There’s nothing that says “grown up” quite like your friends getting married and next year I’m lucky enough to have 3 of my friends weddings to look forward to!
As the “I do” dates gets closer for each bride, the
excitement builds and before you know it, you’re spending your days on
pinterest searching for hen party ideas
and spending your nights discussing wedding themes and bridesmaids dress
colours on the group facebook page.
Obviously, it’s a very exciting time, but also very
stressful, crazy, exhausting and hilarious for all involved! Here’s a few
things you can expect from the ring to the alter:
1) Once she gets
engaged it’s the best thing EVER!!
Like seriously, no one can stop talking about it. The
story gets re-told over weekly girly cocktail nights and it’s so romantic and
you don’t think you’ll ever experience that, and it slightly depresses you a
little, but it’s okay coz you’re super happy for your friend!
You’ll tag each other in bridal related facebook posts
and clips from Bridesmaids at least once a day.
2) You learn to
calm down.
Right okay, the initial hype is over- especially when you
learn the date is gonna be 3 years away and you have plenty of time to help her
plan and attend wedding fairs etc. Now is when I suggest you start saving,
(especially for the hen!)
3) Never assume
you know her as well as you think you do.
Aka, don’t assume you’ll be a Bridesmaid. Regardless if
you’ve known each other since the cradle, or made wedding scrapbooks in school
or survived uni or a work place together- she may have sisters or her fiance’s
sisters, cousins or close work colleagues she may plan on asking. If you are
asked- obv that’s amazing, but if
not, be gracious in her decision. It must truly be one of a gal’s toughest
decisions in life!
Also, she may have completely changed her mind in the
years since school when she wanted purple bridesmaids dresses and now she likes
the idea of peach. People change. Deal with it.
4) Bridesmaids
duties.
IF you do have
the honour of being a bridesmaid, please ensure when attending dress shopping
you support her as much as humanly possible when trying dresses on. Finding a
white dress that suits her figure, her budget, meets the bridal party approval
as well as tying in with her own bridal vision must be a nightmare! Make sure
you have a bank of wise words, some positive encouragement and even a cheeky
pair of sucky-in pants to assist with the vision part!
Also when it comes to bridesmaids dresses- mastering the
art of the quick change will be a god-send! The Bride’s allowed to change her
mind, so keep your hair tied back, wear minimal make-up and a smile. The
quicker you change, the quicker she can make a decision, and then you can hit
Frasers for a prosecco afternoon tea to celebrate!
5) Her engagement
party will be a mini wedding.
With so much attention to detail, from the cake to the
decorations, it’s essentially a preview to the big event. Plus it gives the
single gals (like myself) a chance to suss out which fit, single guys will be
attending, and avoid the weird ones.
6) You can’t say no to the Bride.
Don’t do this. Ever! For your own safety at least!
Planning a wedding is a stressful time and to make things
run as smoothly as possible, if the Bride asks for help with anything, just say
yes. Even if it goes against your morals, like wearing green or taking her
awkward Canadian cousin out for a beer. You’re doing it for
the greater good!
7) HEN DO
PLANNING!
Now this is my favourite part, (and currently the stage
I’m at with one of my friends).
Bridesmaid or not, you are one of her gals, and she
welcomes your ideas (no matter how crazy or wild) to share with the rest of the
group to plan the best hen night/weekend she could ever ask for!
Be prepped for the many important decisions you will all
have to make and agree on including where? (Weekend in Benidorm or Spa weekend
in the City?), strippers or naked butlers? Fiancé masks or inflatable penises?
SO much CHOICE!!
8) The Bride’s mum
will end up becoming “one of the gals”.
Basically, Susan has now become an extension of your
friendship group, which in fact turns out to be pretty awesome. She’s at all the
fittings, the fairs and she’s always got snacks in her bag and never turns down
another glass of prosecco! Welcome to the squad, Susie!
9) Trying to be
responsible.
I say “try”, coz at some point on the hen do or even
attending a wedding fair, you want to come across as somewhat responsible, either
by making a plan, doing a group head-count or even mediating disagreements
between a few of the other girls, (all while slightly tipsy). Points for
trying at least!
10) Letting your
hair down.
On the hen do, between spells of trying to be
responsible, you will have the chance to completely let your hair down and get
wild. For example, winching a footballer, downing sambuca like it’s water,
dancing on tables, spilling chip-shop gravy over the bride’s shirt and passing
out in your full Hawaiian theme costume and contact lenses, much to the worry of
one of the other Bridesmaids.
Yes... this happened to me. Exactly.
But it makes for some hilarious story re-telling in years
to come.
Classy as ever
11) Before the
wedding, you’ll take a few days off work to prepare.
This is a wedding and not your standard night out after all.
Tans must be sprayed, nails must be manicured,
accessories for outfits must be purchased last minute and hair appointments
must be made for the big day.
12) The big day
has arrived and the amount of prep doesn’t seem to have been enough.
Bridesmaid or not, you will probably spend at least 2-3
hours or more in hair and make-up, sipping prosecco before noon and panicking
about whether or not you’re organised. Whatsapping the group to double check
things are in place and everything is as it should be, you’ll probs still be
fixing your hair or hurriedly applying your lippy half way out the door and into the car.
13) Feeling
emotional.
Your friend is getting MARRIED! Right now, before your
very eyes and it’s so overwhelming, you’re crying, (or are you just tired?).
Everything’s so pretty and she looks beautiful and she’s marrying the man of
her dreams and you start to wonder again if this will ever happen to you.
Think of your eye make-up, Stace! Do not ruin your smokey
skillz!
14) Not wanting
the reception to end.
The food, the tunes, the photos and the company! This is
the chance for everyone to relax and have fun. Your friend is officially married! And
everyone celebrates by taking way too many tequila shots, clumsily dancing the Macarena
and posing with big sunglasses and wigs in the photo booth. I always hope they have a wind machine so I can unleash
my inner Beyonce, coz lets face it- the DJ won't playSingle
Ladies, even though you'll request it about 3 times before he relunctantly agrees, (by which time you'll no doubt be in the bathroom helping the bride pee!) T Y P I C A L !
15) It begins to
cause a ripple affect amongst the friendship group.
Marriage is like the flu. Once one person has it, it’s
not long before it starts spreading to the others. Maybe that was a bad
euphemism, but you catch my drift. Since a few of my pals have said “I do”
already, others weren’t far behind in putting a ring on it.
Even though the stress of planning is exhausting, I am
super happy for each and every one of them. Plus it means I won’t have to miss out on the planning, the girly politics and the pro-arguments for strippers for too
long!
Stace x
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