The bridal room is an exciting and special place to be. The bride's last moments of being a single lady are shared with some of the people whom she loves the most. We all want nothing more than for the bride to have her perfect, wedding that she has dreamt about since she was a little girl. For the bride to have her perfectly unflawed day, certain etiquette guidelines should be followed to help reduce stress in the bridal room. When stress is kept to a minimum it makes for a happier bride and a more relaxed atmosphere prior to the wedding. Here are 10 bridal room etiquette guidelines for the bridal party to follow to keeps stress levels to a minimum the morning of the wedding.
- Be on time. This is the first etiquette guideline to follow. When the bride gives you a time to be in the bridal suite, be there on time or a few minutes early. The last thing the bride wants to worry about are missing bridesmaids. The bride selected you to be a part of her bridal party because she knew she could count on you, don't let her down by showing up late the morning of her wedding.
- Come prepared. In addition to being on time, you also need to be prepared. Be sure to have all the supplies that you will need for the day. Have your dress steamed ahead of time so that only a touch-up will need to be done. Don't wait until the last minute to pack your wedding day bag as your heading out the door. Make sure everything is packed a couple days in advance. This will allow for time to reflect on items you might need that you may have otherwise forgotten.
- Do your part in the bride's room. As a member of the bridal party, you are there to assist the bride. This can be anything from fetching a bottle of water to helping her zip up her wedding gown and all the little things in between. If you are the maid of honor, your first priority is to the bride. You are her number one assistant. It is up to the maid of honor to assist the bride with all of the tiny details. These details can be anything from steaming her gown to helping her apply her makeup and style her hair. If you're a bridesmaid, your duty is not only assist the maid of honor, but to make sure every detail is in place and ready for the wedding. Bridesmaids should help junior bridesmaids and flower girls prepare to walk down the aisle. This can be assisting the younger girls with doing hair and makeup or making sure flower girl baskets are ready to go. This extra help will take stress of the bride and help keep tensions low in the bridal suite.
- Be clean and organized. While in the bride's room, be sure to be clean and organized. Keep your items together and picked up. Keep your items organized so that you know where everything is. This will greatly reduce stress because of misplaced items. In addition, nobody wants to be stepping over another person's belongings, nor is the bride going to want to see the mess in her getting ready photos.
- Be prepared to share. Just because you may have remembered everything that you need for the morning of the wedding, doesn't mean that everyone else will remember what they need. Things will be forgotten. It just simply is what it is, nobody is perfect. When packing your bag, throw in extra bobby pins or extra makeup removing wipes. It's better that a couple of people are over prepared, than it is for everyone to be under-prepared. Be prepared to share the extra supplies that you pack.
- Respect one another's belongings. As you are getting ready in the bride's room, you may realize that you left something important at home. Instead of rifling through another person's things to see if they may have extra items, simply ask. Nobody wants their space invaded by another bridesmaid going through her belongings. By doing so, it will create unnecessary drama and added stress within the bride's room. Be respectful of other people's belongings and ask if you need something.
- Respect one another's privacy. Not everyone knows everyone within the bridal party. Because of this extra boundaries may need to be put in place to make each member of the bridal party feel comfortable. These boundaries may include being respectful of personal space while doing makeup and hair, or not entering a dressing area while another member of the bridal party is getting dressed. Be respectful, knock on doors before entering and be careful not to invade personal space.
- Include everyone. As stated above, not all bridal parties know one another. Because of this it's important to make other members of the bridal party feel included. Avoid inside jokes that other bridesmaids may not understand or get, avoid favoritism towards the members of the bridal party that you may know. Include everyone in conversation. This same rule applies to gifts and handouts that may be given in the bridal suite. Don't cut someone out of taking part because you may not know that person or may not have the best relationship with a member of the bridal party. Put all feelings aside and include everyone in the activities that take place in the bride's room.
- Don't bring negativity to the room. People make mistakes. We all do. And it's likely that someone may do something or say something that may upset you or another member of the bridal party while in the bride's room. Let these little things go. It's not worth starting an argument prior to the wedding. These negative feelings are not fair to the bride or the others in the room who have to witness the negativity.
- And last but not least, have fun. Enjoy the day and the time that you get to spend with the bride on her special day. You should feel honored that she chose you for these special moments. Give the bride the best bridal experience she can possibly have and enjoy the day with her.