How to be an offbeat bridesmaid for a traditional bride

Comments on How to be an offbeat bridesmaid for a traditional bride

1. No one–NO ONE–should be making demands involving your genitals. Why is waxing required? How on earth does pubic grooming factor into being a bridesmaid?

   (Also, labia =/= vagina. If your vagina is growing hair, you have a serious medical problem.)

   • I have yet to see a bridesmaid dress that doesn’t cover the genitals, so I am equally confused about that part!

   • I think that the Brazillian is a ridiculous demand to make of your bridesmaids, but possibly OP is a bridesmaid at a destination wedding somewhere beachy and tropical and the bride doesn’t want (gasp!) pubic hair in any swimsuit shots? Which is still a silly demand, but that’s the only thing I could think of.

   • Maybe she wants the whole bridal party to go together as some sort of ~bonding experience~?

     • I think I missed the part of her post where the bride was REQUIRING or DEMANDING a Brazilian wax?? The words, “and possibly get a Brazilian,” don’t mean the same thing to me as, “you must or else!”

       As the Rolling Stones say, “You can’t always get what you want” – and it seems to me that simply suggesting a compromise along the lines of I’ll do x but not y should be easy for the bride to accept…

       Best of luck to you!! And to your friend the bride.

       • lol, right? I would CERTAINLY not be asking if it was okay with the bride if I didn’t get a brazillian. I would politely and firmly be like, “Nope, I’m not allowing hot wax upon my genitals for any reason.” Because really, what business is it of anyone else whether my lady bits are furry or not? I mean, come on, WHAT. THE. HECK. NOPE NOPE NOPE, I am the nopetopus! (haha sorry for the weird unintentional pun.) 😀

   • Technically, it’s both the vulva and labia that’s getting waxed, not the vagina (which is inside your vulva). Correct terminology aside, who the hell is going to be seeing the bridesmaids’ lady parts? In that case, I think BurningWillow should stand up for herself in a calm but firm manner.

   • Side tangent here, but I’ve been fascinated by the progression towards “vag” = vulva. You’ll notice the OP didn’t use vagina — she used vag. It’s become extremely common use, and if the common use of the word “literally” has taught me anything (where the definition now includes a secondary use meaning “figuratively”), it’s that common usage starts to trump all.

     That said, I’m on a personal mission to get the word “labia” used more frequently. For instance, the female equivalent of free ballin’ should definitely be free labin’.

     • I endeavor to do all I can to promote the usage of the phrase “free labin'”

     • I’m so glad you brought this up.

       I am a lady who is into the difference between ‘vagina’ and ‘vulva’, but I’ve also heard myself say ‘vag’ as a catch-all for my lower bits. I actually originally wrote vag in my comment above and then replaced it with ‘genitals’. It’s definitely a thing.

     • I’m also a fan of the “jam out with your clam out” alternative to “hang out with your wang out”. I have no idea if my friends and I are the only ones who use this, but it should become more mainstream.

       • Where I’m from the male-centric phrase is “Rock out with your Cock out” but we’d come up with “Jam out with your clam out” too. And the number of boys I shocked the shit out of with it was priceless!

       • Jam out with your clam out is the motto of my group to the extent that our girls’ nights (adult boozy sleepovers) are called clam jam. Can’t guarantee we are good company, but company at least!

   • I really want to see the string bikinis the bridesmaids will, obviously, be wearing to the wedding.

2. I’m a makeup/hair-loving offbeat bride-to-be…and even I would be turned off at the thought of group vag waxing.

   If I were having bridesmaids, I’d be one of those “be yourself/you’re my friend, not a prop” types…but I understand that’s not exactly par for the course.

   I agree: just be honest. I’d say “hey, I’m pumped you asked me to be a BM, but I’m not sure I’m gonna be the best fit for what you and ‘the girls’ have planned. Ill see you the big day!”

3. For my wedding, I told my bridesmaids directly that their body hair was their business (uh, although I was thinking more of armpits and legs, pubes really aren’t shown publicly at weddings) and that they could make their own decisions about whether or not they wanted to wear makeup and hairstyles.

   But as a bridesmaid myself, I’m looking forward to participate a group activities too as long as those things don’t feel like a violation. Personally, I’m comfortable wearing makeup or getting my nails done for a friend (because those are things that I occasionally do), but asking me to remove body hair or to go tanning would be SUPER uncomfortable.

