Considering the Right Size Wedding Party

Deciding who makes the cut for your wedding party can be a touchy decision. Having the right size wedding party can be a stressful negotiation between you and your fiance. Not to mention if you both have large families, which can make the decisions even harder — do you include the in-laws, is your littler brother too young, etc. Naturally, there are pros and cons to having a large or small wedding party.

First, the pros to a large wedding party:

• More people = More Help — the more bridesmaids you have the more help at your disposal when it comes to all the DIY projects you have in mind for your wedding. Just think about how fast assembling the guest bags will be when you have 9 ladies helping you out! And, with more helpers the less likely they are to complain about “all the work”. Plus, when it comes time to plan your bridal shower and/or bachelorette party, they will be able to spread the expense among them making it less for each lady in the end. Really, you’re being considerate having a large wedding party and enabling them to cooperate on everything!
• The more the merrier — a larger wedding party turns everything into a party. Assembling all those guest bags won’t just be a stupid task, but a good time with your best girlfriends! You’re not just having fun, you’re making memories that will last.
• Less drama — by having everyone in your wedding, no one will be upset about being left-out. You’ll spare yourself from having a wedding guest that’s angry about not being asked to be in the wedding party — talk about taking a load off your mind!

Of course, a large wedding party isn’t just all bells and whistles; there are some cons to a large wedding party:

• More people = More Money — that’s money coming out of your wedding budget that could be put towards other items. What you ask? Flowers, bridesmaid/groomsmen gifts, transportation, etc. It all adds up and by reducing the number of people in the wedding party, you cut a part of your budget.
• More drama — with a larger party, you’re more inclined to have clashing personalities and communication styles. Not to mention how hard it will be selecting bridesmaid dresses — ugh. Plus, with a wedding party that encompasses different parts of your lifetime, everyone may not know each other very well, making one or more people feel left out of all the big planning. With more people you’ll also run into different budget issues — how much they can afford to spend on your wedding day (shoes, dress, showers, etc.). It can certainly make it much more complicated.
• Not so memorable memories — I have several friends who regret having a large wedding party for this reason. When they look back at their wedding photographs, they realize they haven’t talked with one, two, three or more of the people from their large wedding party. It’s sad but true, as you grow older and start your own family you tend to drift apart. Looking back at your wedding photographs do you want to be reminded of these people or will you have forgotten why you asked them to be a part of your big day after all?

As for me, picking the wedding party was easy. We got married in small church that didn’t have a lot of room up front. Any more than two bridesmaids and two groomsmen and we would have all been standing on top of each other. So, in my case, the size of the church dictated how large of a wedding party I could have (and to be honest, my husband and I were both happy with it).