Dear Can I Get a Plus One?
Can I get an amen? Amen. I always cringe a little when I’m invited to a wedding and the invitation isn’t addressed to Ms. Jen Glantz and Guest. By now, I’m usually one of the only single gals there, and while that comes with some perks: catching the bouquet without competition, dibs on which weird uncle to dance with, and not having to worry about taking care of a drunk date, it also kind of stinks.
You know what I say to those age-old etiquette rules? Go bother someone in your own time period. It’s 2014, darling, and we don’t just sit silently when something is wrong. We open our mouth, errr, our laptops and say it in 140 words or less.
So say something. If this is really one of your closest friends and you really are one of the only single gals left in your flock of friends, ask her if you can bring someone along with you so you’re not spending the night rolling your eyes at all the married couples or slow dancing with yourself.
Ask her if it’s possible, when the wedding gets closer and she has a better sense of her numbers, if you could bring someone. The bride may be inviting more people than she has room or money for, so maybe when it’s closer and she has a better sense of who is coming she’ll say yes.
Also tell her that one day she’s going to be a guest at your wedding and she automatically gets a plus one, her husband, so how about you get one too, now, and we’ll call it even.
Worse case is she says the big fat N-O and you’re stuck doing the Gangnam Style dance with a bunch of married couples and their toddlers. That doesn’t sound so awful, does it?
ASK A PROFESSIONAL BRIDESMAID.
Are you wondering what kind of gift to bring to the engagement party? Or how to protest against wearing a 7-layer chiffon polka dotted dress with a giant bow on the back? How about how the heck you can afford to be a bridesmaid, for the 5th time this year, without taking out a loan from Bank of America?
Jen’s been a bridesmaid more times than she can count on both hands – and she’s made every mistake there is, like bringing lingerie to a bridal shower and not bringing Advil to a bachelorette party. From ordering a bridesmaid dress a month before the wedding (& then buying fabric to make it herself in case it didn’t come in on time) to wearing brand new heels to a wedding and having her toes semi-permanently go numb.
To pay it forward (& make sure you don’t make the same blistering mistakes), Jen’s asking you to send her any and all bridesmaid questions you have. She’ll send over an answer (& a virtual hug) within 48 hours.
You may have #99BridesmaidProblems but lack of advice is no longer one.
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