A couple weeks ago, I was a bridesmaid in my dear friend Emily Jane's wedding at The Tarrytown House Estate in Tarrytown, New York. I had never been a bridesmaid before so I was working on all these assumptions about what it means to be a good bridesmaid...like, obviously, planning an awesome bachelorette party. I spent most of the week before the wedding with Emily and her family and I realized that there are really important things to do for your favorite bride as she's getting ready for her big day.
1. Make her laugh. Weddings are serious business and she's going to have a lot on her mind, so making sure she takes time to really enjoy herself. I took Emily, her mom, aunt, and sister-in-law to see Bridesmaids on the Saturday before the wedding and it. was. hilarious.
2. Share something new with her. I'm a huge fan of yoga and I dragged Em along to a Bikram yoga class and man, let me tell you, she was a champ. It's nice to remind your bride that there's a whole wide world of experiences and adventures waiting for her after the reception winds down and that you can still act like a fool as you're trying to become a Japanese Ham Sandwich even when you're officially a Mrs.
3. Take pictures. Emily had the most amazing photographer, Lindsay Docherty, there to capture all the special moments, and I am absolutely dying to see them. But those pictures aren't up quite yet so a lil bit of documentation can go a long way in satisfying the bride's appetite for pics until the professional ones are ready.
4. Make sure she gets her engagement ring cleaned! Yes, I am biased, and I think you should visit your local jeweler as much as humanly possible to make sure your diamond is as perfect as possible. But seriously. She'll be putting on the wedding band right up next to her engagement ring for the first time, so make sure she gets it cleaned.
5. Listen. Whether she's excited, scared, manic, mellow, or totally crazed...or all of the above...you're doing more for her than you could possibly know by sitting and listening to everything that's on her mindgrapes. She asked you to be a bridesmaid because she values your relationship and company, and nothing could represent that better than sitting and listening.
I can't believe I am just now seeing this post! You were an absolutely amazing bridesmaid and the best friend I could ever ask for. Having you by my side made everything just feel and go so much better. You would never know you were a novice at this, champ! I love the way you extracted such great advice from our week together. The whole thing seems like such an amazing blur. It's so wonderful to see it from your perspective. And yes, I would love to transform my body into a "Japanese ham sandwich" again with you sometime. Yay for new experiences and even more for all the amazing memories!
ReplyDeleteLove, EJ