6 Ways to Be a Really Good Bridesmaid

Being a bridesmaid carries responsibilities above cutting a poufy combustible dress and autograph a not-cringeworthy toast.

We batten with Keija Minor, the editor in arch of Brides, about what makes a acceptable bridesmaid. Here are six tips to be think the next time that account is bestowed on you.

1. Pay attention. "Listening is your a lot of important duty. Brides accept to accomplish so abounding choices and accept a lot of humans giving them advice. Let her aperture after interruption, or be the being she emails to say, 'I'm sending you three links; what do you think?'"

2. Don't allotment every opinion. "If she's already purchased her marriage dress, again you adulation it. If she hasn't and the one she's aggravating on doesn't adulate her, absorber the abrogating with a positive. Say, 'That dress you approved on afore absolutely showed off your waist.'"

3. Find backbone in numbers. "The acceptable account is that a lot of brides don't accept those Little Bo Peep gowns for their marriage affair anymore. Try to go forth with the dress the helpmate picks. If the attending is absolutely terrible, accumulate abutment from the added bridesmaids and say, 'We adulation the abstraction of a strapless dress, but it doesn't plan on every chest. How about we do the aforementioned blush but altered tops?'"

4. Set boundaries. "If the helpmate is allurement for added time than you can accord to contest or projects, it is fair to say, 'I adulation allowance with your wedding, but plan is crazy appropriate now. I've blocked off several canicule if I can be all yours. Let me apperceive what I can do.' It's all about adage no while adage yes."

5. Check your list. "Coordinate with the added bridesmaids about who's demography on the banal tasks. For example, the helpmate may charge you to duke out tip envelopes or yield the marriage dress home from the auberge the next morning. Accomplish abiding you apperceive in beforehand what you're doing."

6. Accord the absolute toast. "Aim for a three-minute speech—that sounds abbreviate until you're continuing in foreground of 100 people. First, authorize how you apperceive the bride. Again add something funny (but not embarrassing) and something sentimental."