You are so excited that you can hardly breathe, your best friend just asked you to be her bridesmaid, and you can’t wait to help her! This is the moment you have both been dreaming of since you were little girls. But, now you start to panic. What if you can’t fulfill your bridesmaid duties? What if you fail your friend? Well, by following our guide, you will be the best bridesmaid ever!

Ask The Bride What She Needs

It never hurts to ask your bride what she expects of you and what her vision is for her wedding. That way, you can properly understand how you can best serve her. Some brides will come right out and let your know what they need, but some more timid brides won’t, so whatever you do ask the bride first.

Get To Know The Other Maids

There is a good chance that you might have heard of the other bridesmaids, but never actually met them. Spend some time getting to know those girls. Maybe all go out to dinner or drinks to talk about how excited you are and how you can make your friend’s wedding go as smoothly as possible. Having a bridal party that gets along is half the battle for any bride.

Don’t Whine…Directly To The Bride

The bride is dealing with so much stress right now, that she doesn’t care about your opinion or for you to remind her of something you don’t like. Everyone is giving her their views right now about how her wedding should go, so why stress her out even more? If you don’t like the dress, call your mom and whine, not the bride or her bridal party. Sick of her attitude? Don’t tell her. Hate her color choices? Once again keep your lips shut. It is not your day, so don’t complain like you’re running the show.

Keep The Bride As Calm As Possible

There are going to be many times that your bride is going to be close to an emotional or physical melt down. That is why she picked you to stand by her side. She needs you to remind her that everything is going to be all right. She needs you to tell her that she is getting married to the love of her life. You have to be there to remind her this will all be worth it.

Take Pictures

Sometimes, because the bride is so stressed out or looking to please everyone, she won’t have time to get the desired pics she wants from every bridal occassion. Take care of that for her. Always have your phone handy to snap a quick picture or capture the bride in an adorable moment. When you present her with the pictures later, she’ll be so appreciative.

Be Wise With Money

Now, I am not saying that you have to spend an arm and a leg to make everything perfect for your friend’s big day, but don’t be too stingy or too generous with your money. If the dress is a reasonable price, spend the money. If she needs party favors and the other maids don’t have a ton of cash, help them out. Be prepared to spend money during this time, but don’t have a bitter attitude about it. For tips on what you should buy vs. what the bride should buy, we have the article here. 

Plan The Bachelorette Party Early

When people think about being bridesmaids, they inevitably think about the bachelorette party. If you know your friend’s wedding date, get planning with the other bridesmaids as soon as possible. That means you’ll be able to come up with a very thought out night that hopefully all the other bridesmaids will be able to attend.

Have Safety Pins

You never know what is going to happen with someone’s dress, suit, or any article of clothing on a wedding day. Be prepared for clothing malfunctions with safety pins. This includes for the bride as well.

Have Snacks

A lot of times when people are cranky and stressed, they are really just hungry. Know you are going to have a late night of decorating or planning with the bride, order pizza or bring her favorite snacks. Wondering if other people will be hungry before it’s time to say I do on the big day? Why not have some granola bars handy for the occasion. 

Be As Supportive As Possible

Why not send your friend flowers or a special note when you know she is stressed out with wedding planning? Answer her late night texts or messages. Call her once a week just to check up on her. Whatever you do, just make sure that your friend knows that you are there for her no matter what.

Stay Out Of Drama

Most likely this might be occuring between the other bridesmaids and the bride, the bride and her family, or between the bridesmaids themselves. Try your best to be Switzerland. I know how amazing gossip can be at times, but try your best to remove yourself from all of it. You don’t want to get sucked into something that will upset your bride.

Bring The Fun

If the bride is feeling kind of down, stressed, or tired at a bridal event, be the fun. That means that you will cheer her up, interact with other guests, and just be bubbly overall. You need to act like you’re having a great time even if that means you’re faking it hardcore.

Dance, Dance, Dance

At some weddings, the crowd is just not feeling the dancing. You as a bridesmaid should always be feeling the dancing. The wedding is a celebration of your friend, which means your focus should be on her and her alone. That might mean dancing with her at the reception instead of flirting with the cute bartender or running to the bathroom for a break. You can do this, and it’s all you when Single Ladies comes on.

Don’t Get Drunk

Not even at the wedding. Nothing is more tacky or embarrassing than one of your bridemaids who let a little too loose. You don’t want to make a fool of yourself around friends. And, you don’t want to detract from the bride because of your stupid antics. You can get drunk any other night, just not at this wedding.

Give A Gift From The Heart

I know it can seem like a lot of pressure to get your best friend a great wedding gift, but don’t overthink it. Don’t let yourself compare your present to the other bridesmaids. You know your friend differently than they do, so give her a gift that you know she will love, no matter if it isn’t super expensive or fancy. Sometimes a gift of notes for every day of her new marriage is more meaningful than a new set of dishes. 

 

I hope that this guide helped to give you everything you need to know about being the best bridesmaid ever!  We hope that your bride has the best day with you by her side!

 

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