You’ve decided to get married, flashed your engagement ring about and told your family and friends the happy news. Then it strikes you – who will you have as your bridesmaids? Who will be the groomsmen? How many do you need? What will they do? How will you cater for their needs?
In theory, this should be an exciting task – an opportunity to have your very much loved people to be by your side on the happiest day of your life. But the reality is, you can’t select everyone, and amid your siblings, your childhood friends, your cousins, your secondary school besties and your University roommates, you’re going to need to make some cuts.
Tradition says that the size and formality of your wedding determines the number of people you have in your wedding party. However, many couples have shunned tradition. I’ve seen weddings with over a thousand guests and just about four people in the wedding party. Conversely, weddings with just a few hundred guests have attracted a dozen plus people in the wedding party. The choice is yours. You can invite as many guests as you want. The important thing is to have the people closest to you in your wedding party, it doesn’t matter the number. It could be small as 5 or as large as 15 or more.
General Context and the Nigerian Factor
When you have finally decided to get married, you possibly will be faced with the difficult task of choosing who to stand up with you on your special day. You definitely would not want to hurt the feelings of any person but again you are also interested to see that the people who you would eventually choose will assist to make your wedding a success. You may desire that those who are nearest to you, including family members or dear friends be among your bridal train but there is absolutely no laid down rules that determine the maximum number of people to get involved in your wedding party.
Whatever you choose to do with the number to include in your wedding party- a single person, a dozen, or anything in between or above, how you choose your wedding party should be determined by the general number of guests invited for your wedding. If your invitees are small, consider keeping the number of your bridal party small and vice versa. You may want to choose close friends over relatives for bridesmaid or groomsman but if you opt for a friend over family, you have to get prepared to bear the upshots from your immediate family. You ought to ensure that everybody agrees with the cost of the attire, the dates for wedding ceremonies, and above all, cooperate with one another.
Tips On Selecting Bridesmaids Gifts
- Try to put together simple gifts and endeavor to buy same item for everyone or same item with different colors.
- Try to make it sweet by not shopping at the last minute. Organize your gifts ahead of the time to get it ready for presentation on the wedding day as a pleasant surprise.
- Try t make it meaningful. Your bridesmaids have spent a fair amount of time and money to prepare for your wedding as well as purchase the gown for your wedding, you ought to reciprocate.
Who can be included in Your Wedding Party
Your wedding party, also known as the bridal train or the bridal party includes not only the people who will help you while planning your wedding, but also people you would want by your side when you walk down the aisle to take the marriage vow. They can be your sisters, brothers, and intimate friends.
The wedding party members include the following:
- Maid of Honor or Matron of Honor or Bride’s Honor Attendant
- Bridesmaids or Bride’s Attendants
- Best Man, Best Woman and Groom’s nobility Attendant
- Groomsmen
- Ushers
- Parents
- Grandparents
- Officiating minister
- Flower Girl
- Ring Bearer
- Readers
- Pages and Train Bearer
Wedding Party Members in the Islamic and Christian religion
- The groom’s attendants is known as the Hattabin in Muslim wedding
- In a number of Christian weddings, young teenagers normally serve as Candle Lighters. They walk in the processional in front of the mothers of the bride and groom, and light the candles at the altar.
Conventional Roles of The Wedding Party
- To help out with the planning and tasks like handling invitations, running errands, and assisting to make crucial decisions
- To help the bride and groom get ready in addition o helping to settle issues
- They take official photos with the couple either before the wedding or during the wedding reception.
- To get seated with the about-to-wed in the church or the mosque as well as the newly-wedded couple at the reception
- Supports the couple’s wedding ceremony, encouraging their love and assisting them to handle arguments and fights even after the day of the wedding. Follow this link for the second part of the article.
