Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
IF YOU’VE PLANNED a wedding, you’ll know the depth of preparation and stress that goes hand-in-hand with all things nuptial.
Not least of the pressures involved is the selection of the bridal party, with everything from dress selection and expense to the exclusion of friends who may feel snubbed at not making the cut coming to the fore.
Into the void comes the professional bridesmaid, a woman who you may never have met who stands side by side with a bride on the biggest day of her life. That’s what Jen Glantz does for a living.
“I’m there for brides in need, I’m a confidant, I’m there to make sure they’re stress-free on their wedding day,” Florida-native (but New York based) Jen told TheJournal.ie.
I’m everything from a personal assistant to an on-call therapist to a peacekeeper. It’s a varied job.
Jen sees her role as very different from that of a wedding planner.
“It’s completely different. A wedding planner is there to focus on things, to make sure things run smoothly. I’m focused on people. I want the day to go brilliantly on a personal level for the bride,” she says.
She initially got the idea for her slightly unusual job after standing for so many of her own friends as a bridesmaid.
“I could just see the stress a bride goes through and thought there has to be a niche there, like no-one is ever there for the bride, just for herself,” she says.
So I put an ad up on Craigslist advertising my services. Within 48 hours I had hundreds of emails from all over the world. That’s when I knew it could work as a business.
That was June 2014. Since then she’s been a professional bridesmaid on over 40 occasions all over the US. She’s so busy she has even taken on staff to share the load.
I put an ad out and I had more than 4,000 women apply to work with me. 4,000! So far I’ve hired two, but who knows in the future.
Jen sees herself as a writer first and foremost (“this is my side job”), although business is brisk as a bridesmaid for hire.
“I’ve done weddings now in Vegas, Minnesota, California, New Jersey…” she says.
Each one comes with different challenges, where I need to give different kinds of guidance.
Contact is generally made between Jen and her bride-to-be between 3 and 18 months prior to the big day, although she generally doesn’t meet them until the day itself.
I get to know these brides so well, and she will eventually turn to me with every type of problem, more so than even with her own best friend.
Two questions – does she stand at the altar? And does she get to keep the dresses a la Katherine Heigl and her 27 dresses?
“I can stand at the altar for sure, but that’s more of a question of what kind of package the bride goes for,” she says.
When it comes to the dress, I’ll discuss it with the bride, she’ll ask me what I can wear, and oftentimes she’ll buy the dress for me to fit in with the wedding party.
And yes, I get to keep them.
It really sounds like a sweet deal. So, has she any plans to expand internationally? To Ireland perhaps?
I would love to do it, and I get loads of inquiries from abroad. I love to travel so that’s a business that could definitely work.
This job is an adventure. I love it.
Now all we need is a groomsman for hire. Over to you Jen.
Odd Job: Professional Bridesmaid
What does it pay? Anything between $300 and $2,000 per wedding, depending upon the package. Jen averages $1,000 per wedding.
How many are there? Not many
What qualifications/experience do you need? None, but an ability to handle high-stress situations with a smile on your face is a must
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
had a samsung for 2 years, got an iPhone and within half an hour was wondering why i hadn’t had an iPhone all along. Still streets ahead in my opinion.
Both are a waste of money. Huawei all the way.
Siemens C10 all the way.
I think Apple products are far superior to Samsung. Let the games begin!
stupid apple fan boy rejoicing at being over charged for old technology.
Can’t fault them, they do make great products, iPhone 5s is a super phone and laptops are sweet especially the MacBook Air
What do i use my old iphone and ipads for? that cannot upgrade beyound 5.1 ios and therefore are useless all apps are 6 and over. Why do they make devices to survive more than 2 years when they are worthless after that. Thats where they make their billions i suppose.
Its called Planned Obsolescence. Good documentary regarding the above on youtube.
The most recent iPhone that is not compatible with iOS 7.0 is the 3GS, released in 2009, slightly longer than two years. It was compatible up until iOS 6.1.3 as far as I know.
And the iPad only came about in 2010
Still have an iPad 1. Is only on iOS6 but works fine for everything I need it for, i.e. Web browsing, video/ audio streaming services etc.
Cork’s Average Income rises again!
Think I’ll stick with the ol’ Nokia 3310, still going strong after 11 years
I hate that kind of arrogance where Apple think are the only company that are part of the ecosystem, when everything they do is built upon the shoulders of others – Their phones would be useless without the work of Ericsson, NSN & Huawei who share their knowledge to make networks available to all; their ipads and laptops dependant on the internet, built on open standards made available to all, the thosands of websites that are built without any help from apple; Music players built on the backbone of mp3 developers, and the app store built upon the millions of developers who didn’t work on the 10 or so apps that apple have developed.
Like or loathe their products (I like them), Apple as a company are the Disney corporation of the 21st century, and will stiffle creativity and originality through their obsession with cash and patents above openness and sharing. Eventually, they will just be a US only patent trolling company left behind by the rest of the world.
(nb: apologies for the rant)
Totally agree. I like apple products however not a fan of wallet gardens and will therefore not support them.
Giz a lend apple
I wonder how many Chinese lads jumped out of windows because they couldn’t bare to work in apple factories while an American corporate giant makes enough money to cure world poverty….
Foxconn dont just make apple products they make everything xbox one ,Asus motherboards
4
Oh go away Declan you miserable sod.
Does it really matter? :P
My god filthy rich.
But can it play snake
Doesn’t make me want my I phone any more..
And have paid €1.95 in tax
Imagine if Irish Exchequer was receiving 12.5% of those super profits in corporation tax every year from Apple Inc?
Currently it’s circa 2%, and the Market Capitalisation of the company is headed towards $1 trillion, with Hard Cash on the Balance Sheet of $150 bn.
Great News for Shareholders, but is it good for Society in general that such cash piles are building up in lots if international behemoths, as a result if low and inequitable CT rates. 10% extra filtering into Government coffers, would go a long way to addressing perceived unfairness of system for “stateless” multinationals. And Governments could apply those extra revenues for productive public works in their respective countries, thereby generating additional and essential economic activity, employment, taxes etc.
The tap of trickle-down economics needs to be turned on fully, to offer more hope to the masses in a broken economic world.
If our government got some of that money we wouldn’t see it anyway all the cronies would be looked after and that’s about it
It’s a year on but well worth a read, first one is Wall Street Journal, the second one is interesting to us as irish people. Of course tax avoidance is all right it’s the non regulated tax evasion that middle men dislike.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324787004578495250424727708
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-apple-reduces-what-it-pays-in-taxes-2013-5
Apple . meh, its easy to see how they have massive profits what with obscene prices apple fan boys suck up to. Apple don’t do much designs in terms of electronics, its mostly outsourced but not to Samsung who rightly told them to fluck themselves.
If the lads up in the dall got their hands on that money they would just squander it
Get a life geeks…
Sent from my pink Tamagotchi
Apple . meh, its easy to see how they have massive profits what with obscene prices apple fan boys suck up to. Apple don’t do much designs in terms of electronics, its mostly outsourced but not to Samsung who rightly told them to fluck themselves.
Sounds great but in reality other ppl bear the loss.
have your say