You're one lucky gal if you're close to your sister; there is no sweeter friendship. But many a sister relationship is more of the Cinderella-with-the-steps variety. If you assume getting married is going to make the relationship better, well chances are that's like assuming having a baby will save a disastrous marriage. However, given that the bride is constantly reminding herself of how lucky she is to be in love and to be planning a celebration of that love (you are reminding yourself, aren't you?), it behooves her to try her best. Still, you'll know when your sister is starting to make you "go bridal".

Symptoms of sister-induced "going bridal"
• She says, “I think you should ___” (fill in the blank) and you hold the phone receiver away from your ear.

• You start obsessing with your friends about all the wrongs their sisters ever inflicted on them when they were six years old, and one-upping their stories each time.

• She's the pretty one and when she says to you, unconvincingly, that the dress you've chosen "does wonders for your skin tone," you feel like smacking her with that stack of bridal magazines she gave you and you never read.

• You ask her to make the toast and for the next two weeks she e-mails you with variations on the following theme: "I'm sure you really would prefer one of your friends to do the toast, wouldn't you?" Instead of going into emphatic denial, you think, "Yeah, she's right. Why the hell did I ask her anyway?"

• She tells you that your LSF (Long-Suffering Fiancé) isn't good enough for you and you feel like a cartoon character about to explode and ricochet all over the bridal boutique she forced you into, where you are currently being fitted for a dress she picked that looks like something out of a bad 1980s made-for-TV movie.