You’re so excited! Your bestie has asked you to be in their wedding! Now what? As a bridesmaid there are so many tasks and responsibilities to take care of. How do you keep it all straight, and how do you know what you are personally responsible for?
Start a group chat!
Every bridal party is different. Some all live in the same city and others are spread across the country. Some have been best friends for years and others have never met anyone except the bride. It is important for the bride to start a group chat of some sort for the bridal party. Whether that is a group text, through messaging apps, or Facebook messenger, the bridesmaids should all have a way to communicate. This group chat can be used to plan or coordinate any number of events leading up to the big day.
Maid of Honor Tip: Start a secondary chat excluding the bride to plan surprises along the way!
Purchase your Bridesmaid Dress
This is a big part, if not the biggest part, of being a bridesmaid. If there is one thing you can do to help relieve stress for your bride on her wedding day, it is to purchase your dress on time! Discuss ahead of time the expectations for your dress. Whether it is purchasing a specific dress from a specific store, or if you’re tasked to find your own within a set of guidelines. You should also be honest with the bride about how you feel when it comes to the dress. While the ultimate decisions are on the bride as far as color and style, you should be honest about anything you are uncomfortable with. Especially with budget.
Bride Tip: Make it a point to communicate with your bridesmaids individually on what they are willing to spend for their dress. Many bridesmaids don’t want to make a fuss. Especially when in a room full of bridesmaids or in the group chat. They won’t let you know they are struggling to pay for the more expensive options.
Organize and Attend Pre-Wedding Events
BRIDAL SHOWER: A Bridal Shower is an event typically organized by the bridal party. If family members choose to plan a bridal shower in addition or in lieu of the bridal party’s, then the bridal party should at least offer to help organize and attend the shower. If you are located somewhere far away from the rest of the bridal party, you can offer to help in other ways. You can send invitations, determine what games to play, or help financially if you can.
BACHELORETTE: While the role of planning usually falls to the maid of honor, all bridesmaids should be involved in the bachelorette party. Discuss with the bride ahead of time what their expectations are and try to plan something that they and everyone will enjoy. If they just want a chill night in with her best friends, divide up who will bring each type of snack food and face mask. If the bride wants a wild weekend in Las Vegas, delegate who will be booking the Airbnb or hotel, cars, and any activity or show tickets.
Bride Tip: Be honest with your bridesmaids about what you want/expect in terms of your showers and bachelorette.
Maid of Honor Tip: Discuss with the entire bridal party if you will be covering costs for the bride. Many bridal parties choose to split all of the bride’s expenses, but it should be discussed ahead of time so everyone can budget accordingly.
Assist the Planning Process
While most wedding planning tasks fall to the wedding couple, as a bridesmaid, it never hurts to ask if you can help! The bride might appreciate a girls’ night stuffing and addressing invitations or another opinion at the cake tasting. Even if you just offer to be a listening ear when the bride is stressed, you’re helping in such a big way!
Bride Tip: Delegate what you can in your wedding planning to those around you. If your maid of honor is great at creating the perfect labels, give them a spreadsheet of your guest list to help label all of those invitations. Does one of your bridesmaids do phenomenal hand lettering? Ask them if they could letter those table numbers and seating chart you’ve been wanting to DIY.
Help the Bride Get Ready
The day of the wedding can be a stressful one. Anything a bridesmaid can do to alleviate that stress of the bride is a welcome assist. Coordinate with the entire bridal party, parents included, to make sure all needs are met. Determine who is bringing the snacks, drinks, hand steamer, and any other day-of necessities that you may need. Does the bride need a mid-morning pick me up? Offer to make a Starbucks run for their favorite drink. Are the bridesmaids’ dresses wrinkled? Offer to steam them. Does the baker know where to deliver the cake? Offer to take them to the cake table. Literally anything you can take off the bride’s plate that day, offer!
Bride Tip: Between the photography, hair and makeup vendors, set a timeline for the morning of your wedding and make sure everyone knows the schedule. You can even go as far as to say what order each bridesmaid will get their hair and makeup done. This will make the morning go smoothly. You will stay on time for those pre-ceremony shots with your photographer.
Maid of Honor Tip: Even with a carefully detailed schedule. With so many people bustling around, things can get off track quickly. Keep a watchful eye on the clock to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Everyone needs to keep to the schedule.
Get the Party Started
This one might seem a little silly, but this is your bestie’s wedding, get excited! Once the happy couple has their first dance, be the first one on the dance floor with the rest of the bridal party so everyone feels excited to join in! Get everyone involved so that everyone has a fantastic time!