One of the most exciting, yet confusing, aspects of your wedding is choosing your wedding party. This is a joint effort between you and your fiancé, as you have both bridesmaids and groomsmen to choose. Picking the best people to help you throughout the coming months and on your wedding day can be difficult, and it can be easy to step on other peoples’ toes when you announce your wedding party.

Here are some points to carefully consider when deciding who should be included in your wedding party, and who should hold the titles of Maid (or Matron) of Honor, and Best Man.

• Remember that your wedding is your special day. You may have always dreamed of having your best friend as your maid of honor. Yet your sister may be disappointed if she doesn’t hold this important spot in your wedding party. Choose the members of your wedding party based on their ability to help you prepare your wedding, and according to your wishes.
• Keep your wedding budget in mind. For every bridesmaid or groomsman you add, you are adding a large amount of expenses to your wedding. Additional dresses or suits, flowers, and accessories must all be taken into account. You can make an estimate now of how much you can afford to spend on each person in your wedding party, and determine the best number of people.
• Titles aren’t everything. A friend of mine avoided naming one person as her Maid of Honor, to keep the peace among her bridesmaids. If your bridesmaids or groomsmen are not close friends, you may choose to give them all the same title, and distribute wedding tasks according to their abilities.
• Remember their partners. For bridesmaids or groomsmen who are married or in a long-term relationship, they may prefer to walk down the isle with their significant other. Consider their feelings when determining the wedding party, and see if you can pair them up with their spouse.
• Alternate wedding party arrangements. If you have more friends than your groom, your side of the wedding party could be a bit lopsided. Decide if you need to trim your bridesmaids’ list, or if you have male friends who would make a good addition to the groomsmen list.

Did choosing your wedding party give you trouble? What other considerations did you make when picking the best bridesmaids and groomsmen?

Photo Credit: SimonShaw