As a bride, your bridesmaids – together with your maid of honor – are your lifeline to all things wedding.  They’re just not there to march with you down the aisle and hold your train on your wedding day.  They are with you every step of the way.

Choosing your bridesmaids – Perhaps in this way I’m a traditionalist in that you shouldn’t just pick any random person to be your bridesmaid.  I just feel like you want every part of your wedding to be special, something to be shared with the people you love and love you back, and that includes the planning part.  The planning is one of the more challenging parts of a wedding so it’d be really great if you choose bridesmaids that could support you, help you, and be there for you through thick and thin.  This could be your sister, your friend, or a close co-worker, one that understands your moods and helps you get over setbacks.

Bridesmaid duties and responsibilities – As mentioned, bridesmaids don’t just accompany the bride down the aisle and pose for pictures.  They have a lot of responsibilities, which a lot of first-time bridesmaids don’t realize such as:

• Help the brides with the planning of the wedding
• The help the bride with errands of the wedding day.
• Helps with or the making of table decorations and or DIY wedding crafts.
• Helps maid of honor with bridal shower.
• Attend ceremony rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.
• Walk behind the bride during the wedding procession.
• Stands near her during the ceremony.
• Have a dance with the groomsmen
• Assists the maid of honor when needed.
• Help load gifts into car.
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Bridesmaids’ dresses – There are stories of brides picking out horrendous dresses for their bridesmaids just to ensure that she’ll be the fairest of them all at her wedding.  You do not want to be that bride, of course.  Some brides like to put their bridesmaids in the same dress style, so as to unify a theme.  But if you want to do that, always keep in mind that your bridesmaids have different sizes and body types, and that a particular cut or style of dress won’t do them any favors.  Perhaps it’s better to choose a universally-flattering style or better yet, have them choose the cut and style of the dress so everyone would be comfortable during your wedding.

Shopping for bridesmaids’ dresses also doesn’t always have to happen in bridal shops.  A lot of the brides I know go to normal stores or even Etsy to buy the dresses for their bridesmaids.  See, it’s not all that hard.  You just have to take a deep breath and survey your options.