In my last post, I talked about bridesmaids & ushers and where we got to with our decision (you can catchup here). In this post, I’m going to explore roles you can give other friends and family members who aren’t included in your ‘bridal party’ as such. I’m talking bride tribe, flower girls, ceremony readings, etc…
Bride Tribe
First of all, back to my bunch of gals. Although it didn’t feel right to have everyone as a bridesmaid, I still wanted my closest girls to be involved. So instead of bridesmaids, I’ve got them as part of my bride tribe. They can still help with all the fun parts of a wedding (the hen party planning, getting ready in the morning, etc) but without the whole bridesmaids dresses & walking down the aisle thing.
(I wrote them all a card and gave them a little personalised box with some pressies inside).
I would 100% recommend doing something like creating a bride tribe if you’re struggling with your bridesmaid decision. At the end of the day, this is your wedding so doing what’s right for you is the most important thing. But if you can also keep everyone happy then that’s a winner too! (And how cute is having a bride tribe as well as bridesmaids!).
Photo by Naomi Kenton
Flower Girls & Page Boys
Another great way to include close friends is to ask their children to be your flower girls and/or page boys. Obviously this requires said friends to actually have children… But if they do, it will probably mean even more to them for their children to be involved rather than themselves.
Photo by Mila Kos Photography
Euan & I both have a close friend with a little one. Even more perfect is my friend has a daughter and his friend has a son – one of each!
Other Roles
Okay, so what about those cousins who you grew up with but haven’t seen for 6 years? Or siblings of your other half who you aren’t that close to? We’ve all been there! If you’re having a church wedding, readings are a big part of the service and a really lovely way to involve someone who otherwise wouldn’t be. Even if you’re not getting married in church, you can still include readings in your ceremony (which I highly recommend doing anyway!).
Photo by Little Red Book Photography
There are many roles across the day, such as making announcements (an MC if you like), or giving out confetti. You could even play to particular individual strengths of the person. For example, Euan’s sister has a photography degree so we’ve asked her to be a secondary photographer on the morning of the wedding and capture the boys getting ready with Euan. Without her, we wouldn’t have any professional photos of the groom and his friends as our main photographer will be with me (obviously).
To Conclude
When it comes to wedding politics, it is so easy to offend someone (or everyone). But as long as you feel confident with your decision and your reasons for making said decision then who can argue? (Well someone will, but hey ho!).
Photo by Mila Kos Photography
