Choosing your Bridal Party is one of the most important decisions you will make at the beginning off your wedding planning. The people you choose will be your support network in the lead up to and on your wedding day. Pick them as soon as possible and start putting them to work!
The traditional bridal party consists of the Maid of Honour, the Best Man, bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girl and ring bearer. Before deciding on the number in your bridal party you should take into consideration the budget, style and size of your wedding.
Have you a limited budget? The more attendants you have the more you will spend! Remember that for each additional member you will be providing dresses, suits, shoes, jewellery, floral arrangements and gifts.
What is the style of your wedding? If you are going for a small informal wedding, then just having a maid of honour and a best man may be more in keeping with that style. Having 5 bridesmaids and 5 groomsmen might be more suited to a larger wedding than a civil ceremony for 25 in a Registry Office.
The size of your bridal party used to be dictated by the number of guests attending the wedding, one pair per 50 guests. Most people today however will look at the number of siblings, or close friends they have before they decide how many and who to include. It is also no longer essential to have the same number of bridesmaids as groomsmen.
Whomever you choose consider that persons future. Do they have a child on the way? Are they getting married themselves? Do they live thousands of miles away? If so, they may not be able to give their full attention and efforts to your wedding. Talk to them to see how they feel. They may prefer to be a groomsmen instead of your best man.
For the Maid of Honour sisters are generally chosen before friends. If you don’t have sisters then go with your oldest and most loyal friend. The one who knows how to calm you down, the one you can trust to be honest with you when needed – “Yes Mary you do look like Little Bow Peep, lets try a different dress!”
Again for the Best Man job your brother or best friend is usually chosen. Pick someone that is a big part of your life, and that really knows you. Make sure it’s someone you can rely on and trust and not someone that will tie you to a lamp post drunk the night before the wedding!! Picking someone that gets on with the bride is a plus.
So we’ve all seen the movie, and this shows how important your choice of Bridesmaids can be! Choose close friends, family or your fiancé’s sister but make sure they are accommodating, helpful and reliable. Pick a group of people that will get on well and whose personalities won’t clash. Don’t feel obliged to ask someone to be your bridesmaid, just because you were her bridesmaid.
The brother(s) of the bride and groom, good friends or close cousins make for good groomsmen. The same rules for choosing bridesmaids apply to choosing groomsmen.
Children can add a lovely innocent touch to your wedding ceremony. The Flower Girl and Page Boy can be a son, daughter, cousin, niece, nephew, godchild or stepchild usually between the ages of 3 and 8. Children are often more at ease with people they know, so make sure that the child has met your bridal party several times before the big day.
It is not always possible to have everyone you want in your bridal party but people who are close to you can still be involved in your wedding by doing a reading or prayer of the faithful during the ceremony. Talk it over between you both before making any decisions and pick people that will help eliminate stress in your life not add to it.
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Sharon Mc Meel is a wedding planner and our newest guest blogger here at WeddingDates. As a professional wedding planner it is Sharon’s job to help you tell your story across all aspects of your wedding or civil partnership. She makes sure that your day reflects your individual personality, taste and style.