   Some of my strategies for beauty industrial complex stuff:

   – French manicures are way more comfortable for me to have on my hands than all over coloured polish. If the mani-pedi thing is more about bonding than it is about image, then you might be able to go to a spa and accepted the things that come with a manicure (in my experience this is soaking plus moisturizer and a little bit of a massage plus someone else removing hangnails for me) but asked them to do no polish on your nails or clear polish only.

   – If you’re open to wearing makeup at all, you can ask for a more natural look from a makeup artist, or even bring a photo of a makeup “look” that you’re more comfortable with

   – My hair won’t hold a curl for more than an hour or so no matter what, so curling irons are useless on me. I dislike updos or even really having my hair up at all, but when I want to compromise with family or a friend (or the wind) and wear it up, I go with low side-swept buns. This kind of style makes me look more like myself, because my hair is still somewhat draping down the sides of my face. Another compromise style is to go half-up instead of an updo.

   Then again, these are TOTALLY personal strategies for me because I am comfortable with some makeup and hair styling stuff! If [wearing any makeup] at all makes you cringe, you have a right to say no to it.

4. I think it is perfectly okay for the bride to make reasonable requests (your vagina involvement never being reasonable). If she would like all her bridesmaids to have their hair, makeup and/or nails done then I think she has that right. She should be making this request upfront and setting reasonable expectations for you all including the option to do all those things yourself if you cannot afford to pay to have it done. You are the bridesmaid so you should “suck it up” and do what she wants within reason but it’s also you’re right to decline being a bridesmaid if you don’t want to do what will make her happy.

   • I agree with this. Friendship IS about sacrifice sometimes, and if you can’t suck it up for, what, 8 hours to make her day what she wants…well, I think you’re kind of a shitty friend. One day of heat+spray isn’t going to murder your hair, and at the end of the day, nobody in attendance gives a fuck about _your_ personal beauty beliefs.

     However, like people are saying – if you really can’t compromise, it’s totally within your right to un-accept her invitation to be her bridesmaid. And, you should definitely talk it out first, because if she isn’t willing to meet you at all…well, she’s kind of a shitty friend too.

     • It’s definitely worth discussing anything you aren’t comfortable with. I’ve been a bridesmaid five times, and even though four of those brides were wonderful, accommodating people (the fifth being a very scary sister-in-law), I ended up doing a lot of things I didn’t want to do (or couldn’t really afford) because I was afraid to be assertive.

       It’s hard if there’s a heckuva lot of ladies who are going with the status quo, though. In the last wedding, I was one of six bridesmaids. Another girl and I were not keen on doing all the girly stuff, but we bought the dress/shoes, got mani/pedis, got our hair done, etc. But she regularly skipped out on “girl time” to hang out with her boyfriend, who was one of the groomsmen. The other girls looked down on her for that, but I was just jealous. Definitely would’ve preferred to be drinking whiskey and telling dick jokes instead of listening to the bride’s friends chat about their college exploits. Snore.

     • I can honestly say that by the definition of “sucking it up” to be a non-shitty friend that I am a GREAT friend, and that I have almost limitless boundaries for making my friends happy on an important day. Almost.

       If something really goes against your core values, like in the OP’s case of wearing make up, it doesn’t make you a shitty friend to decline doing it. I don’t think it’s so black and white. YES, friends should compromise and meet each other halfway. YES, part of being a bridesmaid may involve uncomfortable activities, but it’s not shitty to have boundaries, even with your close friends. It’s healthy and sane.

     • This comment comes off as really confrontational and judgmental, and that’s not cool.

       Setting boundaries based on personal values doesn’t make someone a shitty friend. Healthy boundaries make healthy relationships. Its not cool to shame OP for sticking to the boundaries that they have set for themselves, or insinuate that they’re using their friend’s wedding as a soap box or something.

5. THIS !!! When one of my bestest friends was getting married she immediately (obviously) asked me to be one of her bridesmaids. Of course, this was before she realized how traditional the groom’s family expected the event to be. Not only did I get the boot from the wedding party, she had to cover her own tattoos with makeup ! UGH — the nerve !

6. Wow. All I can say is this girl sounds entitled. Why on earth does she need her bridesmaids to wax their hoo-haw?! OP, I wax, but if someone told me I HAD to for their big day, I would be seriously tempted to skip that particular grooming habit for a few weeks before hand. I’m sorry your friend is so demanding 🙁

7. Mandatory Brazilians??
   Suddenly this wedding seems a whooooole lot more offbeat.
   Will the bridesmaids appear as dessert?

