Too Many Maids? – How to Choose Your Bridesmaids
One of the biggest decisions you may face in your wedding planning is deciding who should be the chief bridesmaid and how many other bridesmaids you should have. A dilemma for most brides is that they have so many friends to choose from that they don’t know who to ask without offending anyone.
Here are some top tips on choosing your bridesmaids and keeping everyone involved in the wedding in some way:
Pick just two or three bridesmaids from your closest friends, you can then ask the others to do a reading at the ceremony so that they are still a part of your day. If you have more friends than ask them to organise the hen night or bridal shower.
Ask just family members such as sisters, nieces, cousins etc to form your bridal party and then ask your friends to organise the hen night or bridal shower so that they are still involved in the wedding preparations.
If your friends have creative talents such as cake making, card making etc then ask them to help out with other areas of the wedding instead. You can then choose your bridesmaids from your other friends.
Your budget may be the deciding factor on the number of attendants you have. Remember even if they pay for their dresses themselves, there is still the cost of flowers, accessories, transport and gifts. Explain your dilemma to your friends as they will understand and appreciate your honesty.
If you are having a civil wedding then ask those you don’t choose to be bridesmaids to be witnesses instead at the ceremony.
Think about those amongst your friends who have been there for you the most and have supported you when you needed it most. It is more likely that these are the people you can trust to support you and be reliable throughout the wedding planning and on the day itself.
When choosing your bridesmaids it can be difficult not to let emotion get in the way and cloud your judgement. Good friends will not try to influence your decision nor will they hold it against you if you don’t choose them. Your chief bridesmaid will be your main support throughout the wedding planning, alongside your mother of course! So you need to choose someone you know will give you sound advice, reign you in when you get carried away and be there to sort things out when things go wrong. They need to be reliable, trustworthy and able to organise the other bridesmaids.
Your other bridesmaids also need to be reliable and trustworthy, ready to listen to what you want and happy just to be there on the big day!
