Wedding Party

Once the initial euphoria of your engagement wears off, once the ring stops feeling strange on your finger, once you begin to realize that “HEY!” you’re not just getting married, you’re planning a PARTY! The time has then come for you and your future hubby to choose the wedding party. Depending upon how many siblings and good friends you and your fiancé have, this can be either fun and easy or a very difficult task. You need people you can lean on for support, friends who have been there for you through thick and thin. People who will refrain from complaining about wearing the lavender chiffon dress you so meticulously picked out, but will gladly pay for the privilege.

*The number of bridesmaids/groomsmen you and your fiancé have is up to you, but in general, the more formal of the wedding, the more in your wedding party.

*You shouldn’t ask the cousin you can’t stand to be in your wedding just because your fiancé has chosen more attendants than you. If you’re worried about symmetry in the processional, two groomsmen can always escort one bridesmaid or the bridesmaids can walk out alone. Also, you can talk to your photographer about fun ways you can photograph the odd numbered party.

*Just because you were in your friend’s wedding party, that does not require you to have him/her in yours. You can always make them apart of the wedding in other ways: guest book, usher, reader during the ceremony, I went as far as asking my Uncle to officiate…

* If you or your fiancé have younger relatives, you might want to let them play a part in your big day. This is especially true if one of you has a child from a previous marriage. And if you just have too many nieces/nephews from which to choose, you might want to forget about having kids in the ceremony altogether. There’s no rule saying the ring bearer and flower girl must me young, or that you even need these roles.

FUN FACT: It used to be that the bridesmaids’ main functions were to guard the bride from evil spirits and bear witness that she was not being forced into marriage against her will. Meanwhile, the best man was charged with the task of keeping potential abductors from running away with the bride prior to the wedding day.

Next Week: Wedding Trends

<3 Meagan

“No road is long with good company” -Turkish Proverb