8. As a bridesmaid, I think you should expect to adhere to a certain aesthetic at the bride and groom’s request. You can politely request that they exempt you from those guidelines, but if they say no, be prepared to conform or drop out of the wedding party. It’s their wedding, their pictures, their event, so they have the right to ask for temporary changes. If they’re saying, “Hey, get rid of the dreads and dye your hair brown,” that’s not really temporary. But make up, tanning lotion, and nail polish come off pretty easily and no one says you have to keep them beyond the reception.

   There was an awesome post on here a while back about what to do when you’re welcome at a wedding and your hair color isn’t. Don’t let it become a big thing (if you can avoid it). Megan listed some great ways to point out that you might not be the best person for the gig. Emphasize that you love them and want to be at their wedding. Be gracious and use I statements. No accusing, no judging, just love.

   As for the Brazilian thing, my first thought was, “Hey, what a great excuse to get that done!” I love Brazilians, but I can’t justify the expense regularly. Maybe that’s what the bride was thinking? I don’t know. But yeah, I don’t consider tanning or waxing temporary.

   • As a bridesmaid, I think you should expect to adhere to a certain aesthetic at the bride and groom’s request.

     I disagree with this assumption, but I think we can agree that the key here is that couples should clearly communicate their expectations when asking people to be attendants so that everyone is on the same page.

     More about my thoughts on the issue:
     http://offbeatwed.com/bridesmaid-henchwoman

     • It ultimately comes down to compromise and perspective!

       I really want my bridesmaids to be in a sapphire blue gown. It’s my favorite color and my e-ring has a sapphire stone – it’s a sentimental choice as much as an aesthetic one. I’m being as accommodating about that as I can be (doing Little Borrowed Dress, letting them choose any style, being open to different options if they aren’t comfortable) but I’m very clear that the color is a non-negotiable. Most of them have been great about that, but my youngest bridesmaid (who has never been to an American wedding before) sort of…well, BALKED at the idea of not choosing her own dress since she’s in those young teenage years when fashion = ultimate self-expression (at least for her).

       So we had to have a long chat about it and I’m sure it’s not the last. What we agreed on was that she would wear the color and she’d go with the strapless option – but she can accessorize any way she damn well pleases.

       And while that might not have originally been part of my vision, it made me realize that even REMOTELY trying to make all of my bridesmaids look like they are carbon copies of each other is, frankly, laughable. One is an Italian beauty queen, the other is a tattooed-and-pierced Brooklynite, the other is a free spirited salsa dancer, and the fourth is (as mentioned) a fashionista teenager. Why would I even WANT them to look the same when clearly they’re all so awesome in their own right? It was a nice dose of perspective and, while I’m not budging on the dress color, that conversation helped me get excited about using my wedding as a venue to showcase my bridesmaids’ individual awesomeness, rather than turning them into monotonous photo props. Which should be such an obvious conclusion to reach, but wedding planning muddles the obvious sometimes.

       • I have mixed thoughts about this. I tried to be super-casual about what our accent color was when talking to the wedding party about it, stressing that it was to be like as much like forest green as possible but whatever. When my parents said they couldn’t find anything in that color and asked if they could wear navy instead, I said sure, wear whatever, I’m just glad you’re coming. And yes, I was super-happy they were there and we had a great time.

         And then we got the pictures back and you can see how mismatched they look next to my in-laws, the Best Woman, the Man of Honor, my nieces, my husband, and me, all of us wearing something with forest green or a similar deep green and my dad, mom, and sister in navy. Whenever I see a group photo of the entire wedding party, as wonderful it is to see everyone in the picture, it’s always going to bug me a little that everyone doesn’t match.

9. I think the issue here is when “temporary aesthetic guidelines” become “hiding identity.” It sounded to me like the original poster didn’t want waxing or spray tans or whatever because they would make her feel *less like her,* and therefore really weird about being a bridesmaid. Almost as though the message were “We want another bridesmaid, but we don’t want her to look like you.”

   There’s a big difference between offering to have a professional do everyone’s makeup and REQUIRING it. The former says “I want to make sure you feel pretty and pampered,” while the latter says “I want you to look the way I imagine in my head.”

10. Soooooo… I don’t know if this belongs here, but what if it’s the opposite?

    My girlfriend just got married in a very lavish, traditional ceremony and seems to be having issues with the ideas I am having as an offbeat bride. The latest thing she seemed bothered by and made her opinions known about, was that the girls on my fiancé’s side aren’t carrying the flowers. She seems put off by all the traditional things we’re not doing and about how laid back it is.

