A PERPETUAL bridesmaid has been living out the real-life version of 27 Dresses.
She’s been a bridesmaid 12 times and, despite forking out a total of $10,000 on other people's weddings, she thinks it is “an honor” to be one.
Although Bridget Herrmann, 40, has not yet tied the knot herself, she’s walked down the aisle 12 times – as a bridesmaid.
And she has the dresses to prove it.
Bridget calls it "an honor" to be in the wedding party, and insists that she’ll never say no, meaning she likely has another bridesmaid ask coming her way.
So that means more spending.
Adding up the cost of a dress, alterations, flights, the bridal shower, gifts, and hotel, she has spent upwards of $2,000 as a bridesmaid at a single wedding.
She’s also spent as little as $500 on others.
Bridget estimates she has forked over $10,000 total being a bridesmaid 12 times – for high school friends, her sister, her cousin, and college friends.
But the Chicago, Illinois, local doesn’t regret a single one.
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“I absolutely love it. I’d never tell someone no. I love doing it. Maybe that’s just in my nature but I feel it is such an honor,” she said in an exclusive interview.
Her debut experience came in October of 2006, when she wore a sage green, strapless, satin dress.
“The first time I got asked to be a bridesmaid was pretty exciting,” she remembers.
For the 11 other weddings, Bridget has worn everything from a simple short navy dress that she called “really beautiful,” to a big gown with a petticoat.
“I ripped out the petticoat after the ceremony and put on sneakers.
“I wasn't a fan of the really big dress. It had a pickup in the skirt and a corset back and layers of petticoats,” she admits.
Luckily, she’s gotten a few re-wears out of the navy mini.
Still, she says for the most part she’s liked all her looks.
“Out of the 12, I've maybe had two that I haven't been crazy about. They haven't been terrible."
As for her one of her favorite gowns, that’s one she picked out herself.
“One bride wanted everyone in black and let us pick our own dress. I ended up loving that one."
She currently has three of the dresses in her closest – all from her most recent weddings – and has donated many of the others to girls who can’t afford a prom dress.
At 5-foot-1 inch, Bridget said the alterations are often a costly part of being a bridesmaid.
“It’s extremely expensive to have alterations. I’ve paid $200 for a dress, and the alterations have come out to $400.”
She used to have her own seamstress when she was living in New York who would alter all her dresses.
“I would go to her with a dress, and she’d say, ‘Oh Bridget again.’”
Bridget believes she has been a bridesmaid so much due to keeping in touch with her circle of friends from high school and college, as well as meeting others along the way.
She was once a bridesmaid three times in one year, but has not taken on the role since May of 2022.
That’s when she was a bridesmaid due to being friends with the groom, and even went on the boys’ trip.
“I went to Vegas with guys. That was fun.”
But the costs added up.
The bachelorette in Las Vegas, the wedding in Napa, and the dress saw Bridget spend upwards of $1,500 – meaning she put a hold on her plans for a vacation in Italy.
“The wedding was in Napa. The flights, hotels, all kinds of things – it becomes really expensive.”
The radio promoter thinks the price of a wedding has increased over the last two decades due to the “culture” – where you once paid very little for a dress, bridal shower, and a gift, now you have to cover the cost of destination trips.
She says strangers are often shocked to find out how many times she has been a bridesmaid, but it’s not something she plans to stop doing.
“They think that highly of you, that you played a role in their life to ask you. It’s the biggest honor.
“I feel I’m not quite done yet but if I never get asked again, I’d still be happy with that.”
She calls her experiences wonderful and says she likes to be there for friends.
“I love being a bridesmaid because I love helping people.
“I don’t want anyone to think, ‘She’s done it 12 times and it won’t be special when she is my bridesmaid.’”
Bridget still hopes to find her own groom and have children – and decided to freeze her eggs three years ago believing her time will come.
“I’ve not met the right person. I’m a big believer that I’m meant to be a wife and a mother. I have faith it will happen to me.
“I love weddings.”
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As for what her own wedding party will look like when the time comes, she’s thinking about doing what Katherine Heigl's character, Jane Nicholas, does in the film 27 Dresses – inviting all the brides she has been a bridesmaid for.
“The idea from 27 Dresses – it comes from someone’s experience.”
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