Professional bridesmaid shocks TikTok with surprise downside of the job

A woman who works as a professional bridesmaid has shared one of the biggest downsides of the job in a video on TikTok, surprising her followers.

Jen Glantz, who goes by @bridesmaidforhire on TikTok, describes herself as the "world's first bridesmaid for hire".

She shared the story of how she first got into the job eight years ago, recalling, "So I got the idea because I was in my early 20s, and literally all of my friends were asking me to be their bridesmaid. But there was one weird Friday night where two of my distant, distant friends, like people I hardly ever spoke to, two of those types of people asked me to be a bridesmaid in the same night and I was venting to my roommate at the time.

"I was like, 'Why are they asking me, we're hardly friends?' And she was like, 'Jen, don't you see it? You've become a professional bridesmaid, like you're so good at this!'"

She continued, "So I thought if I could do this for people who I'm hardly friends with anymore, why not try to do this for complete strangers? So I posted an ad on Craigslist offering my services as a hire bridesmaid. I didn't know what to expect. And within 48 hours, I got 300 responses from people who wanted to hire me... Eight years later, I've worked hundreds of weddings for strangers all around the world."

But last week, Jen shared a video that has since been viewed almost four million times, sharing the biggest downside to the job, captioning the video, "The toughest part of this #oddjob."

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In the video, Jen is seen looking sad as she looks through a number of wedding invitations.

"Seventy-five per cent of the time, when people hire me to be their bridesmaid, it's a complete secret and we don't talk ever again after the wedding ends," she wrote over the video. "And that part never gets easier."

"I hope the other 25 per cent brings you some of the greatest friendships you never knew you needed," one user commented.

"No ma'am... you'd be my forever bestie," another wrote.

"You should have a massive party and invite all the brides so they can make friends," a third suggested, while one person joked, "I would never stop talking."

"Are you allowed to be friends with them afterwards?" someone else questioned.

"Nah, if I hire you to do me a solid, you’re my friend now," another said.

"Bruh If I choose you and you choose me to be in my wedding we stay friends," someone else added.

"I'm sure some of them would but would be worried they're crossing a line," one user suggested.

Many other people in the wedding industry such as photographers and videographers commented saying they felt the same way.

Others joked that they wanted to be a professional bridesmaid or wrote that they thought her life would be a "good movie plot".

Many other women said they'd love to hire her as they didn't have many friends.

"Girl I might need you in a few years remind me," one user joked.

"You can hire bridesmaids? Might have to do that in the future bc I have no friends," another added.

"The amount of relief this gave me because I don’t have friends," a third wrote.

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