    Thoughts?

    • My bridesmaids are the same way. I think it comes from a place of love, like your friend can’t understand why you DON’T want this, and thinks that her imput is helpful (showing you the way to have a “correct” wedding). Remember, a lot of them have never seen pictures from a site like this, and can’t imagine a wedding that’s not 100% traditional. I’ve found so far what works is a) let them express their ideas “Blue roses to match the bridesmaid dresses? Sounds pretty ” b) Throw it back at them “The flower girl at your wedding was so cute! You did an excellent job” and, if they don’t drop it then, c) Explain your feelings and make yourself clear “While I think that’s a great idea, it’s really important to [Groom] and I that we keep this wedding personal to us. You’re a great friend & bridesmaid and I really hope you’ll support me on what my vision is for the day.” Once she sees how excited you are about your idea for a wedding and how much it means to you, a true friend will support your decisions.

    • Personally, I think the comments here still apply. I have a similar thing where a bridesmaid was in her sisters super formal, fancy, traditional wedding and she was surprised at the things I mentioned I was doing. But I talked to her and made sure that she was comfortable with everything.
      I think I said something like: “So you’ve expressed surprise at some of the wedding plans I’ve mentioned to you. I just wanted to let you know specifically what I’m asking of bridesmaids and make sure you feel comfortable with it.”
      If you approach her about her specific role in the wedding and ask about it, maybe it will help her feel included and consulted.

      In my case, my bridesmaid is only uncomfortable with picking her own dress so I sent her 5 dresses in the right color and general style I like and told her to pick one of those or I had a few more if she wanted a different price or length.

      • That’s really thoughtful of you!

        Similarly, I had my first chat with a BM about my expectations, or lack of them, for my bridal party and she was kinda dumbstruck that I thought it’d be nice to have the BMs pick out their dresses.

        It was very endearing, and her concern that I was happy with her choice emphasized that I had made a great choice asking her to be my BM.

        Nothing like a major life change to show you who are your true friends.

11. Tough situation!
    I wonder if you could bring your own organic/vegan/hypoallergenic/ whatever you are comfortable with makeup and have the makeup artist use that instead?
    You could easily pin your hair up, without coating it in hairspray!

12. The bride DOES have the right to make requirements for her own wedding, no matter how weird or against your beliefs they may be. However, any bride should make those expectations VERY clear in the beginning. If it were my friend I’d probably bend a little for anything that was temporary (dress/make-up) and draw the line at waxing/tanning my body or going over my financial limits. Find out what her expectations are, and let her know where your line is drawn so the two of you have an understanding. If her expectations make you feel less *you*, then unfortunately all you can do is opt out or offer to help her in another way.

    • I agree with this, within reason. I think I do have a ‘right’ to ask you to cover up a tat that might be controversial for certain venues, or to request you wear your hair in a certain way if you can.
      I was watching *gasp* Bridezillas, and the bride asked her sister to do a French mani in black instead of white for the wedding. The sister pitched such a fit it was ridiculous–it was NAIL POLISH, something that comes off at the end of the day. (The bride on that particular episode ended up not being a ‘bridezilla’–she really hadn’t made any unreasonable requests, and when she broke down in the requisite tears, it seemed to be because everyone was truly fighting her on every issue.) Don’t be that person. The wedding isn’t about YOU–it’s about ALL of our family and friends.

13. I think that the heart of this problem is the question of what physical appearance / beauty / personal grooming actually mean. Are they simply aesthetic – in which case the bride has as much right to dictate them as she does the colour of the stationery? or are they outward markers of personal identity – in which case why would the bride even want to shoehorn people who are supposedly her friends into looks which are incompatible with their deep-seated identity.

    For people who feel that their external appearance is a fundamental part of who they are – and who may have carefully and thoughtfully modified it, from hair colour to tattoos to piercings, or who may simply have made a conscious choice to *not* modify it with makeup or hair removal – the idea of someone telling them what to do with their appearance is at the very least infuriating and at worst actually quite hurtful in its implications. But if you feel that external appearance is just an aesthetic then there’s no issue with changing it for the day at someone’s behest – after all, the spray tan and the make-up wash off.

    So maybe if the bride & bridesmaids are a bit clearer with one another on what their underlying assumptions on physical externals actually are, this dilemma could be explored more easily.

    • I know this is super old, but I think it’s one of the wisest things I’ve ever read.

