I'm a bridesmaid! From a land far, far away...

CSquared61

So, my darling friend who lives about a day's drive from me just got engaged to be married in June! She asked me to be a bridesmaid, which I'm really excited about. Since I am so far away, the wedding is in only 6 months, AND I have never been to/in a wedding before, I'm not really sure how I can help. The next time we talk on the phone, I want to ask what I can do for her (other than helping out on the day of, obviously), and I figured a few specific offers wouldn't hurt.

I don't know how feasible it is for me to be able to visit before the wedding. I *might* be able to do a weekend or three days at the most, but it would be hard with work and school. So I am looking for stuff I could do either super long-distance or within the time I would actually be there for the wedding.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Maggie0829

Honestly, the next time you speak with the bride let her know that you are excited for her wedding and that if there is anything you can help with to please let you know.  Then it is up to the bride to decide if there is anything that you can help her with.

It is great that you want to help but being far away is difficult.  I would just be supportive and let her know that you are available if she needs you.  You don't necessarily need to have specific ideas when you talk to her you just need to let her know that you are offering help with whatever.

bandjwedding2012

I think it's great that you are so excited for your friend. As a bride with two BM's very, very far away I was thrilled when they offered to help. It wasn't that I needed it or had any idea what it was they could do, but just the offer made me even more happy to have them be apart of our wedding.
  I don't know if you have to drive or if your flying in for the wedding, but one of my BM's, she's my twin sister, offered to make up the little favors and bring them in for the wedding. We decided since the airports are always weird she would express over night them a week before the wedding, that way if they get lost we have time to do something else.
   All of my BM's went online and picked their top favorite bridal dresses. It gave me a chance to see what their budgets were and what their different style are.
  Again I think you're a pretty good friend and I hope your bride remembers that.

RaptorSLH

This is why they invented e-mail, cell phones, and Skype.  My BM is several states away, and when it came time to go dress shopping, I took lots of pictures, put them in a PowerPoint file with commentary, and e-mailed it to her.  She tried on bridesmaid dresses, took lots of pictures, and sent a similar file back.  Voila!  Dress shopping "together" from 13 hours away.  

If the two of you want to do this, you'll find a way.  Have fun!

Elinetrouwt

I have a MOH who lives far away, and the best thing she does for me, is being supportive. We email a lot, and that is very helpful and meaningful for me. I don't need her to do anything else.

graysquirrel

I agree with Maggie-- the best thing that you can do is to be excited for her and listen. Let her know that you are really happy about the wedding and would like to be involved. The only real duty of a BM is to get the dress and show up ready to go-- anything else that you want to do is a gift to her, so if you are feeling bad about living far away, don't.

The best thing that my BMs did for me was to listen and offer feedback. There were lots of times when I didn't know what choice to make and they offered their good opinions. As someone far away, that would be a great thing to do for your bride-- be hear listening ear.