š Hello? Hi. Itās me, Jen Glantz. Welcome to the Bridesmaid for Hire Hotline. A place where real stories are shared and your best advice is given.
This week: A bride wrote in asking you to vote on some of her bridal party decisions because her bridesmaids are MIA and indecisive.
Last week: We wrapped up a series about whether or not being a bridesmaid can fix a friendship. Hereās part one and hereās how it ended.
Hold please:
Dear 1-800-Bridesmaids,
I seriously don't think people realize how many decisions you have to make once you get engaged. Like what a buzz kill. I was happy about being engaged for a total of five minutes before I felt like I was hit with a million questions and decisions that needed to be answered ASAP. Everyone was pushing me to set a date and a venue, and I felt this deep pressure that if I didn't do either of those things, then every good spot would be booked until 2027. No joke, some places were booked up until then, so the rush is real.
I lost count, but I feel like in the first few months of being engaged, I had to make 120 decisions.
So you can maybe see why it's a real pain in the ass that my bridesmaids are the most indecisive people to ever walk this planet. I'm trying not to be a bridezilla and order them around. I want to be considerate of their time and money because I've been a bridesmaid six times myself, and it sucks when you're told what to do, and you feel like you're working as a vendor and not supporting your friend as a bridesmaid.
But my wedding is now four months away, and my bridesmaids have dropped the ball on everything. I told them: pick the dress and the bachelorette party and bridal shower decor, and I'm down for anything. But the four of them have done nothing, and they keep saying it's up to me.
I wish they'd just take the lead and not drop a ton more decisions on my plate at this point because I'm stressed to the max and wondering why I even have bridesmaids.
So that's why I'm writing this to you because I don't have the capacity to make another decision, and I'm hoping your readers can just help me pick these things. Whatever they pick, I'll just forward to my bridal party and say: do this.
Thanks for the help,
Joanna N.
Bridesmaid Dress:
Backstory on the wedding: Itās in the fall and itās in an outdoor/indoor venue. Thereās a lot of greenery so Iām going with bold pops of color. Think: Bright blue, pink and orange flowers. I want my bridesmaids to stand-out but also not wear traditional bridesmaid dresses. I do want them all to wear the same dress so people know they are my bridesmaids. I also want the dress to be under $100. Here are three options I pulled. What do you think?
Option #1: A slip dress in magenta.
Option #2: A floral strapless.
Option #3: A floral flowy gown.
Option #4: A rust orange bridesmaid dress.
Bachelorette Party:
At this point, I have to plan something local because nobody got their stuff together to plan a destination bachelorette party. I live in Dallas so I was thinking of just doing a staycation here. Most of my bridesmaids live nearby or can drive a few hours. TBH, I really donāt want to do it in Dallas but do you think itās too much to plan in under 4-months to go somewhere else?
Bridal Shower:
Do I have to plan my own bridal shower? My friends havenāt stepped up and my family members arenāt any better. I want one but I donāt have it in me to plan a full-blown shower.
Fire Bridesmaids
This one is kind of a joke but Iām curious to hear what your readers think. Since my bridesmaids have done literally nothing and thrown every decision back onto my plate, what is the point of having them? Should I fire them AKA just simply say: Iāve decided to ditch the bridal party idea and just want you all at the wedding as guests! Or is that a weird thing to do 4 months before the wedding?
š A Few Things Iām Loving:
All our favorites in one place here.
Iām on a hair journey right now (thank you postpartum hair loss) and Iām just so eager to get my hair healthy and growing again. I started using this and itās been a game changer. My hair feels soft and I notice a difference in my shower water. This might be TMI but the NYC shower water stained my tub orange and when I replaced the shower head itās not happening anymore. 10/10 recommend as a wedding gift or a summer splurge.
Never taking these shoes off. Comfy and the color is bold. They are great with summer dresses or more casual every day looks.
Iām shopping for a July backyard wedding guest dress and these are the options iām considering: this flowy one, a side-cut out midi, ombre one shoulder, one shoulder maxi, simple bold maxi.
Whatās new with Bridesmaid for Hire:
Jen Glantz here! Iām so grateful youāre here. I started 1-800-Bridesmaid as a way to bring you into the world of my life as a hired bridesmaid for strangers.
If youāre wondering what Iāve been up to lately, hereās a little preview:
Iām in my 9th year of working as a hired bridesmaid for strangers ā at the end of this month, Iāll celebrate my 10th year!!! Iām working with my 2024 clients closely at the moment. One bride is planning a murder mystery event for her bachelorette party and itās truly one of the coolest ideas.
My team and I developed these interactive maid of honor/best man speech and wedding vow tools. You chat with us about the stories, details, and memories you want to include and I write the speech for you ā in just a few hours. If you have a wedding coming up and need a speech, check this out. Weāre expanding this month to offer wedding officiant and father of the bride/goom and mother of the bride/groom speeches.
Did you know we have a Bridesmaid for Hire book? Itās a best-seller on Amazon and it dives into how I started the business and what itās been like to work weddings as a hired bridesmaid.
Help me make this newsletter better with some of these quick polls:
Tell me more! What else do you want to read or see inside of this newsletter?
I'm Jen Glantz and this is my Bridesmaid for Hire newsletter.
If you want to stop getting emails from us, we understand. You can hit the unsubscribe button and youāll never hear from us again.