Wedding Forum - Tips for your bridesmaids!...

Choosing your Bridesmaids
Every bride needs a good bridesmaid to provide help and support with wedding planning and on the wedding day itself. For a better understanding of what to expect from your bridesmaids, take a look at bridesmaid duties.

There is no limit to the number of bridesmaids you can have one bride set a UK record with 38 bridesmaids (slightly lower than the world record of 92). However, the more bridesmaids you have, the more it will cost in terms of bridesmaid dresses, shoes, flowers, wedding transport and thank you gifts. So make sure you’ve agreed your wedding budget before choosing your bridesmaids.

Deciding who to have as your bridesmaid can be difficult if you have several close friends and a limited budget. If your husband-to-be has any sisters, it is also polite to ask them. If you’re having trouble choosing, why not consider the following:

1.Ask some of your friends to organise your hen party instead. This is usually a duty of the bridesmaids – so they’ll still feel the part.
2.Ask another friend if they will do a reading during the ceremony – a task always given to close friends or family.
3.Explain to your friends that you want them all to be your bridesmaids but can’t necessarily afford it. Ask them if they have any good ideas as to how they can all be bridesmaids given the budget you have. Good friends (worthy of being a bridesmaid) will soon be thinking of ways to help you save money. They will probably also say they won’t be offended if they’re not your bridesmaid.
If you’re unable to make a decision, you might need to find ways to reduce the cost per bridesmaid. This is easy enough to do if you put your mind to it – take a look at some of our suggestions below.

Bridesmaid dresses. Traditionally these were always paid for by the bridesmaid so one option would be to ask if they would be happy to pay for them. If your bridesmaids are going to pay for their own dresses, make sure you let them choose what sort of dress they want.
Shoes. Whilst matching new shoes are great they’re not essential. If the bridesmaids are going to buy their own shoes – they should have the deciding vote. Do they need to be matching or could they wear their own shoes?
Flowers. Bridesmaid bouquets are not essential and don’t need to be expensive if you do have them. You could ask your bridesmaids to help make their own bouquets or just have one flower each such as a gerbera.
Wedding transport. The bridesmaids usually arrive before the bride with the mother of the bride. Most wedding cars seat 4/5 as standard so you might need additional or alternative transport if you have more than four bridesmaids. Rather than forking out for expensive wedding transport, find a friend to drive your extra bridesmaids to the venue. If you can get ready at the venue, transport won’t be a cost you need to worry about.
Thank you gifts are not expected but most brides like to give a gift to their bridesmaids to say thank you for their help. Bridesmaid dresses and shoes are often given as a thank you gift. If you still want to give them something extra - try and think of something personal and perhaps handmade.
Try to assign someone with the role of chief bridesmaid or matron of honour. Even the most organised of brides needs someone to keep track of time and make sure she looks her best throughout the day.

Bridesmaids’ Role
The bridesmaids have to perform a lot of roles in the wedding ceremony and wedding parties. The bride shouldn't have to arrange all the events and shopping sprees on her own. She needs some one close to her for help. Since the bridesmaids are close to the bride and understand what her tastes, habits and aspirations are, they can assist the bride in various parties, shopping and organizing various events.

The most important role of a bridesmaid is to assist the bride in shopping for a wedding dress, gown, accessories, etc. Selecting and purchasing bridal attire can be a very tiresome task. The bridesmaids help the bride in choosing suitable colours and designs according to the season and time of the party. However, the bride and bridesmaids may not be able to go together to buy dresses and accessories, they can logon to the internet and buy from online shopping stores. It is often the best option.

The bridesmaids can share the costs of shopping with the bride to give her some financial relief. Usually the brides have to spend a lot of money to buy things and dresses and to arrange different wedding parties. This may be stressful on the bride and her wallet. An important bridesmaid role is help de-stress the bride. They can share expenses like make up and accessories. This can alleviate a lot of stress and keep the bride fresh and perky for her wedding.

The most important role of the bridesmaids is to provide emotional relief to the bride. Shopping, parties, dinners, personal care, and writing invitations are important tasks that are carried out in the last few days before the wedding. The bridesmaids can give emotional support to the bride and keep up the fun and excitement of the wedding parties and wedding ceremonies.

Another very important bridesmaid role is the hen party. Bridesmaids try their utmost to make it a memorable party for the bride and her friends. The bridesmaids ensure that the party has enthusiasm, fun and excitement. The fun can include all sorts of entertainment. We will leave that part to your imagination. Bridesmaids can also make the guests lists and keep a record of each person who presents gifts to the bride. It becomes easier for the bride later on to send thank you note to those guests. Sometimes, the bridesmaids also arrange a rehearsal dinner to ensure that all the big day activities go smoothly.

The bridesmaids organize all the activities of the wedding ceremony. They welcome the guests and introduce them to each other. The bridesmaids ensure that each on the guests have a few words with the bride. In fact they play the role of the representatives of the bride. The bridesmaids remain close at hand and cater to all the brides needs.

ur def providing alot of reading hails lol :-) x

No i was going to pay for an engagement party but then thought............nah just more expense lol. And i wouldnt dream of asking my sister to pay for all the hen party (shes arranging as oldest bm will only be 16..............oh wait she'll be 17 now when we get married)
Most of these are from america so i suppose they do things a bit different to us?

another thread of good advice lol

Some really good tips there, some of them are really american tho lol xx

Another suggestions? Xx