14. So, I frequent another wedding site (might rhyme with “da blot”), and while they’re usually not as offbeat-friendly as I’d like, one thing they’re SUPER serious about is: as a bridesmaid, your only responsibilities are to show up for the wedding, sober, in the correct dress picked based on budget. The gals over there might be ridiculously averse to community-supported weddings, friendors, and leaving titles off of invitations, but they are fiercely defensive of people in the wedding party. And that’s a good thing.

    First of all, these are all things that your friend the bride should have made clear from the get-go. I know that these days, we love the platonic-romance of asking people to be in the wedding party; hell, when I asked my maid of honor, we had one of those OMG CRYING moments and everything. But you have GOT to be clear about expectations. I told all my people up front: I do not want a bridal shower; I do not care about a bachelorette party but would happily be the guest of honor if they held one; I do not expect them to come with me to tastings and fittings and stuff; they can wear whatever dress they’d like; hair and make-up is completely up to them and they don’t have to pay to have it done; would they be comfortable giving a toast or doing a reading?

    All of my bridesmaids had questions. All of them wanted to make sure it was okay that they might not be available for stuff. There’s a chance that my maid of honor might only be available ON the wedding day (not the day before or after). One of my bridesmaids might miss the wedding entirely. The point is, you have to talk about expectations.

    Second of all, I think it’s reasonable that the couple should be able to pick out the outfits for the wedding party and ask the wedding party to purchase/rent their main outfits (dress, skirt, suit, tux) as long as the couple has checked with everyone about budget. If the couple wants the wedding party to wear certain shoes or have hair/make-up done a certain way, I think it needs to be on the couple’s dime. That goes for covering tattoos or wearing wigs/dyeing hair. Or having mani-pedis or, apparently, genital waxes.

    Finally, I’d like to say that couples should be okay if a member of the wedding party says no to something they’re not comfortable with. These folks are your beloved friends and family; they are not props. But I agree with the majority of advice: be prepared to either drop out or be asked to leave the wedding party.

    For this specific situation: Talk to your friend! Tell her what you’re comfortable with and not comfortable with. Could you have mani-pedis done with clear polish? Could you wear stockings instead of shaving your legs? Could you do your own make-up/go without? I’m not saying, “These are reasonable compromises you should make.” I’m saying, “For the sake of your friend, who is being kind of sort of pretty unreasonable, think of ways you could meet her halfway. These things might work for you.” But again–be prepared to have her kick you out of the wedding party (which, as I see it, is a friendship ending move, but hopefully you are a nicer person than I am).

    But you are not a prop, or an actor in a play; your job isn’t to look a certain way in photos or to give her the romantic comedy bridal experience.

    Finally, please do not wax your genitals, at least for this reason. Speaking from experience, you have to actually actively want to wax your nethers in order for it to be worth it.

    • Isn’t it weird that theknot and I agree on this issue? Obviously, I’m very pro-bride… but when it comes to attendants, things can get really weird really fast when it comes to expectations. It’s ALL about communication and appreciation, pretty much all the time.

15. I think compromise is the key. You don’t want to do the spray tans or waxing, fine. But perhaps give in on wearing makeup on the wedding day. Give a little, get a little. Decide which issues you feel most strongly about and go from there.

16. I get super annoyed by the “bride has a right” to do x or y. The right? RIGHT? Ugh, no. They chose you, they have ideas and plans and requests, but in the end this is a relationship. I personally could physically not do the heavy makeup or nail polish (or tans or jebus, waxing my nethers) because I would have a break down. I have sensory issues a lot of people don’t know about. Nail polish feels like my hands are encased in plastic wrap and I feel like I can’t breathe. Heavy make up, especially foundation, makes me feel like a cushion is strapped to my face (and again, like I can’t breathe). I have issues, and they’re all my deal. But if my friend demanded all of this as her RIGHT? I probably wouldn’t be capable of being friends any longer, much less her bridesmaid. It’s a relationship, you work together to form the best compromise you can, or maybe there is something to re-evaluate.

    • The bride (or anyone else) has a right to ask. The other person has a right to either ask about alternatives or has the right to decline the invitation to be in the party.

      • To ask, sure! To demand or make required? No.

