When it comes to picking your wedding party, there are a lot of things to consider. Who are the most important people in your life? Do you want to include all of your siblings? What about college friends? Or childhood friends?
These are difficult decisions to make because you want your wedding day to be enjoyable, but you also don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Here are a few things to keep in mind when picking your wedding party that will help you accomplish both of those goals.
SEX DOESN’T MATTER
If you’re the bride-to-be and you’re super close to your two brothers, go ahead and ask them to be your bridesmen. Or if you’re the groom-to-be and your best friends from childhood just so happen to be named Jessica and Sarah, there’s nothing wrong with having women standing up on your side of the aisle.
We’re well into the 21st century and long-gone are the days of gender segregation in wedding parties.
THE NUMBERS DON’T HAVE TO BE EQUAL
Just because your groom-to-be has a huge group of friends and wants all of them to be in the wedding party doesn’t mean you have to match that number. Symmetry can be nice, but you shouldn’t have to call up old friends that you haven’t seen in years just to make sure you have 14 on each side.
Some people are extroverted and instantly make best friends with everyone they meet. Others tend to have a smaller circle of lifelong friends. There’s nothing wrong with either of those things.
YOU DON’T NEED TO PICK A WEDDING PARTY
We’ve photographed nearly 200 weddings over the years and we’ve seen things done in every way imaginable. Huge wedding party, small wedding party, mixed wedding party, traditional wedding party, nontraditional wedding party and, yes, no wedding party.
If you’re not a super traditional couple who doesn’t feel the need to do everything by the book, then you can skip the wedding party altogether. You can still have your closest friends and siblings hang out with you while you’re getting ready in the morning. They can still dress in matching attire, if they want to. You can still take photos with them. They can still give toasts during the reception. They just won’t have to walk down the aisle and formally stand next to you during the ceremony. It’s a win-win!
So, if you’re struggling with picking your wedding party, feel free to take the path of least resistance and skip it entirely. Nobody will notice the difference and you’ll have an enjoyable and stress-free wedding day.