Your best friend is getting married and you have been asked to be her bridesmaid and it is such an exciting time. Bridesmaids have a number responsibilities leading up to the wedding.  The bride will rely on you to help her make many decisions, address invitations or help with any other wedding DIY that needs to be done and to support her emotionally through this exciting, yet stressful time in her life.  You will help her choose a dress, a venue, the bridesmaid’s outfits, offer décor ideas and the list goes on.

Be prepared for the expenses involved.  You may be expected to pay for your own dress, shoes, hair and make-up if the bride is on a budget.  If the venue chosen is one where the bridal party will be expected to stay overnight either the night before or the night of the wedding, be prepared to pay for that as well.  It is also your responsibility to throw the bride a hen night or bachelorette.  You need to be prepared to pay for all the décor, props and the brides outfit for the evening. Keep a list of all the gifts received at the bachelorette so that the bride can write thank you cards afterwards.
 
Make a program of events for the big day.  Become au fait with the program and try to stick to it.  You will need to help her get ready on the day and make sure the bride is at the church on time.   Make sure that the bride has something to eat the morning of the wedding.  It is also your responsibility to offer snacks and refreshments the morning of the wedding. You will need to get the bride out of the car at the ceremony and arrange her dress and veil.  During the ceremony you will be required to hold the bride’s bouquet and you may be required to witness the signing of the register.
 
During the reception, you will need to remind the bride to have something to eat as she may be too busy to think about this.  Accompany the bride to the bathroom and make sure that her dress looks beautiful and that her hair and make-up are still in place and apply touch-ups when necessary.  You will join in the first dance with the best man and if you may give a speech about the bride.
 
Before the bride and groom leave the reception, make sure that their vehicle has been decorated and that the bride’s wedding night bag has been packed into the car.  After the reception, you may need to help to ensure that all the wedding gifts have been taken away from the venue at the end of the evening.
 
Being a bridesmaid is an honour, but is a big responsibility and can cost you a lot of money, so before you accept, you must be aware of the duties you are letting yourself in for.