Always a Bridesmaid (For Hire)

Essays on Living without a Five-Year Plan

Jen Glantz

• Publisher: Atria Books
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9781501165498
• eBook ISBN:
  9781501139079
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

In the tradition of Sloane Crosley, Mindy Kaling, and Katie Heaney, a hilarious and insightful memoir about one New York City millennial's journey to find herself, her dream career, and true love, all while juggling a truly unique job as the world's only professional bridesmaid. After moving to New York City in her mid-twenties to pursue her dream of writing—and not living on the "Upper East Side" of her parents' house anymore—Jen Glantz looked forward to a future of happy hours and Sunday brunches with her besties.What she got instead were a string of phone calls that began with, "Jen, I have something exciting to tell you!" and ended with, "I'd be honored if you would be my bridesmaid." At first she was delighted, but it wasn't long before she realized two things: all of her assets were tied up in bridesmaid dresses, and she herself was no closer to finding The One. She couldn't do much about the second thing (though her mother would beg to differ), but she could about the first.One (slightly tipsy) night, Jen posted an ad on Craigslist advertising her services as a professional bridesmaid. When she woke up the next morning, it had gone viral. What began as a half-joke suddenly turned into a lifetime of adventure for Jen–and more insight into the meaning of love than she was getting from OKCupid—as she walked down the aisle at stranger after stranger's wedding.Fresh, funny, and surprisingly sweet, Always a Bridesmaid (For Hire) is an entertaining reminder that even if you don't have everything together, you can still be a total boss—or, at the very least, a BFF to another girl in need.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Author’s Note
• Prologue: I “Uggghhh” Weddings
• Chapter One: A Familiar Kind of Love
• Chapter Two: You Can Always Come Back Home
• Interlude: A Brief History of My Life After Graduation
• Chapter Three: Will You Be My Bras-Maid?
• Chapter Four: For the Love of JDate
• Chapter Five: All of My Friends Got Engaged
• Chapter Six: Bridesmaid Is Just Another Name for a Warrior in a Taffeta Dress
• Chapter Seven The Curious Case of the Serial Bouquet Catcher
• Chapter Eight: Women Seeking Women—Professional Bridesmaid
• Chapter Nine: Bridesmaid for Hire—Crazy or Genius?
• Chapter Ten: The Strange Thing about Strangers
• Chapter Eleven: The Perfect Match
• Chapter Twelve: A Time and a Square to Say I DO
• Chapter Thirteen: Famous Last Words
• Chapter Fourteen: What Ray Says, Goes
• Chapter Fifteen: Oh, You’ll Totally Wear It Again (Twenty Things You Can Really Do with an Old Bridesmaid Dress)
• Chapter Sixteen: Those Who Will Remain Nameless
• Chapter Seventeen: Stand-Up Comedy School Dropout
• Chapter Eighteen: Ghosts of a Bridesmaid’s Past
• Chapter Nineteen: Ask a Professional Bridesmaid (Real Questions from Real Girls)
• Chapter Twenty: Eggs Sunny-Side Frozen
• Chapter Twenty-One: DTW to AWOL
• Chapter Twenty-Two: Good-Bye, Cold Feet
• Chapter Twenty-Three: Thirty Wedding Songs I Never Want to Dance To Again
• Chapter Twenty-Four: Love Always Perseveres
• Photographs
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Copyright