Sisters & Friendships

This Sunday, Aug. 2, is both Friendship Day and Sisters Day!  We two girls at Brides N Blooms Wholesale & Designs spend so much time together we might as well be sisters! Truth be told though, we ARE friends. Good friends, who work together well. We say, celebrate the day and spend it with your friends and/or sisters. Giving a gift of flowers or something small like candles, candy or jewelry is a lovely gesture to show how important they are in your life.

Friendships and sisters also play a big part in weddings.  Most brides-to-be choose their sisters and/or sister in laws, future sister in laws and ‘best’ friends to be in the wedding party.  The custom of having female attendants is probably as old as marriage itself and its origins are entangled in folklore. One story is that brides in early England were surrounded with friends and dressed in outfits identical to her own. That would confuse evil spirits that might want to curse her happiness. In another story, bridesmaids escorted the bride to the wedding to protect her from thieves after her dowry. Bridesmaids these days aren’t chosen for protection, of course, but are usually chosen because they are significant people in the bride’s life.  Since they will play a prominent role on a bride’s big day, they should be selected with care.

It seems like a no-brainer to have a sister as your Maid of honor or if you have more than one sister, to have them all in your wedding party.  However, be realistic… Even though they love you, and are there for you in all instances, they may not be up to this particular task. It could be at for one reason or another, right now they are emotionally unable to assist with the details that are required of a Maid of Honor and/or Bridesmaid. So have a care for their feelings too.  If you only have one sister, but her time management skills are lacking, (such as not EVER being ready for anything on time), then maybe a friend would be a better choice.  If you have more than one sister and one of them is better with coordinating things, then she is obviously a better choice for Maid of Honor. However, when deciding these things  be diplomatic. Give each sister or friend a special task that they can do and will make them feel special. Be open to having an honest conversation about what you need and what you expect from your sisters and your friends. Give them the opportunity to politely back out.  Remember, this isn’t about love, respect or closeness, sometimes it’s just about ability and expectations.

Celebrating any event, big or small, be it Friendship day, Sister’s Day or your Wedding day is a perfect opportunity for you to share how much you care about those closest to you in your life.

Now go out and have yourself a friendship and wholesale flower-filled day!