@Bumblebuncher ... Thats lovely for you but Im so sorry I must add a word of caution here.
It sounds great, much fun to be had and everybody is great friends right now!
But wedding and bridesmaids dresses are extremely sensitive things ... They are hard to make, generally because of the fabrics used and the complexity of fitting things to a more normal shape than the sculptured lines of a drawing and tensions will rise. ..
You must get paid! Properly!
for the fabrics used (whether in stash or bought) for the thread, for the embellishments they will suddenly decide they want, for the 'Oh could you just ...' that there are sure to be at least three of ...
You must value your skill, experience and time you will give up to this ... Its worth a darn sight more than a weekend away boozing.
Or it could all go swimmingly;
Bride wont turn into Bridezilla,
Bridesmaid wont be keeping secret the fact she is in her first trimester when first fitted and suddenly swell up to double the size a week before the day.
Mother of the bride wont buy some hideous outfit in Polyester from China that could only fit Twiggy and ask you 'If you could just let it out a bit ' two weeks before the day ...
and everyone remain the bestest of friends.
But letting them think you can just wave a wand and the dress will appear as if by magic as in
Cinderella is selling everybody short.
And if by some miracle everything does go fabulously you'll be surprised at how very many new best friends you'll have who start coming out of the wordwork with alteration and dress requests.
I'll take my bah humbugness away ... just a thought!