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Being asked to be a bridesmaid is an honour, not to mention exciting! All those wedding cakes to sample, pretty invitations to choose and romantic venues to inspect…
But, weddings can also be stressful. So if you find yourself screaming, ‘Yes, I would LOVE to be your bridesmaid!’ down the phone to your newly betrothed best friend, you should also be prepared to see the above mentioned friend morph into…a bridezilla.
There are the tell-tale signs: her calling you in floods of tears on a Friday night to say that the fabric samples you both loved two days ago now look cheap and clash with the flowers. Or her bringing a bulging folder of wedding paraphernalia to every BBQ, dinner party and lunch you have – for months.
If this sounds familiar, you probably have a bridezilla on your hands. But never fear - just follow these ten bridezilla-proof steps and your friendship will stay intact right up until the big day, and beyond:
1. Remember, it is her day. She will (hopefully) only get married once. And if she’s stressing out, it’s probably just because she is about to spend thousands of dollars and wants her big day to be perfect – fair enough I reckon.
2. Communicate! If she’s out of order, take your bridezilla out for lunch and be honest about why she’s getting on your nerves. Do not let things build up or they will easily get out of control. Then organise something wedding-related to do after your chat - she will love you for it. 3. Make sure you spend time with your other friends. A little space can do wonders, especially if you have just been debating what the best napkin colour is for three hours.
4. Give your bridezilla complete control. As I said before, it’s her day. So if she wants you to wear a knee-length lilac monstrosity I’m afraid you are going to have to grin and bear it. Which leads me onto my next very important point…
5. Keep your sense of humour! Tensions can run HIGH when planning a wedding. My friend Maria was an over-the-top perfectionist. Instead of getting annoyed, I bought her a huge pink fluffy folder to keep all her magazine clippings and lists in. It looked so ridiculous, but it had us in fits of laughter for ages and she loved me for seeing the funny side of her bridezilla behaviour.
6. It will probably be you one day. And your friend will have the pleasure of listening to you argue the merits of roses over lilies for hours. Unless you decide to elope to Vegas, of course.
7. Here’s a little something to get you through the tough times: you are helping to organise the wedding of the year! Bridezilla weddings are military operations, which means the actual day will be amazing. And guess who was involved in the process?
8. Reassure her heaps. It’s got to be scary spending thousands of dollars on ONE day. And if your bridezilla isn’t an events guru, she’ll probably be overwhelmed at what needs to be done. So tell her – often – what an amazing job she’s doing. It will help her confidence. And confident bridezillas are calm bridezillas!
9. Listen, listen and listen some more. Frustration, excitement, plans…that bloody photographer! It’s your job to be there to listen to your bridezilla vent - as a bridesmaid, and as a best friend. 10. Buy this book: The Bridesmaid’s Guide, by Kate Chynoweth. It’s the perfect guidebook and has plenty of tips. And it’s funny too!
And when it all gets too much sometimes, just remember: when the big day comes, you get to sit at the best table, eat the delicious food you helped choose and catch the bouquet (well, that’s the least she can do, surely!)
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exciting! All those wedding cakes to sample, pretty invitations to choose and romantic venues to inspect…
There are the tell-tale signs: her calling you in floods of tears on a Friday night to say that the fabric samples you both loved two days ago now look cheap and clash with the flowers. Or her bringing a bulging folder of wedding paraphernalia to every BBQ, dinner party and lunch you have – for months. 
6. It will probably be you one day. And your friend will have the pleasure of listening to you argue the merits of roses over lilies for hours. Unless you decide to elope to Vegas, of course.