Choosing your Birdal Party

The Wedding season is upon us. How do I choose my bridesmaids/maid of honors? Do I go with my sister who I don't get along with or my best friend who knows me inside and out? There is no right or wrong answer here. Here are some tips in choosing your party for your special day:



1. Choose people who are there for you and no fillers.
I made the mistake of trying to match the number of groomsmen my husband had. He had 14 in mind! I was not that popular. So I asked people who were "fillers." I quickly realized that it was becoming expensive for us. In terms of renting limos, flowers for the bridal party, and planning rehearsals was a nightmare. We quickly cut down the list to 11 and then 8. Eight still being a high number, now that I think of it, as a kid my horoscope said 3-5-8 are your lucky numbers. I got married on the 8th month on the 8th day with 8 bridesmaids-kinda cool. I know someone who is getting married and she asked me to be in her wedding. We never hung out, we hardly speak on the phone, and we are not friends. I am that person's filler. People you ask to be in your wedding need to be real friends/family members who love you, will do anything for you, and you will know 20 yrs from now!



2. Choose your Maid of Honor according to who you want.
My sister is our friend's maid of honor. This girl has sisters. Why didn't she ask them? She doesn't have to. She felt my sister would be a better fit. Ask the person you feel is crucial that they be in your wedding party. I had a hard time with this on. I have four people in my life I was contemplating. I ended up choosing both my sister and my best cousin to be the forefront of the wedding party. The priest however, needed only one to sign the book. I let them discuss that one on their own. There are no rules to this. I have even heard of a man being a "bridesmaid."



3. Choose people who will want to participate in all that involves wedding.
I chose people who I genuinely thought wanted the best for me. Most of these women did contribute all their time and money to activities being planned. The one person who never let me down was my sister, the head maid of honor, she was on it like it was her wedding. You will bear disappointments throughout this process. For example, I had a requested meet and greet for the bridesmaids and the groomsmen and only three people showed out of 16.

Does anyone have stories of how they chose their wedding party?