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BRIDESMAID SOS

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“Our bride-to-be wanted her

hen do to be a surprise, but

had reallyhigh expectations

• organising it felt incredibly
  stressful and it would have
  beenso much easier if we
  could have had some input.”
  Avoid the drama:Surprise hen
  dos are lots of fun, but not if
  they’re a nightmare foryour
  maids to plan! Accept that ifyou
  don’t want to know anything,you
  have togo alongwith whatever
  your girls come up with and be
  graceful about it.Settingafew
  guidelines will make their task
  alot easier too, sogive them a
  rough idea of how muchyou want
  to askpeople to spend, a range
  of locations, and a few activities
  you’d love(plus some to avoid!).

S

CONFESSION#^1

“Myfriend’s weddingdominated

our conversationsfor an entireyearr.

The final strawwaswhen I told her

I’d broken up with my long-term

boyfriend her main concern was

needing to rework her tableplan!”

Avoid the drama:Weddingplanning

can takeoveryourlife,but rememberr

your big dayisn’t such a big deal to

everyone else (I know, right?!). Most

bridesmaids will be excited for you andd

happytotalkover the detailsforhours,

but it’s vitalto maintain an interest in

what they’re doing. Avoid relating all

their news good or bad back to

the wedding. Yes, they may be your

bridesmaid for a year or so,but

they’re your friend for alotlonger.

CONFESSION

2

CONFESSION

“The bride was really indecisive

aboutbridesmaid dresses and

kept making us alltravelhalfway

across the countryto tryon lots of

different styles and attend fittings.

Itcostafortunein train fares and

tookup so many weekends!”

Avoid the drama:It’slovelytosee

all yourbridesmaids at the same

time if they’re scattered around the

country, but there’s a limit to how

many times you can expect them

to attenddress fittings. If you’re

choosinghigh-street dresses,your

bridesmaids can easilytrythem

on in a store close to home juston i

askkthem to get adjustments made

locally. If you’re looking for

ddresses in a boutique, check for

rregionalstockists. There’slikely

toobe somewhere closer stocking

thhem soyour girls can trythem

onnand report back. You can then

purrchase them over the phone, or

askkyourboutique to order in the

sizeeand just getyour girls in once

for measurements.