They’re meant to be your best friends and the women who will support you on the most important day of your life. But as new film Bridesmaids shows, that’s not always the case.
The movie, which opened on the South African circuit this month, charts the adventures of a bride and her five ill-chosen bridesmaids.
However, sometimes truth is funnier than fiction. Here we speak to four bridesmaids who each have hilarious stories to tell about their big days.
In a split second, I had ruined the reception
AMY TOOTELL, 34, is a nurse who is married with two children. Amy was a bridesmaid in 2000 for her friend Jo:
There were three bridesmaids, all friends from nursing college, wearing lovely purple column dresses. The ceremony had gone without a hitch, the meal was lovely and we were all feeling rather pleased with ourselves.
But it was in that lull before the evening reception, held at a beautiful hotel, kicked off that things began to go wrong.
The dance floor had been cleared, the disco began and, after the first dance, the bridegroom asked me to dance.
We’d both had quite a few glasses of wine and he started spinning me around. This was a mistake. I was feeling rather dizzy when suddenly he picked me up, spun me round - and let go.
In my tipsy state, I hurtled horizontally across the dance floor like a spinning top - in full view of everyone - and ended up with my foot not only through one of the speakers but also the cables for the DJ’s entire lighting system.
There was a long, agonising pause, then all the lights went out. Not only had I taken out the sound system, I had also fused the disco lights. Part of me wanted to laugh, but it was too awful. The thought flashing through my mind was: “This is a disaster! Jo will be furious.”
Everyone was staring. I tried to disentangle myself from the wires, and stand up. Sadly this was the end of the lights and the music for the entire evening.
The shocked silence was eventually broken by a sound - it was the bride, Jo, in hysterics. At first I thought she was genuinely hysterical, but then I realised she was laughing.
I apologised profusely, mortified that she had spent ages organising her perfect wedding, and, in a split second, I’d effectively ruined the evening do.
Jo and I kept in touch for a year after that and then contact tailed off. I do hope she isn’t still cross with me!
The next thing I knew I was lying in the aisle
PIPPA THOMAS, 23, is a single events manager. She was a bridesmaid last year for the bride of her cousin Jason:
While I was thrilled to be asked to be a bridesmaid, I secretly wondered if I was really cut out for it. I started to have panic dreams about tripping up in my high heels, ripping the bride’s dress, or having too much to drink at the reception. In the event, my worst fears came true, but not in a way I could ever have imagined.
There were three of us bridesmaids: I, my sister and the best friend of the bride, Louise, as well as a little flower girl. We got ready in the morning with all the usual hustle and bustle - I didn’t have time to eat anything but did have a very large glass of champagne.
It was one of the hottest days of the year and the church was full. As I walked down the aisle in my long cream silk dress, I could feel myself getting hotter and hotter. There was nowhere for us to sit, so we stood in a line behind the bride and the groom, in full view of everyone.
I made it through the first part of the ceremony, right up to the part when the couple began to make their vows. The atmosphere was electric, and everyone was craning forward to hear when suddenly I couldn’t see anything, my entire body felt strange and there was a loud clatter as I collapsed.
The next thing I knew I was lying in the aisle, with everyone crowded around me. One of the guests, a doctor, was holding my head and told me I’d fainted.
At the very moment the bride and groom were about to solemnly swear their love for each other and be pronounced man and wife, I’d gone down like a sack of potatoes. My father had to carry me out, the ceremony went on without me and they had to re-start their vows.
I feel so bad that I grabbed the attention from the bride at the biggest moment of her life. It became the joke of the day, and was mentioned in all the speeches and, to this day, I still get people coming up to me saying: “You’re the bridesmaid who fainted, aren’t you?”
I still cringe at how thoughtless I was
KATHY DE MATTIA, 39, runs an online media service and is married with a 21-month-old son. Kathy was maid of honour for her sister Fran in 2002:
I should have known that life as a bridesmaid was not going to be all plain sailing.
First, we had a big day out to choose Fran’s wedding dress. It started well, with a few glasses of champagne and excited chatter. But by the 20th wedding dress shop, we were all exhausted and started snapping at each other. By the time we went home, none of us were on speaking terms.
Then we had the trial make-up session. The salon was really dingy and the make-up was hideous - worse still, it gave us all rashes.
By the time the day came round, I couldn’t even imagine what else could go wrong. As maid of honour, I was wearing a lovely burgundy satin dress. But as I’m blonde and quite pale, I was worried I’d look washed out, so the day before, I’d covered my arms and legs in fake tan.
But on the day, I still thought I was too pasty. With minutes to spare before we had to be at the church, I announced: “Hang on. I have to do something.” Hitching up my immaculate dress, I ran to my bedroom and began frantically dabbing at my chest with fake tan.
Tissue stuck to my fingers and I could feel myself getting hotter, the fake tan started to streak and from downstairs I could hear my mother saying we needed to go. But it wasn’t until Fran, who is normally very controlled, yelled: “Kathy, this is my wedding! You’re making us late” that I bolted out.
They immediately noticed the fake tan, but, as my mum said, it was too late to do anything. We clambered into the car and everyone was seething.
Even worse, the smell of fake tan was overpowering. The congregation couldn’t help but notice the smell, not to mention my streaky, orange chest.
In the pews, people were edging away from me. Then, after the ceremony, I hugged several guests, transferring my orange streaks on to dresses and white shirt collars. They must have been furious.
One person who wouldn’t let me anywhere near her was my beloved sister. It was her big day and I couldn’t even give her a hug.
When I look at the photographs, I’m mortified.
While Fran tutted about it, she did see the funny side, but I still cringe at how thoughtless I was on her big day.
I looked down, and my boob had popped out
STACEY TYSON, 39, is an account manager who lives with her partner, Andrew. Stacey was maid of honour for her best friend, Julie, in 2005:
Things hadn’t boded well from the start. I am quite a large girl - size 18 at the time of the wedding - and felt very self-conscious about what I would have to wear.
Julie’s mother was making our outfits and in the end settled on floor-length skirts and bustier style tops in dark red. I decided not to wear a bra under mine, as I don’t have a terribly big bust. That turned out to be my biggest mistake.
Julie already had three children with her partner, and I had promised to look after the youngest, Ellis, one, who was a page boy.
As Julie began to walk into the main room, I was right behind her, with Ellis in my arms. He was crying and wriggling a bit, but even so I couldn’t understand why everyone was staring at me, instead of the bride.
As a ripple of embarrassed laughter ran across the room. I looked down, and saw to my horror that my left boob had popped out of the bustier top.
I was mortified. There I was, supposedly the dignified matron of honour, struggling with a crying child as I tried frantically to hitch up my top at the same time.
Worse still, when we went out on to the lawn for photographs, the photographer, a family friend, started gesticulating wildly at me. Still holding Ellis, I did not know what he was getting at, until I looked down.
I couldn’t believe it - it had happened again.
By now Julie was in hysterics, as were most of the guests. But I was beyond embarrassed; I wanted to crawl away and hide.
I begged the photographer to delete the offending photo, but he wouldn’t and so one of Julie’s wedding photos features me and my wardrobe malfunction.
She claims it’s the funniest thing she has ever seen, but what a terrible way to upstage the bride on her big day. - - Daily Mail