Seven Ways to Help the Bride Keep Her Cool on Her Wedding Day
It doesn’t matter how low-key the wedding is or how rational the bride has always been—weddings have an unfortunate way of transforming even the most calm and level-headed brides into nervous wrecks.
Considering how much time, money and effort goes into planning a wedding, it’s understandable that most brides are more than a little anxious for their big day to go off without a hitch. As a bridesmaid, your responsibilities do not end with picking the perfect bridesmaid dress for you to wear on her big day. It’s your job to take on the unofficial role of calmness guru and help the bride relax enough to actually enjoy her wedding.
So, what can you do to keep your friend cool and calm when the big day arrives? With the help of your fellow bridesmaids, here are a few simple ways you can shield the bride from any pre-wedding chaos and keep her relaxed on her wedding day.
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Come Up with a Game Plan
If the bride has always been an anxious person, she’s probably thought of a million things that could go wrong at her wedding. Some of them may be based in reality, while most are probably not.
Regardless of how likely these things are to happen, it’s best if you and the other bridesmaids come up with a strategy to deal with some of the more probable worst-case scenarios. Is there a cousin of the bride who is notorious for getting drunk and causing scenes? Come up with a strategy for how to deal with them by assigning a single bridesmaid to keep tabs on him during the event.
Worried about the possibility of spilling wine or ripping a bridesmaid dress? Pack an emergency bag with a few must-have wedding day essentials such as a small sewing kit and a stain remover. By planning for the worst, you can potentially turn a major disaster into a minor hiccup and save the bride tons of stress in the process.
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Tackle Problems as They Arise
Few weddings go exactly according to plan. As a bridesmaid, it’s your job to insulate the bride from all the crazy that’s going on behind the scenes and to handle it before she can start stressing out.
Is the photographer running late? Tell her you’ve got it handled.
Are the groom’s old college buddies acting out of line? Enlist the help of the best man and take care of it before a single word of it gets back to the bride. Though it may not be easy, putting out these small fires before they turn into major disasters will for sure make you the unsung heroine of your friend’s wedding.
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Offer to Spruce Up the Bridesmaid Dresses
It’s not uncommon for bridesmaid dresses to get wrinkled during transport, especially in the case of destination weddings. After the bride spent so much time finding the most gorgeous blush bridesmaid dresses for the big day, it’d be a shame if they were less than perfect for her wedding day.
To ensure that everyone looks their best, consider offering to get them steamed. You can either go to a professional or use a few simple dress hacks to get wrinkles out of delicate dresses.
Just make sure that you read the label of each dress. This is especially important if the bride is opting for the mix-and-match bridesmaid dress trend and each bridesmaid has a different dress style. You don’t want to accidentally ruin the gowns and add to the bride’s stress!
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Be Her Sounding Board
Is the bride getting pre-wedding jitters? Try distracting her from all the stress and anxiety by reminding her what the big day is all about: Her and her partner.
A lot of brides instantly feel calmer once they’ve walked down the aisle and are standing in front of their partner. Getting her to reminisce on her soon-to-be spouse may help remove any lingering doubts over why she bothered with a wedding in the first place.
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Make Sure She Eats and Drinks
If the bride seems particularly stressed out, try bringing her something to eat and drink. When blood sugar levels dip too low, it can increase a person’s anxiety and irritability.
Between greeting her guests and making sure that everything is going according to plan, the bride may not have much time to grab a drink or a bite to eat. Be a good friend and bring her water and small things to nibble on as she talks with her guests.
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Stay Positive
Maybe an unforeseen storm occurred and now it’s raining on her wedding day. Perhaps the cake toppled off the stand and caused a huge mess. Regardless of the particular disaster, keep your conversation upbeat and positive.
To keep the bride from dwelling on everything that’s going wrong, remind her of what’s going right with her wedding day. Tell her how gorgeous the bouquets turned out and how lovely they’ll look in her wedding photos.
Try getting her to laugh by re-telling a funny story about your old college days. Or, pull up your favorite YouTube videos that always bring you and the bride to tears. Whatever you think will lighten the mood!
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Help Keep the Bride on Track
If you’re the maid of honor, one of your duties is to keep everything—including the bride—on schedule. This means that you’ll need to be familiar with the timeline of events so that you know who needs to be where and at what time.
You don’t need to be pushy about getting people where they need to go. If the clock is ticking and the bridesmaids are still sipping mimosas in their robes, gently remind everyone that they need to be ready to leave for the ceremony at a certain time.
The more organized the wedding day is, the less stress there will be for everyone involved. Plus, it’s easier for you to give direction because the bride will likely be too stressed out to direct anyone.
Offering Support and Love Is Key
Try not to judge the bride too harshly on her behavior leading up to one of the biggest days of her life. She probably doesn’t enjoy being overly anxious and irritable any more than you do.
Sometimes, the best thing you can do for the bride when she’s stressed out is to make it clear that you love and support her unconditionally. With these tips, you can earn best bridesmaid status and help make her big day that much more special.