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When my fiancé and I got engaged, there was no question for me that I would ask my three best friends to be my bridesmaids. That said, my fiancé doesn't want to have any groomsmen/women, and I'm fine with that. I'm looking for advice for the ceremony logistics, though; I could have my bridesmaids stand next to me or sit in the first row. Or something else! I've seen advice about uneven parties, but not about one partner skipping them entirely. Any creative suggestions?– Robbin
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Hi, Robbin! This sounds like a totally doable situation since uneven wedding parties, gender-blind wedding parties, and no wedding parties are totally a thing now. Anything goes, and we've seen it all.
Here are some ideas to make this work at your wedding…
Have them stand with both of you
If you want your ladies standing, just have them stand somewhere central. Maybe it becomes a ceremony the round or maybe they stand somewhere neutral where they're not strictly on your side. Take a look at your ceremony space and see where it might make sense.
Plus, a circle of friends around you can feel pretty amazing. Maybe they can seat themselves in front of you on stools or pillows (like in the first photo!).
Seat them in the front
As a bridesmaid who once almost took a tumble from locked knees, seating your crew can be a bonus. They can walk in, do their readings or whatever you've asked of them, then sit and let you guys be the stars of the show. Painless and no fuss!
Or if you want to give them their own special seating, take a look at your space to see if there's a place to set out some chairs that isn't necessarily on your side. The biggest tip is just to look at your ceremony space and find a neutral spot, if you don't want to opt for the front row.
Don't sweat it
If it happens that your ceremony space just won't accommodate anything else, feel free to just have your crew stand near you and your partner can stand solo. Guests will be so entranced by the two of you that they won't care. Wedding parties are fluid as hell these days so it's nothing to sweat.
Anyone else encountered a one-sided wedding party and have tips?
More alternative wedding party ideas:
About the Author: Catherine Clark
Catherine Clark loiters at her local library, makes art, watches movies en masse, plays video and tabletop games, poorly cooks healthy things, cuddles with her feline fur babies, and blogs at BijouxandBits.com.
Love the sitting idea! And that would generally work in more traditional wedding venues (at least the ones I’ve experienced), as all you’d need is 3 empty spaces on the bride side. I do have a question, since generally the first bridesperson and first groomsperson are the one’s who sign the wedding licence, who is your groom going to ask to sign as his witness? At least that’s how wedding licence works in Alberta, Canada, forgive the ignorance if it’s not the same elsewhere.
While that’s traditional, it’s not necessary in the US to be the same people. I’ve been the “best man” and maid of honor in multiple weddings, and did not sign as witness for all of them. Choosing a witness, other than the MOH or BM, usually has some sort of significance for the newlyweds, but would not make sense for that person (for one reason or another) to stand up in front on the day of the wedding.