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Choosing your Bridesmaids
Every bride needs a good bridesmaid to provide help and support with wedding planning and on the wedding day itself. For a better understanding of what to expect from your bridesmaids, take a look at bridesmaid duties.
There is no limit to the number of bridesmaids you can have one bride set a UK record with 38 bridesmaids (slightly lower than the world record of 92). However, the more bridesmaids you have, the more it will cost in terms of bridesmaid dresses, shoes, flowers, wedding transport and thank you gifts. So make sure you’ve agreed your wedding budget before choosing your bridesmaids.
Deciding who to have as your bridesmaid can be difficult if you have several close friends and a limited budget. If your husband-to-be has any sisters, it is also polite to ask them. If you’re having trouble choosing, why not consider the following:
- Ask some of your friends to organise your hen party instead. This is usually a duty of the bridesmaids – so they’ll still feel the part.
- Ask another friend if they will do a reading during the ceremony – a task always given to close friends or family.
- Explain to your friends that you want them all to be your bridesmaids but can’t necessarily afford it. Ask them if they have any good ideas as to how they can all be bridesmaids given the budget you have. Good friends (worthy of being a bridesmaid) will soon be thinking of ways to help you save money. They will probably also say they won’t be offended if they’re not your bridesmaid.
If you’re unable to make a decision, you might need to find ways to reduce the cost per bridesmaid. This is easy enough to do if you put your mind to it – take a look at some of our suggestions below.
- Bridesmaid dresses. Traditionally these were always paid for by the bridesmaid so one option would be to ask if they would be happy to pay for them. If your bridesmaids are going to pay for their own dresses, make sure you let them choose what sort of dress they want.
- Shoes. Whilst matching new shoes are great they’re not essential. If the bridesmaids are going to buy their own shoes – they should have the deciding vote. Do they need to be matching or could they wear their own shoes?
- Flowers. Bridesmaid bouquets are not essential and don’t need to be expensive if you do have them. You could ask your bridesmaids to help make their own bouquets or just have one flower each such as a gerbera.
- Wedding transport. The bridesmaids usually arrive before the bride with the mother of the bride. Most wedding cars seat 4/5 as standard so you might need additional or alternative transport if you have more than four bridesmaids. Rather than forking out for expensive wedding transport, find a friend to drive your extra bridesmaids to the venue. If you can get ready at the venue, transport won’t be a cost you need to worry about.
- Thank you gifts are not expected but most brides like to give a gift to their bridesmaids to say thank you for their help. Bridesmaid dresses and shoes are often given as a thank you gift. If you still want to give them something extra - try and think of something personal and perhaps handmade.
Try to assign someone with the role of chief bridesmaid or matron of honour. Even the most organised of brides needs someone to keep track of time and make sure she looks her best throughout the day.