17. Here in Austria we do not have bridesmaids really, but I was my best friend’s wittness for her marriage (it has a legal background, but is a nice tradition as well). Luckily she was what I expected her to be in this situation, a perfect friend. She wanted ME to be her wittness, to sit beside her during the most important moment of her life and hold her hankerchief, not somebody else.
    And that included for her to accept my style and habits as well since that is who I am. She even let me wear a floral wreath to show how happy I was on that day – for her of course. although usually witnesses are dressed more formal (and I was the only one wearing one on that day :-)).
    But I made a compromise as well. I wanted to go all black since that is basically the only colour I have in my wardrobe, but I knew she would not be happy with black even though she wouldn’t have told me, so I handmade a colourfull flowerdress just for this occasion that I could wear and that I liked (I am very picky on dresses) and even bought new shoes (which as expected I stopped wearing immediately after the ceremony since they hurt soooo much, I remained barefoot for the rest of the day. Little happy hippie-girl). I am sure that I gained some nasty gazes from the rest of the crowd that day, but my friend was just perfectly happy about everything, which in the end is what counts on that day.

    I think that in this case both can make a compromise to show how much they care about each other on this emotional occasion. You don’t have to give up who you are for a wedding, but also as a friend, it should be important to you that this is your friend’s day, not yours.

18. Don’t do anything that compromises the beliefs that are important to you or violates your sense of right and wrong, but I think you should just go with the flow and have fun with the things that push you out of your comfort zone. I’m planning a traditional wedding and have a offbeat bridesmaid. I’m not asking her to get a brazilian or anything extreme like that, but she has taken sort of an offbeat holier-than-thou attitude that puts a damper on things. Remember that even really mainstream bridesmaids aren’t always thrilled to get mani-pedis, sit around while the bride opens gifts at her shower, and delicately sip champagne and giggle or whatever, but they do it to be good sports.

    • Yeah, I have to agree with you here. I guess I am a traditional bride having a traditional wedding, and the bridesmaids’ need to be against almost everything for whatever personal reason is just tiring. I cannot tell you how many complaints I received for asking the girls to pick their own navy blue dress, gave them the option to have their hair done (paid for by me). I kind of feel like everyone WANTS me to be a bridezilla… I actually thought I was going out of my way to make it really easy, but I don’t think there’s a thing I could have done that would have pleased everyone.

      • I totally get this. One of my Bridesmaids is fighting me every step of the way, they get to pick their dresses, hairstyle, shoes. I’m not asking them to wear makeup…but yet I feel like I’m pulling teeth. I’m sorry you’re going through it. I’m just happy its over in less than 3 months!

        • I feel you. The offbeat philosophy isn’t just be about being confident in your own offbeat decisions, but also being supportive of other people.

19. I don’t understand how going to the bachelorette party is a compromise, just because the OP didn’t themselves have one? It’s a wedding. Weddings usually entail these sorts of things. I mean, I’m not suggesting the OP has to go. By all means. But (just as an example) I would never call it a compromise to go to a friend’s birthday party, just because I didn’t have one this year, I would consider it a pleasure, as it’s a part of friendship, and a part of her celebration. Or I just wouldn’t go. Now, if the OP had full responsibility of organising and hosting the bachelorette party, I could understand the compromise in that. But by suggesting that it’s any way a compromise just by *attending* (unless the OP has social anxiety and it’s a big deal going to public gatherings), I don’t know, I just have the feeling of, does the OP even *want* to be bridesmaid?

    • This this this. You don’t sound like you want to do anything as a part of this wedding. It may make sense to bow out and just go as a guest.

20. My personal feeling would be, if I was a close enough friend to be asked to be bridesmaid then a reasonable request that didn’t make a lasting change would be reasonable for the bride to request- tbh most offbeat brides expect their bridesmaids to accept their reasonable requests even if it may not be their norm. So for me hair do ok, hair cut into completely different style not ok. As for makeup it’s one day would it really be that awfully to be by your friends side as she wants. Having said that if you aren’t comfortable then I’d discuss it with her but think it should go with a happily offered resignation of shed prefer that option- just make sure you’re ok if she would rather not have you as bridesmaid if you opt for no make up or hair do

21. Personally – mani/pedis gross me out….. I’d much rather take care of my own nails. I was a maid of honor for my best friend a few years back and I got the “ok” with explaining that I’m not a fan of them, but I catered to her image by doing those Sally Hansen strips so that my nails were perfect, not butchered.

    I also DIY my own hair (it was a pixie…. what are they going to do to it that I can’t?) and I did my own makeup… mostly because she understood that I was a starving grad student who was putting all my $$ into being self-employed that year. COMMUNICATION! I got gussied up for a dinner out with her before the wedding to “prove” that I could do it myself.

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