Amira Azzouz 
A friend of mine called me up one day, to ask about my experience as the sister of the bride; her sister was getting married soon, and she wanted her to have a wonderful wedding! As I gave her my own take as an alumni sister of the bride, I thought there must be many more women out there who would probably want to know what to do on that special day.
So if your sister's wedding (or even your best friend's big day) is coming up, there are some things you must know to be an awesome sister of the bride. So here goes my advice, derived from first-hand experience:
1. Let’s start off with the most basic thing, yet the one that will require a lot of organization skills from your side. You need to be on top of everything! Make sure you’re well aligned on her plan/timeline of the wedding, get the numbers of the DJ, photographer, decorator or wedding planner and speak to them in advance so that they know you’ll be the one in charge on that day.
If you haven’t made that clear yet, you’ll have to hold on to her phone and take calls on her behalf. Assembling the family and friends for the photoshoot or making sure the DJ comes on time are part of that duty list as well. Whatever you do, do it with a smile on your face, you need to stay in a great mood too.
2. Let’s talk good mood for a bit longer. One of the happiest moments pre and during your sister’s wedding is when you realize she is truly happy and taking things easy, which makes it part of your duties on her special day. Crack a joke every now and then, keep anyone with negative vibes away and eliminate any potential stress factor.
3. If your sister picked out a wedding dress with a long tail, you’ll need to make sure most of the time that no one is stepping on it, especially when she’s on the dance floor.
4. Prepare a small kit, most brides don’t even need it, but it’s always better to be on the safe side. Some of the things this pack should include are Panadol, a sewing kit and several straws.
5. Whatever goes behind the scenes, keep it to yourself and try to deal with it. Let’s say the decoration she picked for her special day doesn’t look exactly the same...it’s fine, she probably won’t even notice, and you should either try to fix this as soon as possible or distract her to make sure she doesn’t realize it.
6. You’ll need to be ready yourself. Start off by getting a good night's sleep the day before. On the wedding day, have a proper breakfast and lunch, because you’ll need to be full of energy for your sister’s big day. Organize your time properly, to take as little time as possible getting ready, be it your hair, makeup or getting dressed, to be able to give her the needed attention. Remember it’s going to be a super hectic, yet an unforgettable day you’ll always cherish and remember.
7. Make sure she has something proper to eat, people tend to be much less cranky with food in their stomach!
8. Try as much as possible to be around her most of the time because she’ll appreciate your good vibes, be it on the dance floor, while she’s cutting the cake, and the list goes on and on.
9. Keep intruders away! Depending on your sister’s personality, you might need to keep away friends or family who want to see the bride before her entrance. Luckily, my sister was pretty easy-going, but most brides out there have strict rules about who enters their room and who’s not allowed to.
10. Stay with her every step of the way while she’s getting ready. Brides tend to be easily stressed out on their wedding day, and any mistake from the hairdresser for example could cause some serious drama. To avoid that from happening, it would be much easier to keep a close eye on the progress itself, and assure her along the way that she looks absolutely beautiful.
11. Part of your sister of the bride duties would most certainly include helping her get dressed, zipping things up and adding her jewelry for a seamless "gettiing-ready" experience.
12. On top of the above, you’ll be asked by your parents to greet everyone and mingle with the guests. I know I’m making it sound more of a chore, but if you’re already handling a lot, it might be tough to add that to your list. Rest assured though, it doesn’t take much from the time you’ll give to your sister. Just do it with a big smile on your face.
13. Help your sister pack two bags. The first would be the one she needs on her wedding day - prepare a checklist, so you wouldn’t forget anything! The second bag would be the one she’ll take with her to the honeymoon.
Trust me, it’s much easier than it sounds and as a sister, you’ll probably do all of the above automatically, but it helps keeping these things in mind to guarantee a very special experience for your sister on her wedding day.
