Bridal Wedding Party
Is there a way to choose bridal wedding party attendants and know you made the right decision?
Picking your attendants can be a social minefield.
So how do you choose the right wedding party for you?
Give yourself plenty of time to carefully select the people you’d most like to stand by your side. Remember, Once you’ve asked, there is no backtracking. It causes bad feelings and may put a rift between the two of you.
First determine your wedding’s style, budget and size. A small informal wedding looks silly with a large wedding party.
You do not have to have an equal ratio of attendants. If you have an unequal
number, group them. Four bridesmaids and three groomsmen – have two bridesmaids on each arm of one groomsmen. Another option is to have an usher stand in for the procession or for dancing.
Pick your maid of honor first. She will be your right hand gal as you go forward with your wedding plans. If you are having trouble deciding, have two maids of honor. There are plenty of duties to divide up between them. If one is married, give her the title of matron of honor.
Do not feel obligated to ask someone to be in your bridal wedding party because you were in their wedding. They may have had a larger wedding than you are having. If you are not close to that person because they moved away or you have lost touch over the years is no reason to ask them. Do not feel obligated to keep child pacts either. The other person may feel the same.
Be considerate of friends who may not be able to afford the financial burden of being involved in your bridal wedding party. Either keep costs down or offer to help out by paying for some of the expenses yourself.
Another way to involve friends is to ask them to help out in other areas of the wedding. These include and are not limited to:
- Readers – have them read a poem or scripture during the ceremony.
- Distributor – have them hand out programs for the service. Packets of whatever is being tossed at the bride and groom after the ceremony.
- Greeter – have them welcome guests at the reception and direct them to the guest book and gift table.
- Toastmaster – have them make a toast at the reception.
- Party Promoter - have them be the first to get things rolling on the dance floor.
When choosing your bridal wedding party, try to think into the future a bit. Will these people be a major part of your life. They may be the ones to ask.
A friend who is in and out of your life may not take the duties involved in wedding planning seriously. They may come up with last minute excuses why they can not go to prearranged appointments or parties. If your friend falls into the category of being irresponsible, they may not be a good choice. Life happens but weeding out the mostly likely candidates from the start will keep stress levels under control.
wedding planning | Vicki Hasemann | October 27, 2009
I have regrets about not having one of my friends in my bridal party, but I already had 8 bridesmaids and thought it was getting out of hand. I wish I thought more about it back then. This is very good advice.
Lisa McLellan
Babysitting Services – Babysitter in your area
Bridal wedding party is a big task and can be stressful.
I remember a Hong Kong tycoon simply placed full page advertisement in major newspaper and invite their friends, relatives and associates for the party. This way, NO ONE can complain that they are not invited!
Smart move and time saving.
John Ho
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personality for Better Influence & Persuasion
Since women seem to collect more friends who want to be in weddings the idea of having 2 bridesmaids per groomsman is clever. I suspect I’ll run off to vegas instead, but it’s nice to know I have a resource should I decide to go full wedding.
Kate
Excellent advise on how to pick people for you party
Jose Escalante
http://www.joseescalante.com
So many feelings can be hurt that it takes planning and preparation. Very good advice.
Steve
Very good advice and instructions.
Health, Fitness for Working People — Darryl Pace
The good advice just keep coming. It’s good to have it all in one place.
Martin O’Connor
http://www.smallbusinessdesigncenter.com
Hi Vicki,
oh you would have LAUGHED at my wedding.
but we had unusual circumstances.
my late husband’s cancer resurfaced and we moved our wedding date UP to marry
it was small
11 ppl in all including the photographer whom my NY sis knew. so we would all be comfy with her just sitting there with us for dinner.
of the 8 guests
most were in the bridal party
but who cared?
the NYT was NOT covering us!
what mattered most?
I wanted to INCLUDE my loved ones
and did
The Relationships
that’s what mattered most
Happy Dating and Relationships,
April Braswell
Single Baby Boomer Dating Success Expert
Yeah, it’s tough to be a reader when you expect to be a bridesmaid. My favorite roll is part-starter, no need to ask me, I’ll take care of that for you.
Katie
I really love the idea of inclusion by distribution of different jobs. This is low pressure, and easy to commit to, diplomatic.
Keri Eagan
Alternative*Insight
Great advice for preventing pre-wedding strife.
http://www.martin-wright.com
Strategies For Success
This is such an opportunity to make people feel bad if they aren’t invited. best to have a clear demarcation of who’s in and who’s out even if that means one less person…
Seize the Day,
Rob
Simple Survival Tips For Disasters and Emergencies