A professional bridesmaid who is paid $8,000 to attend weddings and who has walked down the aisle more than 150 times has revealed why she will never lie about her relationship with the bride.
Kerstyn Walsh, 30, from Sydney, said even though she has been asked countless times to come up with ‘quirky backstories’ as to how she knows the bride, she chooses not to stray too far away from the truth.
The reason why is because if Kerstyn pretends to have known the bride for decades, she knows she will be asked something about her so-called long-term friend.
A professional bridesmaid who is paid $8k to attend weddings and who has walked down the aisle more than 150 times lifted the lid on the one thing she won’t do (Kerstyn Walsh pictured)
Kerstyn Walsh (pictured with a bride) said even though she’s been asked to come up with ‘quirky backstories’ as to how she knows the bride, she doesn’t stray too far from the truth
‘The reason I chose not to come up with some elaborate back story of how we met and know each other is simply because someone at the wedding is going to ask me a question I don’t know the answer to, but if I’ve been your friend for 20 years, I should know,’ Kerstyn told news.com.
Instead, she likes to say she and the bride are ‘new friends’ who have ‘become closer and closer throughout the wedding planning process’.
Kerstyn started life as a professional bridesmaid in 2015, when she ditched her job in real estate.
Instead, Kerstyn (pictured at a wedding) likes to say she and the bride are ‘new friends’ who have ‘become closer and closer throughout the wedding planning process’
‘I’ve seen everything from bridezillas to bridesmaids who are jealous of my role and disasters where there hasn’t been enough alcohol,’ Kerstyn (pictured) told FEMAIL
‘I’ve seen everything from bridezillas to bridesmaids who are jealous of my role and disasters where there hasn’t been enough alcohol,’ Kerstyn previously told FEMAIL.
Kerstyn (pictured) fell into the role after she was made the host for her friend Anna’s wedding and ended up coordinating many of the vendors and guests on the big day
Kerstyn fell into the role after she was made the host for her friend Anna’s wedding and ended up coordinating many of the vendors and guests on the big day.
‘I’ve always loved performing, and I suddenly had an epiphany that I wasn’t doing a job I loved,’ Kerstyn told Daily Mail Australia.
Within weeks, she handed in her notice and set up her own business, Hire A Bridesmaid.
Kerstyn volunteered her services to several of her friends who were getting married that year for free to kick-start her business.
‘But word spread towards the end of 2015, and it wasn’t long before I was attending two or three weddings in a weekend and between 30 and 40 a year,’ she said.
Kerstyn estimates she has been a bridesmaid at more than 150 ceremonies and has a closet of more than 70 dresses she has saved from ceremonies.
She charges somewhere between $1,000 for on-the-day coordination and $8,000 for the average full bridesmaid package.
Kerstyn said women often employ her to do the running around so their closest friends and family can relax and take in the wedding day, and she has given speeches (pictured)
‘Sometimes I’ve been hired when there are five groomsmen, but only four bridesmaids,’ Kerstyn (pictured) said, adding that people like her presence to make things equal
Kerstyn typically meets with a bride several months out from the big day – in regular ‘bridal therapy’ sessions where she learns about their personality (pictured planning a wedding)
Kerstyn said women often employ her to do the running around so their closest friends and family can relax and take in the wedding day.
‘Brides often need someone who is willing to do all the jobs – whether it’s consult with the vendors or fix the speakers for the DJ,’ she said.
‘They want their friends and family to be fully present for the wedding, while I can help with chores.’
Other times, she said that it’s simply a matter of numbers.
‘Sometimes I’ve been hired when there are five groomsmen, but only four bridesmaids,’ she said.
‘I help to make the photos look equal!’
Kerstyn said she typically meets with a bride several months out from the big day – in regular ‘bridal therapy’ sessions where she learns about their personality and what they want from their wedding.
‘The closest I’ve met a bride to her wedding is eight weeks out,’ she said.
‘It’s important to know what sort of person they are and what is likely to bother them on their most important day.’
To find out more about Kerstyn Walsh’s Hire A Bridesmaid services, please visit her website here.