Congratulations, you’re a bridesmaid!! So what next?

It’s not just about wearing a pretty dress, having your hair and makeup taken care of, and organising a killer Hens Night (although this one is pretty important). You also play a very important role come the Big Day.

Your job (yep – you have a job) is to support the bride and be ready for all the things that she just can’t be. See those stunning new heels she’s about to slip on her feet? Yep, those gorgeous Jimmy Choos on the floor near the dress, well there’s every chance that after about two hours those extremely beautiful shoes are going to be KILLING her feet.

She’s going to need a tissue during her fiancé’s vows, Hollywood tape when the straps on her dress keep slipping off, lipstick re-application, a pair of flats for the reception and someone to bring her back down to earth when the nerves set in. So grab your sparkly clutch and prepare to be the best bridesmaid ever…

So, since you’re not Katherine Heigl in 27 Dresses, we’ve got you covered, read on to see all the things are great to have on hand – just in case.

• Band-Aids – make sure to have a couple in your bag, and it’s not just for the bride. The groom is probably wearing new shoes too and we’re betting the groomsmen aren’t thinking about Band-Aids.

• Panadol – wedding days are stressful, busy, and long. Your bride probably won’t get a great sleep on the night before the wedding and a little Panadol can go a long way to making her day a little smoother.

• Hollywood tape – nothing worse than a nip slip so be prepared!

• Tissues – Kleenex have you covered with those tiny pocket packs.

• Safety pins – yep, it happens, things go wrong, straps break or are too loose or a button gives way, be ready to come to the rescue.

• Tampons – it’s happened more times than you would realise, and no one is ready for that bad boy, except you, you’re going to be ready for EVERYTHING including Code Red.

• Deodorant – “Oh dah!” but in the chaos of the day, people forget. Roll on is best, but no one wants to be sharing roll on, so if you’re bringing the spray then bring the spray that doesn’t leave white marks.

• Snacks – it’s not only the way to a man’s heart, it’s also key to being the world’s best bridesmaid – no-one wants a hangry bride!

• Water – trust us here, yep, there’s water in champagne, but ensuring that she drinks plenty of water will keep her on her feet and help with keeping a headache at bay, and at the very least will give her something to wash the Panadol down with.

The list goes on…

• Makeup wipes – don’t be touching that dress with grubby fingers, and the groom’s jacket is going to be going to be a mess with makeup on the lapels and shoulders, take care of that would you?

• Scissors – threads and tags be gone!

• Lip gloss – this!!!

• Mints – minty fresh kisses are better than ‘I just ate all the Camembert’ kisses.

• Hand cream – it sounds weird, but there’ll be a lot of photos of people’s hands, nothing worse than dry hands.

• Crochet hook – again weird, but that row of 40 odd tiny buttons down the back of the dress takes forever to do up, and if you’ve just had a manicure (and we are assuming you have) then it’s going to be even harder and take even longer. A crochet hook will get them done up in no time. Just trust us on this one and ask Nanna to borrow hers for the day.

Right, now that you’ve got your fancy clutch full of all these handy bits and pieces, you’re all set. You, my friend, are going to be the modern day superwoman of bridesmaidville, you’ve got this!

All images by De Lumiere Photography

Ms Floral Says: Thank you Sarah for sharing this super handy guide and checklist with us. A crotchet hook… genius! No doubt that bridesmaids wanting to make sure their bride’s day runs as smoothly as possible will get a lot out of this.

About Sarah of De Lumiere Photography:  With more than 20 years creative industry experience in graphic design and photography to look back on, I’ve made a name for myself as an award-winning wedding and portrait photographer with a genuine love of my craft. The mountains are my
happy place. It’s where I live with my gorgeous family, our whippet – The Flash, and a bearded dragon called Bones. Many of the families I’ve worked with have embraced me as one of their own and trust me to document their milestones as the family grows and flourishes.