Paper Rings

What do you do when you have so many sisters they would be half of your bridal party? Have a Sister Squad!

From the day you start getting that ring finger itch, where it’s literally the only thing on your mind, you obviously start imagining what the wedding will be like and who will be standing next to you. When you finally get to be the one making cute bridesmaid proposal boxes, it’s like you’re updating your top 5 and then spamming it all over Instagram. Sure, you can change the settings and have a top 10, but keeping the peace with that many b’s is bridal suicide. Not to mention how awkward it will look if your fiancé only has like 3 friends.

So here is my Bridesmaid breakdown: 2 from Highschool, 4 from College, and my Fiancé’s Sister.  And here’s my problem- I have 3 sisters of my own….imagine how pissed they were!

I set the expectation from Day 1 that my sisters weren’t going to be in the Bridal Party because I couldn’t have one and not all. As time went on, I felt disappointed that my younger sister, who I had grown so close to when I moved back to my hometown, wasn’t involved in my wedding. Anyone with more than one sister knows that your relationships evolve with where you are in your lives; you’re closest when you’re going through the same experiences. It doesn’t mean I love my other sisters any less. Oh, and the backlash I would get for having just one or two sisters in the Bridal Party was terrifying. It just wasn’t practical to add 3 more Bridesmaids to the party. I knew I had to get creative and come up with a solution to involve ALL of my sisters.

In the South, they have a tradition called a “House Party,” basically your second line bridal party when your group size is maxed out and you still want to honor friends or family close to you. I played around with this idea, but it would have been completely lost on Californians and I feared it wouldn’t feel significant to my sisters. So I’m making up a new tradition, Sister Squad, and it will be a thing.

My sisters are going to wear dresses that have a lace top like my Bridesmaid’s dresses and in the color of the groomsmen’s suits. They will walk behind the flower girl and ring bearer and then look over them as they all sit in the front row. They will be in the photos, give a speech, and attend my bachelorette trip.

In the end, I actually think a Sister Squad is more meaningful. They get an extra special call out that they are the Bride’s sisters…similar to details that call out the maid of honor, like a sparkly belt or larger bouquet. And they get to sit during the ceremony, I wish I could sit during the ceremony.

#SisterSquad

Movies really romanticize the entire dress shopping process. In reality, it will suck the life out of you…if you let it. The stress of dieting ahead of time, choosing who will go with you, making appointments, budgeting, etc. Here are some lessons learned by an average girl on a budget who did not fly to a destination bridal shop.

Do:

• Try on EVERYTHING, even if you think you won’t like it, they all look completely different once they’re on.
• Bring: heels, hair ties, and a sticky bra.
• Wear nude underwear.
• Bring champagne and drinkware! Unless you’re on Say Yes To The Dress (if so, idk why you’re reading this) bridal shops typically don’t offer champs. After an hour of my Grandma’s commentary, I think we all needed something stronger than champagne. We didn’t run into any issues, the shops benefit from a champagne-influenced budget.
• Make time for lunch….somewhere with Margaritas.
• Be prepared for additional costs not on the price tag. If your dress is $2k, you’re paying $2.3k with sales tax + ~$300 for basic alterations.
• Bring friends with different personal styles. It’s so easy to get caught up in majority vote and think you love a dress as much as they love it. Having a friend that will speak up against the group will help you evaluate how YOU really feel about the dress. Shout out to Nicole for saving me from a ballgown and Isabelle for saving me from a skin-tight mermaid.

Don’t:

• Wear Spanx. Wedding dresses are surprisingly flattering and suck it all in for you! Most of them have a low back or a sheer bodice and you really don’t get the full effect when your spanks are showing! When I finally found my dress I took off my Spanx for the full look and felt real weird going commando in a sample dress.
• Overbook appointments. You’re a psychopath if you book more than 3 appointments in one day. It’s truly exhausting and you’ll be even more over trying on dresses than your group will be over sitting there watching you ALL.DAY.LONG.
• Waste time showing your group a dress that you hate, just move on to the next.
• Feel obligated to put a dress on hold or make promises that you’ll be back after you think about it. Dress consultants know the drill, if you’re leaving without a dress that means the dress wasn’t for you! Keep it moving.
• Be uncomfortable getting undressed in front of the consultant…she has seen every shape, size, lump and bump. Just get naked and get on with it.
• Freak out at your dress size…..I almost had a heart attack when my size 2 pant translated into a size 8 wedding dress. I really don’t understand the discrepancy, but just know that you didn’t gain 6 sizes overnight.

Some brides are really secretive about their dress, I would show Nick mine if he let me! After the wedding, I plan to  wear it around the house whenever I have a bad day and want to feel pretty.