To Have or Not to Have a Bridal Party

I agree with the others. If there is no one that stands out, I wouldn't bother. If you are having a really small wedding, you might not want to have more people in the wedding than as guests.

I agree. If you don't care then don't, BUT If you deep in your heart you really want one, you should have one. .

You will be suprised how flattered and honored your friends and family are when you ask them to be part of your wedding. And many times you will become closer because you are sharing the ups and downs of wedding planning with them.

You could always pick your mother or grandmother, godparent or someone you admire if you don't have a dependable/willing girlfriend.

My husband was so resistant to pick people on his side to be a part of our wedding, at times I had to step in and do it. And they were so excited so have even the smallest role.

If you don't want to have one, don't! I know that I'm including my man's best friend (female) and sister in my side, but he'll have my brother on his side. Maybe you'd want to include future in laws?

My cousins' DW party consisted of all family. It was really nice. She waited until people booked before asking them, and as more people of each sex booked her bridal party grew.

 

But I also agree with everyone that if nobody stands out to you as someone you would want standing up for you, then just don't have any!

We're not having a bridal party. There will only be around 20 people at the wedding &, for us, it seemed silly to have what would be 25% of the attendees in our bridal party. Most of our closest friends will be there anyway, so we don't feel like we're missing out on anything.

When we were originially having our wedding in NY I asked 4 of my closests friends and my fiance's sister to be in the wedding. Fortunately since we switched to a DW they are all going to Jamaica. My fiance' had not chosen his groomsmen yet and when we switched he decided to wait and see who booked before he chose his bestman and groomsmen. I guess we have a rather large bridal party for a DW (5 Bridesmaids, Four Groomsmen, Two Flower Girls & 1 Ring Bearer) but we have almost 70 people attending our wedding. I say do what makes you happy and I agree with the previous poster that you do not have to always follow the TRADITIONAL RULES of ETIQUETTE

Totally agree! My FI and I will not be having a bridal party either (just flower girl and ring bearer) Like you said, all our friends will be there so what difference does it make if they are sitting down or standing up?! Especially if we are only going to have 25-30 people total at the wedding

SgtPepperette I am in the exact same position you're in! I was going to do the "see who's coming" route but decided that no matter who it was it wouldn't have been special to me. Not to say the person isn't special to me, but the scenario of having them standing with me wouldn't have been special. Am I making sense?

 

Anyways the way I see it, FH is my best friend, my confidante, my soul mate. It has always been us against the world so I think it should be just us standing at the altar the day of.

 

Do what your heart desires.

My first inclination was not to have a bridal party but I have two sisters. I knew if I invited one, I would have to invite the other. I spoke to my Mom about it and she agreed, it would be nice to have them both participate. So I asked my two sisters to be bridesmaids and a friend I have had for more than 15 years to be the MOH.

 

Well the MOH is MIA. I don't think she has done a thing to plan for a Bridal Shower or participate in the planning of the wedding. I lean on my younger sister alot for help in making decisions about the wedding and she is helpful. Not fanatical about it but perfunctory and efficient. I created a blog to help keep them in the loop, since they all live in different cities. I don't think they even read it. Younger sister and I talk everyday and I am not sure if her yes and no anwsers are that is quite what I would like but hey, it's better than nothing which is what I get from the other sister, who does not share the same taste or interests as me anyway and makes it her business to be so evil and ornery that I wish everyday that I had stuck with my original thoughts not to include anyone in the bridal party.

 

I hate to be a hater - but I hate my bridal party right now!

If you don't have anyone you want to do this with then don't! Its not worth it, it can ruin you wedding for you! This is so special and so sacred why stand there with a bunch of BEOCHEES you can't stand.

We had a MOH (my sister) and a BM (his friend).

 

I woud have loved for my girlfriends to be in the wedding because we are close...but I didn't even know for sure that they were all coming and I didn't want to stress. Plus the sides wouldn't equal becuase he has only one good friend and I have a few...so I chose my sister which made it easy.

 

The best part though is that 3 of my best girfriends came w/out their husbands so they just got ready with me anyway and it was as if they were my bridal party and we had a blast!

 

Do what you feel most comfortable with. If you pick someone just to have someone then they may not have your best interest at hand and that is not fair to you and more trouble in the long run!