5 Things To Consider When Choosing Your Bridal Party

When choosing family and friends to be in your bridal party, there are a few things you’ll want to consider. It can be tricky to navigate who to ask, how to ask them, and how to go about not asking people without offending them. While the big day is all about you and your partner, the lead-up to it is filled with hard decisions like this. Luckily for you, we’ve compiled a list of things to consider when choosing your bridal party. This list will help you to determine the best way to address the elephant in the room, and find the right people to be by your side on your wedding day.

1. How long have you known them?

The first thing most people think of when it comes to groomsmen or bridesmaids is how long they’ve been in their life. While you don’t want to base the decision on feeling obligated to choose your oldest friend, sentimentality is expected in a situation such as this one. You can always ask your friends to be groomsmen or bridesmaids, but remember that you want people up there with you who truly know you - people who respect both you and your wife- or husband-to-be.

2. Are they trustworthy?

When it comes to choosing your best man or maid of honor especially, trust must be a big factor. While Fred-who-always-forgets-his-keys might be a great guy to have a drink with on a Friday night, he mightn’t be the man to ensure the safety of your wedding rings. Never underestimate the importance of tasks such as taking care of the rings, organizing a stag or hen party, or being in charge of picking up family from the airport. Your best man or maid of honor needs to be on the ball, because tradition does dictate that they have a few responsibilities. With the average stag/hen party in 2019 costing between £400 and £600, consider choosing someone who isn’t bad with numbers either.

3. Does your partner like them?

Your wedding day should be about what you and your partner want together. If your groomsmen don’t like your bride-to-be or vice versa, then there’s most likely going to be a problem. Some of the best weddings are as successful and happy as they are because the bridal party get along. This also makes organizing events and seating plans much easier to handle, as you won’t have to worry about keeping the groom away from the bride’s annoying college roommate.

4. Don’t ask someone just because they asked you

The last thing that you want to do is to ask someone out of pity, or as mentioned before, obligation. There’s no need to ask someone to be in your bridal party just because they asked you previously. Ultimately, the decision is yours, and if any friends do have a problem, simply explain the situation and how tough a decision it was. Let them know that they weren’t the only person whom you had to leave out. Alex Chalk, senior planner for Taylor’d Events states that you should be surrounded by the ones you actually want by your side. Ultimately, you’ll be “thankful you chose what felt right to you.”

5. Consider family

When making this decision, consider the importance of the position and what it might mean to the people who have known you for your entire life. Your brothers and/or sisters are probably will likely have stuck by your side throughout the entirety of your marriage, and as you get older, you might become even closer. According to Emerald Bridal, an Australian wedding site, the average bridal party size is 5 or 6, so if you do have many siblings and you couldn’t possibly fit them all in, maybe keep it to those who are closest to your age. There are other ways in which you can include the rest, such as page boys, flower girls, or ushers. Also keep in mind that you don’t have to stick to the traditional ‘boys on one side, girls on the other’ set-up. Mix it up, with ideas such as Bride’s men or Groom’s ladies!

Conclusion

There may not be strict rules that you have to follow when choosing who will be in your bridal party, but there are many important things to take into consideration. You can’t take back who you choose, so it's not a decision to be made lightly. The right choice could make for a smooth, fun-filled wedding day, but let’s be honest – not everything on your big day will be totally within your control. Thankfully, this decision can make life easier for you and your partner. Your day is about the two of you, so make sure – above all – to choose friends or family who will support that entirely.