Batty Bridesmaid Alert!

Forget bridezilla. There’s a new terror on the aisle to worry about. Aretha Loh fills you in on the new generation of bridesmaids gone bad.

- Aretha Loh

Sweet, patient, supportive… some of the qualities you’ll find on the potential bridesmaid checklist. A wedding is one of the biggest events in a woman’s life and she’ll want the best girlfriends to see her through it.

October and December appear to be the favoured months for weddings this year, says Caroline Tan-Reed, wedding planner and co-owner of The Wedding Stylist. “A lot of auspicious dates fall within October. December has always been popular because it’s the festive season.”

Even though there are holidays to be excited about and parties to throw, most women would gladly sacrifice their plans for the bride’s if they’ve been bestowed the honour of being her bridesmaid.

Everyone, that is, except the batty bridesmaid – a breed of girlfriend bent on making the joyous occasion less joyous thanks to her bad etiquette. It’s not that she doesn’t care about the bride, she just… cares more about herself. She’s the one who can’t wear cap sleeves because of her “fat arms” and needs help with her makeup despite arriving late for the prep. She’s also the one who’s irresponsible enough to back out of the sisterhood just days before the wedding.

So what causes a usually sweet and caring friend to morph into a batty bridesmaid? “The bridesmaid may feel like she’s losing her best friend to someone else. Even though she’s happy for the bride-to-be, she could be subconsciously sabotaging the wedding to keep their friendship status quo. She could also be a know it-all who thinks that her suggestions and actions are helpful, when they only irritate the bride-to-be,” says Violet Lim, CEO of dating app Lunch click and co-founder of dating agency Lunch Actually.