Your wedding party, or lack thereof.
Unconventional and Unbothered - I spoke to Sherry (that cutie in the white dress pictured above) about why she and her hubby, Tom, chose not to ask their besties to flank them during the ceremony.
For some couples, having a wedding party is non-negotiable - and fair enough. But many of us in the wedding industry are seeing a rise in couples standing solo at the altar.
Sherry takes us through her experience and why they came to the decision to ditch the traditional line up.
As always - it is my belief that your wedding decisions should serve you, and only you. When mapping out your own wedding, ask yourself what will add to your vibe and what wont; you cant go wrong xx
How did you come to the decision not to have a wedding party?
Sherry: " there's so many factors that played into the decision..if we had married years earlier I think I might have had one!
But stories of dramatic friendship tension due to a mismatch in expectations, and the idea of the role presenting any sort of financial burden to ourselves or our friends was at the core of deciding not to have one.”
And how did you involve your besties on the day?
Sherry: “in the lead up, Toms good friend went suit shopping with him and they both had suits made from the same designer.
My bestie said getting ready alone (she eloped) was when she felt the most nervous, so she not so subtly volunteered to get ready with me on the day. I decided to shout her professional hair and makeup in lieu of the official ‘maid of honour’ title.
We made sure our closest family members and friends sat right up the front during the ceremony and I was sure to tell all my besties to not be shy and definitely take a seat so they appeared in lots of the professional photography.
We asked another one of our best friends to be our ring bearer and she loved the gesture.
Tom and I walked down the aisle together, so even there is a bit of a departure from a tradition that usually involves family or wedding party members, so we had our mums serve as our legal witnesses and they were very touched to be selected for that role.
Umm wow, there's soooo many ways to involve your mates that don’t include matching outfits and standing in a line”
What are the pros?
Sherry: “Its waaaaay cheaper, for all involved!!
Your ‘would be’ wedding party are gonna be more comfortable in an outfit and accessories they choose. It's less stressful in terms of people management in the lead up/planning phase but also on the day.
We never had to question who did or didn't make the cut so less risk of hurt feelings too.”
What are the cons?
Sherry: “Some of my friends probably would have loved to be a bit more involved in pre wedding appointments and some of the fluff on the day.
I definitely wanted our closest mates to know how we feel about them and didn't want them to feel like just a regular guest. However, they did have the biggest smiles on their faces all day and all night.”
Did you feel any pressure to have people stand beside you during the ceremony and if so how did you navigate that?
Sherry: “No actually!
We got ZERO pushback from anyone about any of our choices.
Our venue also had a narrow ceremony area, they do have wedding parties stand up there often but I was just happy to own that space with my groom.”
Do you have any advice for couples on the fence about including a wedding party?
Sherry: “There are ways to find a comfortable middle ground – if you have to have (or really want) a wedding party, that doesn't mean they have to stand up there with you during the whole ceremony. They can walk the aisle and take a seat, the view is much better from the front rows 😉”
photography by @madelinekatephotography