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Video: This Woman Wants To Be Your Bridesmaid For Hire
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 14, 2015
Modified Jan 14, 2015
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via Jewish Forward
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 14, 2015
Modified Jan 14, 2015
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If this immediately reminds you of the upcoming Kevin Hart film The Wedding Ringer, it is because it is a lot like that, just the nightmare NYC version. Advertising start-up day job? Check. Craigslist origin story? Check. Antiquated belief that marriage must be an overwhelming and opulent affair outsourced to strangers lest the magic of your childhood dreams crumble and all your hopes for a happy life with your partner turn to sand drifting in the bitter winds of monogamy? Check. Millennials? Check plus and mate.
Meet Jen Glantz, the 26-year-old who splits her time between her copy editing day job and her passion for participating in other people's weddings. She talked to the Jewish Daily Forward about her bridesstranger business, which she started in 2014 after putting ads on Craigslist to be a bridesmaid for hire. She says she's already done two, and has others booked as far in advance as 2017.
Why not just hire a wedding planner? According to Glantz, planners focus on "things," while bridesmaids focus on "people." Here's her argument why you should hire a professional bridesmaid as well:
Weddings are expensive for friends and family. For many, it requires traveling hundreds of miles to attend engagement parties, showers, and the actual day itself. If you’re in the bridal party, it often requires a big commitment in time and energy. While you may want to have specific friends and family as part of your “big day” they may not be able to fly across the country to help you shop for a dress, know where to start when it comes to planning your bridal shower, or have the evenings open to chat on the phone about what’s on your to-do list that week and the wedding challenges and roadblocks you’re knocking into. By hiring a Professional Bridesmaid, you can still honor your friends and family by having them be your bridesmaids, but without the burden or the “dirty work”. The Professional Bridesmaid does all the heavy lifting - so you and your girls can focus on the fun!
We'll give her this: she definitely has had experience dealing with women in times of crisis:
Well, in 2010 I worked as a consultant for a national sorority. I spent a year living out of a suitcase, traveling to a new university every week and working with women I had never met before in order to repair difficult situations they were facing, work out challenges that were stacked up on their to-do lists, and flatten out complicated group dynamics that were making it hard for them to get along and work together - similar to the kinds of things brides and her wedding party face over time.
She adds that the key to achieving the wedding of your dreams: if you really want to have your bridesmaids and groomsman dress as dwarves to your Snow White, then you should definitely do that. "My advice for all brides is to close your eyes and remember when you were 10 years old, what was your ideal wedding," she told the Forward. "I promise you what you thought of when you were 10 or 11 years old is truly what you want and that’s what we’re going to plan, and that’s what we’re going to execute for you." First thought, best thought!
Anyway, kudos to her for creating a niche that doesn't really sound necessary, and being able to convince people to use her services anyway. We should all be so lucky as to start our own business that resembles the plot of a major motion picture. If you are interested in her services (or in becoming a bridesmaid), check out all her info here.
Tagged
bridesmaid
bridesmaid for hire
jen glantz
not a joke
this is just like that movie isn't it
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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