Agonizing over which friends and/or relatives will be your bridesmaids and/or maid/matron of honor? Choosing the bridal party can be difficult for even the most blunt and straight forward bride-to be. Consider the below factors before making your choices:
Are you a bride with few close friends, or a social butterfly? Do you have a large family unit of female cousins and sisters? Will your wedding be a grand affair, or a small and intimate event? All these points need to be considered when choosing how many people you will have in your bridal party.
Bear in mind, the more bridesmaids you choose, the more complications could arise, too many opinions can spoil the fun. Remember, if you are on a tight budget, YOU are the one who pays for the bouquets, the gifts and sometimes the bridal party attire, so choosing a few close friends/family members may be the better choice. However if budget is not an issue to you and you simply can’t choose between your close ones, there is no rule of thumb these days as to how many bridesmaids you can choose, although do consider the amount of groomsmen your groom will have, you don’t want a completely uneven number..
Where do they live?
If you're an expat bride like me, which means you are likely to have close female friends on both sides of the pond. What do you expect from your bridesmaids? Will simple moral support suffice, or do you expect hands on assistance with D.I.Y projects, décor, etc? If it’s the latter, think twice about asking friends who live far away, firstly they won’t be on hand to help you 24/7, secondly, they may not be able to afford the expense of travelling to be at your wedding. You don’t want to find yourself getting frustrated with a friend you knew wouldn't be able to give you all the help you wanted or even be able to make to your wedding. However, if your only care is to have those closest to you on the day, then asking someone back home could be an option, they are more likely to be life time friends who know you better than anyone.
I personally asked my sister to be my Matron of Honor, two of my of my closest female friends, two of Steve's family friend and the rest are my cousins staying in Philippines.
Other Honors
If you feel as you have had a hard time making your bridal party decision, bear in mind that there are plenty of other roles good friends can play in your wedding if they have not been chosen, such as handing out programs, performing a song or reading a poem. For us, we will be having a Secondary sponsor to light the candle, to put the veil and cord.
Proposing:
Lastly, asking your bridal party to be your bridal party can be fun! Why not send them all a special handmade card entitled ‘Will you be my………? or invite them for lunch and surprise them all with your question, or you can do what I did, giving my chosen ladies (within reach) a gift with a question answerable by yes or no!
They all loved the attention to detail and gladly accepted.
How Many?
Are you a bride with few close friends, or a social butterfly? Do you have a large family unit of female cousins and sisters? Will your wedding be a grand affair, or a small and intimate event? All these points need to be considered when choosing how many people you will have in your bridal party.
Bear in mind, the more bridesmaids you choose, the more complications could arise, too many opinions can spoil the fun. Remember, if you are on a tight budget, YOU are the one who pays for the bouquets, the gifts and sometimes the bridal party attire, so choosing a few close friends/family members may be the better choice. However if budget is not an issue to you and you simply can’t choose between your close ones, there is no rule of thumb these days as to how many bridesmaids you can choose, although do consider the amount of groomsmen your groom will have, you don’t want a completely uneven number..
Where do they live?
If you're an expat bride like me, which means you are likely to have close female friends on both sides of the pond. What do you expect from your bridesmaids? Will simple moral support suffice, or do you expect hands on assistance with D.I.Y projects, décor, etc? If it’s the latter, think twice about asking friends who live far away, firstly they won’t be on hand to help you 24/7, secondly, they may not be able to afford the expense of travelling to be at your wedding. You don’t want to find yourself getting frustrated with a friend you knew wouldn't be able to give you all the help you wanted or even be able to make to your wedding. However, if your only care is to have those closest to you on the day, then asking someone back home could be an option, they are more likely to be life time friends who know you better than anyone.
I personally asked my sister to be my Matron of Honor, two of my of my closest female friends, two of Steve's family friend and the rest are my cousins staying in Philippines.
Other Honors
If you feel as you have had a hard time making your bridal party decision, bear in mind that there are plenty of other roles good friends can play in your wedding if they have not been chosen, such as handing out programs, performing a song or reading a poem. For us, we will be having a Secondary sponsor to light the candle, to put the veil and cord.
Lastly, asking your bridal party to be your bridal party can be fun! Why not send them all a special handmade card entitled ‘Will you be my………? or invite them for lunch and surprise them all with your question, or you can do what I did, giving my chosen ladies (within reach) a gift with a question answerable by yes or no!
They all loved the attention to detail and gladly accepted.
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