The ‘bride tribe’, as the maid of honour and the bridesmaids are known nowadays, have a special role in the events of the day, especially the hens night party. It’s their responsibility to make the events leading up to the special day, as memorable and joyful as possible for the bride-to-be. Of course, this role takes a lot of planning and thinking on one’s feet. Sometimes things can become a tad bit overwhelming and you may unintentionally end up doing something that could potentially ruin the wedding events.
So, to give you some perspective, here are a few dos and don’ts for the bride tribe. Steer clear of them and you should be on top of the game:
1. Do be willing to shoulder a big chunk of the wedding duties. As a bridesmaid or the maid of honour, of course, a large chunk of the wedding responsibilities will fall on you. Carry them out without complain, as your bestie would do the same for you.
2. Don’t burden the bride with the problems. The bride will, as it is, have a lot on her plate, what with planning the wedding and putting together the cake and the dress. So, if there’s something you can handle yourself, you should probably go ahead and do so.
3. Do plan the best hens night your bestie has even been to! This day is going to mean so much to the bride, in years to come, when she looks back on the wedding celebrations. Make it as fun and memorable as possible, with fun activities, food, drink – and hey, even some cheap hens night games could do the trick!
4. Don’t fuss about the huge responsibilities. This is one day that you should be able to come through for your friend. So try not to make a huge deal about it, even though being the maid of honour of a bridesmaid can honestly sometimes feel more stressful than being the actual bride. But bride tribe sisters must stick together, and she would have your back for you when you need her too.
5. Do assist the bride on the morning of the wedding. The day of the wedding is when all the stress rises to its highest levels, as the most important aspects of the wedding, like the food, the arrival of the guests, the logistics etc. are coming together on the wedding morning. Also, there’s the bride’s hair and makeup, and getting into the dress. She needs you beside her, to calm her nerves, maybe tell her she is the most beautiful bride you have ever seen, and hold her hand through the nervousness.
6. Don’t give her too many instructions, or criticise the arrangements. You need to be her buffer against all the craziness happening around her. Deal with things that you can, and delegate the rest. Also, last minute feedback and “constructive criticism” is never going to help. So just let your bestie savour the day as it comes, and do your best to be the best friend she considers you to be.
