Wedding planning is not just deciding on dresses, decors, and desserts, it also involves picking the best people to assist and celebrate it with you from start to finish aka your wedding entourage. This motley crew of personalities is usually your nearest and dearest, people closest to your heart. The challenge begins when it’s time to identify who will make it to the shortlist and walk down the aisle before you.
You can select your wedding entourage from the many branches of your social life. On top of the list is, of course, your family. If you have a sister or sisters, it’s assumed that one or all of them are included in your entourage. Having grown up together, you share the same values and they know you from the inside out. They have your back whatever happens. And aside from your sisters, you also have your cousins, nieces, and even aunts to consider.
Another set of people you can select your bridesmaids from is your friend group. They are the women who may not be bound to you by blood but have been with you through thick and thin. They have seen your best and worst and have stuck around. As the cliche goes, best friends are forever.
Lastly, there are the people outside your family and friend group, individuals you have a great connection with, like a work friend or a college buddy. They are reliable and are always ready to back you up.
When choosing your female entourage, there is no hard rule. You being the bride, ultimately have all the power to decide which ones and how many of them you’d like to share this special moment with you. There’s always the option to have a big wedding party or you can go for a small and intimate circle. Just make sure that when shortlisting your girls, choose people who will bring positive energy your way, just what you need for the most important day of your life.
If you’re still at a loss on how to select the right bridesmaids for your wedding, we have some simple tips which you can use as your guide. Read on.
Choose Your Bridesmaid Based On: How Big Your Wedding Will Be
The number of your bridesmaids, of course, will depend on the size of your wedding. If you’re having an intimate celebration, the bridesmaid or bridesmaids to select are your non-negotiables aka close relatives. Small weddings, most of the time, are limited to family members so you’ll have the selection cut out for you. You may opt for one to two bridesmaids plus your maid of honor.
Tip 1: If you’re having a grand affair, you may choose as many as 12 girls to be your bride squad. This group can be a mix of relatives, friends, and acquaintances.
Choose Your Bridesmaid Based On: Your Relationship With The Person
As mentioned earlier, one of the measures in choosing a bridesmaid is your degree of closeness and how tight your relationship is. The people in your shortlist must be the names that came to mind as early as the moment you said “yes!”, those with who you want to share your happy ever after. Friends and family members that have seen through your best and your worst. People who have closely witnessed how your relationship with your partner blossomed and saw how you two have come to this, your very own happy ending.
Tip 2: Do not let yourself be guilt-tripped and pressured into including someone that you believe you don’t have an authentic bond with. After all, it is your wedding. You are the bride, you are the queen, and it’s your final call on this one.
Choose Your Bridesmaid Based On: The Person’s Availability
Personal schedules are one of the considerations when selecting your bridesmaids. Since the ladies came from different walks of life, scheduling conflicts must be anticipated. Once you have the final list of your potential bridesmaids, it is recommended to give them an early heads-up to ensure that their schedules will be aligned with your wedding date. Once they have confirmed, thank them for making time for your wedding.
Tip 3: Notifying the girls early is also an efficient way to identify which ones won’t be able to make it. When this happens, you as a bride may choose to replace them with another person or you can just trim down the number of your bridesmaids. There should be no hard feelings.
Choose Your Bridesmaid Based On: Your Budget
Another way to select your bridesmaids is by consulting your budget. Your budget mainly affects the number of your girl squad, especially if you’re planning to cover their expenses like gowns, hair and makeup, transportation, and accommodation. A bigger budget means you can include more girls on the list while a tighter one means you can only include those who are the closest to you, like your sisters or your best friend.
Tip 4: If your bridesmaids are to pay for their attire, hotel, etc., you should consider THEIR budget and their capacity to shell out money for your wedding. Let them know upfront that they have to cover for themselves. If they choose to beg off from the wedding, do not take it against them.
Choose Your Bridesmaid Based On: The Person’s Personality And Reliability
Being a bridesmaid involves some tasks during and before the wedding. Those include but are not limited to assisting you in the planning, accompanying you in dress shopping and fittings, and even organizing your bachelorette and hen parties. With this, your bridesmaids should be reliable girls with sunny dispositions. They should gel with each other great, taking their functions wholeheartedly because they want your wedding to be as stress-free as possible for you. Those who will wear a light blue bridesmaid dress just because it’s what you’ve visualized them wearing on your big day, no questions asked.
Tip 5: Avoid choosing girls who you think will bring drama and will make the wedding a place of hostility. Go for good-natured family members and friends who are always rooting for your success, especially your wedding.Now that you have chosen the most suitable bridesmaid for you, come and choose the perfect bridesmaid dresses for her in Cicinia.
