Tears, tantrums, hissy fits, tulle – and that’s just the bride! Wait until the bridesmaids get involved, it’s the perfect recipe for bitch fights.

A good bridesmaid should be pretty heavily involved and that means planning the hen’s night, being there for rehearsals, ensuring the bride arrives to the wedding on time, not complaining when she has to wear a hideous dress, being nice to the groomsmen, not shagging any groomsmen during the reception, not getting too hammered, looking good in photos, being attentive to the bride and tolerant of any freak-outs and psycho-bride moments.

Bridesmaids can be good, they can be bad and they can be forced to wear some damn ugly dresses.

Seriously, choosing your bridesmaids can be one of the hardest decisions you make when planning your wedding.

When some people are included and others are not, friendships can be tested.

People are known to hold grudges and I’ve heard plenty of stories of families who are still annoyed with each other for bridal party exclusion.

It’s easy to feel like you are obligated to include certain people in your wedding party.

But I suppose it’s important to remember that it is your day and that you can do whatever you want.

Really, people have no right to get annoyed with your choices – unless you’re forcing your bridesmaids to wear some kind of hideous outfit.

Although you may want to include all your friends and family in your bridal party, it’s not always possible or practical. Of course you can forgo all the drama by just deciding not to have any bridesmaids at all!

Did you know the tradition of bridesmaids dates back to early Roman times?

Bridesmaids dressed similarly to the bride would form a kind of bridal infantry, accompanying the bride to the groom’s village and protecting her from evil spirits or vengeful suitors trying to steal her dowry.

Bridesmaids are no longer required to be body guards, but they’re still pretty busy.

In fact, there’s nothing worse than a lazy bridesmaid who’s just there for groomsman action.

A good bridesmaid should be heavily involved and that means planning the hen’s night, being there for rehearsals, ensuring the bride arrives to the wedding on time; not complaining when she has to wear a hideous dress; being nice to the groomsmen, not shagging any groomsmen during the reception, not getting too hammered, looking good in photos, being attentive to the bride and tolerant of any freak-outs and psycho-bride moments.

While it’s not possible to include everyone in your bridal party, there are still plenty of things people can do to make your day special – it takes creative thinking.

Perhaps you have a talented friend who could sing or play an instrument on the day, you could ask someone to do a reading during the ceremony, people can act as ushers, be the MC or guest book attendant.

Or it can even be as simple as acknowledging their years of support and friendship in the wedding speeches.

In the end, your bridesmaids should be reliable and helpful.

They should be people who are special to you and are ready to provide you with support when you need it.