16 Dresses: How to be a good bridesmaid

1) Always look your best. If the dress is champagne, for goodness sakes, go get a tan. And keep in mind the neckline of the dress. No triangle bikinis within a month prior to your strapless bridesmaid dress debut. This will also likely involve hours at the salon, makeup you may or may not approve of, and hundreds of bobby pins. No complaining.





















2) Flirt with the groomsmen. It makes the bride & groom happy to think that their friends and family are fun and interesting, and it makes the groomsmen stand a little straighter and smile a little wider. You must be careful with this one. It's important, when you meet a groomsman's wife/fiancee/girlfriend, to tell her (in this order) 1) how pretty her dress is, 2) how much said groomsman has told you about her, and 3) how sorry you are that your boyfriend (real or fictional) couldn't make it to the wedding this weekend. Otherwise, you risk a potential jealous wife/fiancee/girlfriend, and we don't want any negative emotions this weekend.
















3) Make friends with the flower girl. There is not a snowball's chance in hell that a 3-yr-old will stand quietly beside you for 30 minutes unless you are her new best friend. Do whatever it takes. Sing "Wheels On The Bus" 30 times at the rehearsal dinner if you have to. Don't worry about the ring bearer; he is a lost cause. The groomsmen could care less if he runs screaming down the aisle or rolls his matchbox cars over the priest's feet during the vows, and you can't do a thing about it from your side of the altar. Focus on the girl. She can be won over.















4) Dance, dance, dance. Have a few drinks if you need to in order to loosen up, but you must dance. It is my opinion that at least one member of the wedding party should be on the dance floor at all times, so if the crowd looks a little sparse, grab Grandpa and shake it, sister.















5) Keep the bride laughing. Especially in the event of any minor mishap, a distraction, any distraction, is essential for the protection of her hair and makeup. Crying, while it can be very sweet, is not a pretty thing. If you're close enough to be a bridesmaid, you're close enough to have some inside joke that will make her chuckle despite the fact that the ring bearer refuses to wear anything but Dallas Cowboys sweatpants or the idiot limo driver took you to the wrong church.















6) Do anything the bride asks. This is her day. You are her maid. Literally. Somebody has to put that garter up there.