Photo: nadtochiy/Shutterstock/TikTok
Sounds like "27 Dresses".
By Sanika Nalgirkar — Written on Jul 16, 2022
For years now, Jen Glantz has been working as a professional bridesmaid. She is hired, by complete strangers, to be in their wedding party and support them on their big day.
But the job is not all dresses and parties. Her work comes with one huge drawback — losing contact with the brides she is hired by.
The bridesmaid-for-hire is spilling all the secrets of her job on TikTok.
Glantz regularly shares content about her profession as a bridesmaid on the video-sharing app. One recent viral video has caught the attention of viewers who were surprised to learn that Glantz misses her clients once their wedding is over.
In the video, Glantz is seen looking at wedding invitations she was a bridesmaid in while mimicking a tearful face.
The caption reads, “75% of the time, when people hire me to be their bridesmaid, it’s a complete secret and we don’t talk ever again after the wedding ends."
She finds it hard to completely detach herself from the brides' lives after putting in so much effort for their wedding. She further wrote, “And that part never gets easier.”
TikTok users empathized with the bridesmaid.
That video jerked a sentimental reaction from internet users as many people felt bad that most brides didn’t keep in contact with the woman.
One user wrote, “I’m honestly so afraid I’m going to have to do this for my wedding - but know if I do, you’ll end up being a lifelong friend. I promise.”
Another user wrote, “I hope the other 25% brings you some of the greatest friendships you never knew you needed.”
Some people were rather surprised to find out that being a bridesmaid is a profession.
One user wrote, “What!! This is a thing? Do you pretend to be super close with them? It would be nice to have someone cheering you on.”
Some people also talked about how sad this would be for the bride as this means she doesn’t have any close friends.
One person commented, “I can’t get my head around why someone would hire a stranger as their bridesmaid. It’s so sad.”
Many other people had similar thoughts and didn’t understand why anyone would want to hire a stranger for their wedding.
Glantz explained why people hire a bridesmaid.
It seems Glantz gets these sorts of questions thrown at her often as she has made several videos where she talks about being a bridesmaid and why she does it.
She mentioned that she started by advertising her services on Craigslist where she got hundreds of emails from customers. After going through those, she realized that there are two main reasons why brides would hire her.
“Reason number 1 was because they had friends, they had bridesmaids but their friends were a bit of a disaster and they were honestly scared that their friends were going to sabotage their wedding,” she said.
“Reason number 2 was that they didn’t have any close friends which I don’t find weird.”
She shared that many people lose touch with friends throughout their lives or just don't feel comfortable asking anyone to be their bridesmaid. That's where she comes in, often posing as a friend who lives far away but returned for the bride's big day.
Her goal is to make brides feel special and a little less alone as they marry the love of their life.
Sanika Nalgirkar is a News & Entertainment Writer based in Seattle. She has a master's degree in Creative Writing. See more of her writing on her website.