Sometimes, a bridal party member wants out of the wedding. Maybe her financial situation has changed, if she was laid-off from her job and can no longer spare the $500+ on the dress and the bridal shower plans. Maybe she's in the middle of law school exams, has a ton of pressure, and is miserable right now. Maybe she's newly pregnant and worried about what that would mean for your wedding plans, especially if you have a destination wedding in mind.

Whatever the situation, sometimes a bridal party member will start off excited about being in the lineup, and then you can't get that person on the phone, nor can the Maid of Honor, deadlines are looming, payments not made, dresses not purchased, and everyone's getting tense. Most people would say, "Oh, she's definitely trying to get fired from the wedding! She's avoiding you!" And that could be the case. Most people want to avoid confrontation, and they put off making that difficult phone call while all kinds of deadlines are passing and you're getting angrier by the minute. They're hoping the problem will just go away. That's just infuriating, isn't it?

But wait a minute....before you get infuriated, I have to warn you: Don't jump to conclusions! It might not be that this person is missing in action as some ploy to get fired from your wedding. It could be that she's going through an extremely tough time right now.

Maybe her parent is really sick, and she's visiting her in the hospital every day, stressed and scared, and just barely functioning in her job and her life.

Maybe she has a scary medical diagnosis, or is going through tests right now.

People tend to want to protect the bride, so as not to rain on her parade. And they also want their privacy. So as we start my new series on 'What if they want out of the wedding?' let's make sure you're not reading into your bridal party members' slow responses. There might just be a good reason that your good friend is hard to reach right now. So make no assumptions....

Ger your copy of 'The Bride's Survival Guide' here