got an important job to do.

6. Don’t complain.

Sometimes I watch TLC’s Say Yes To The Dress bridesmaid’s edition and just can’t fathom how much some of these bridesmaids complain or make things difficult for the bride, I sometimes end up yelling at the TV, telling the bride to just fire that particular bridesmaid.  If you’ve seen the show, you know what I’m talking about. On the wedding day though, try to minimize the complaining especially if it only concerns you ( again, sorry to say!). It’s not just about you, it’s about the bride and her whole wedding experience. One Negative Nelly in a wedding party is enough to bring the whole mood down. Keep it positive people even for just one day.