The MOH Expenses

When you take on MOH duty, be prepared to spend some money...be prepared to spend a lot of money! By the time you buy your dress, shoes, accessories, shopping with the bride, bridal shows, bridal showers, wedding gifts, cakes, etc., etc., you will have spent a small fortune. There's really no great advice here. All you can do is hope like hell that the bride doesn't want you to buy yourself a $300 dress that you will wear only one time! And be careful with that dress, you may want to re-sell it! I'm still shopping around for a place to sell my dresses; if I ever find anything other than craigslist, I'll post the link!
The expenses involved with being an MOH are the exact reason why you and the bride should be close friends. I'm not convinced that an unstable friendship, or someone that's not a close friend, can sincerely ask you to be the MOH and expect you to spend all that money and time on them, but then, some of our friends are incredibly insensitive aren't they?
This is a touchy subject, so I'm gonna take it easy. What I will say, is that in this economy, the bride should be offering alternative solutions, rather than tell you that she wants it her way, or no way. Should you tell the bride that you'll quit if she isn't satisfied with your efforts? Absolutely! Because a good friend would never expect you to drain your bank account to make them happy. A good friend would make sure that her other friends and family will help you with whatever you need, so that you're not sitting in the poor house while Mrs. Fabulous is on her honeymoon. I don't want to be the "Debbie downer" here, but being in someones wedding, regardless of the role, can take it's toll on your friendship.
Now, when you're not a close friend of the bride, and she asks you to be her MOH based on the fact that you're a responsible person, or that she thinks that you can afford it, don't feel badly for feeling offended or angry. Someone should definately NOT ask you to be the MOH if she's not sincerely a good and honest friend. It's a disaster waiting to happen! And it's going to happen to YOU my dear, if you let it. Then again...accept it, pawn off as much responsibilty as you can, and when the wedding day roles around, have one too many drinks and enjoy! She knew better than to ask you in the first place! Oh I am just kidding! I don't have a vindictive bone in my body! Just think carefully ladies, and NO, you don't have to say yes; you'll probably feel worse for not accepting her offer than you would to just be in the damn wedding anyway, but there's no reason to say yes if you don't mean it! I'll leave you with one piece of advice....if you're closer to this girl than your own sister, then be in the wedding...however, if you can't name 10 facts about her that don't involve alcohol or her husband-to-be, then you have no obligation to be her MOH and shame on her for asking!