Are Bridal Parties Necessary?
The Friend Reveal
To Bridal Party or NOT To Bridal Party
I’ve owned my share of bridesmaids dresses and traveled world-wide to several weddings. It seems as if bridal party expectations have grown exponentially over the decades. It used to be a night out on the town for a local bachelorette party, be a supportive phone call away during the planning, and stand next to your best friend at the alter. Today there are Pinterest worthy engagement parties to plan, 3-day destination bachelorette parties in Miami, hosting bridal showers, $300+ trendy bridesmaid dresses to get altered, … the list goes on and it all seems a little over the top.
Our Solution:
I think we may have aged-out/became not interested in most of the bridal party traditions. Todd and I decided to NOT have bridal parties! Instead, I asked my 5 nieces and nephews (between the ages of 6 - 22) to walk down the aisle ahead of me and take a seat for the ceremony.
4 Reasons We Chose NOT to Have a Bridal Party:
Small wedding - We were expecting 50 guests or less to be at our wedding. If they were at the wedding, there is a good chance I would have asked them to be in my bridal party and then no one would be seated. Same goes for Todd’s groomsmen.
Geography - Most of our friends and family are scattered around the country these days (3 countries and 11 states represented at our wedding)! We didn’t want anyone to feel obligated to throw us an engagement, wedding or bachelorette party. Plus, we both had our own places fully stocked before we moved in together - We were trying to get rid of kitchen appliances and bath towels, not add to them!
Cost/Time - We were already asking a lot of people to take time off of work and spend a pretty penny to come celebrate with us in the DR. There was no way I was going to add any extra financial obligations or another day off work to their plate.
Maid of Honor & Best Man Dilemma - I do not have a sister, which became a mental struggle to fill the roll of MOH. I had about 5 friends from over the years that were suited for the position. Choosing one would not have felt right.
The Outcome:
It was perfect! There was no separation between bridal party and guests. No one had to buy special outfits just to stand next to us. We asked a handful of people to get ready with us (in our separate rooms). One of the most entertaining and unexpected things to come out of it was the hilarious banter between friends trying to “earn” the unofficial MOH & BM titles throughout the weekend. It added to the fun and no-stress environment. You would never know from the picture below that I didn’t have bridesmaids when it came to color scheme!! Blue seemed to be a popular color for our guests!
Hilton La Romana All-Inclusive Resort, Dominican Republic
