Jen Glantz has been here before. She fires off a reassuring message to the bride to quell any pre-wedding jitters, before pulling back the doors of her wardrobe. Inside hangs an archive of more than 125 bridesmaid gowns that makes Katherine Heigl’s 27 Dresses look like child’s play. Nestled between swathes of silky peach and forest green hues, she retrieves a floor-length teal gown. From the cheesy bridal party rituals to the drunk uncle who refuses to vacate the dance floor, Glantz knows exactly how the day will play out. Although, while the rest of the wedding party spends the next morning nursing hangovers, Glantz is already reeling off details of the past 24 hours over brunch.
Glantz is a fake friend. Not the back stabbing, steal-your-boyfriend kind, but a professional friend-for-hire, who specialises in attending the weddings of strangers under the guise of being a bridesmaid. “When I was in my early 20s, most of my friends were getting engaged and I was always a bridesmaid. My roommate said, ‘Jen, you’re a professional at this,’ which first sparked the idea. I wrote a listing on Craigslist and it went
