Let me first start this post off with saying that I am not anti-bridal party, nor am I anti-traditional-wedding. I have had the great pleasure of being in a fair share of bridal parties for some of my best friends. It was wonderful to be there with them on their special day, to stand next to them during the nerves, the tears, the joy, the excitement. I think that being a member of a bridal part can be a great experience, but much of it lies largely on the type of bride. If the bride is easy, laid back and considerate then the bridal party duties aren’t so much to handle. A bride should keep in mind her bridal parties budgets/financial situations, how much time they can commit during the planning phase and also their opinion on things that will effect the bridesmaids (style of dress, cost of bachelorette parties, etc.)

Seldom do I hear bridesmaids say that the experience was stress free from start to finish. Me and my fiance decided early on we were not going to have a bridal party. There was quite a few factors that went into this decision and never once did we regret our choice. My fiance has one brother, I have no sister. I have a best friend who is like my sister and have known since the fifth grade. We knew that these two people would be our best man and maid of honor. There was no question that they needed to be a part of our special day, above and beyond our other family and friends. That is where we drew the line on the rest of the people to be a part of the ceremony and day’s events.

I am 33 years old and have seen many of my friends get married in our 20’s. Many of my friends are now either living with their significant other, engaged, married, with one child or maybe two. I didn’t want to burden my friends with being a part of a bridal party when I know just how much it would require for them both financially and time wise. I was being considerate, I wanted to make sure that they did not feel the pressure that comes with being a bridesmaid. My thought about bridal parties is, I’d rather have my best friends attend my wedding, wear whatever they want, do whatever they want and have a great time at my wedding without feeling obligated to do/wear/pay/attend anything. I wanted them to come, have a blast, be a part of my day – plain and simple.

I didn’t want those dreaded mass emails to go around about planning a shower or a bachelorette party where everyone just winds up hating the bride in the end and gets entirely too stressed out over nothing. I hear it all the time; the bride who wants everyone to spend $800 to go away for a weekend, who makes you take time off from work, and everyone is complaining how much it costs but no one tells the bride. I didn’t ever want to make my friends spend that kind of money on me. I am not that kind of bride, nor that kind of person.

In the end not having a bridal party has saved me as a bride a lot of stress. I don’t have to worry about planning when to get everyone together to try on dresses or hear which person doesn’t like a dress or pair of shoes. I didn’t want anyone to spend money on something they will never wear again. I just want all of my girlfriends to come to my wedding and have a good time…I didn’t want to have to chose who would be my bridesmaids and offend anyone. My wedding is about me and my soon to be husband and I wanted that focus to remain on us as a couple. I wanted to make it the very best experience for everyone involved. I think more and more couples are going sans bridal party and I am a big fan of it. All of your favorite people will all be in the same room with you in the end anyway.

Connect with me on social media:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•