The people who make up your wedding party are the most important people in you and your partner’s lives. You each choose your bridesmaids and groomsmen from your closest circle of friends and family. But what if he was in a fraternity and has to have all five of his pledge bros as groomsmen and you only have your three best friends as bridesmaids? Or what if he has two sisters that will stand as your bridesmaids, creating an uneven number of girls and guys?
Before you panic and start thinking of ways to decide who gets to be a bridesmaid and who gets cut, don’t worry – there are solutions and workarounds.
Here’s what to do when you have an odd number in a wedding party.
Photo Credit: Sweet Tea Photography
Find An Even Number
First, think of ways you can even out the number of people in your wedding party. To do this you can either add extra bridesmaids or groomsmen as needed, or you can potentially remove someone from their duties. Think about all the people in your life that you would consider to be a part of your wedding party.
Your closest childhood friends, best friends from high school or college, siblings, cousins and other family members, close work colleagues and any other good friend are all great candidates. If any of your friends asked you to be a bridesmaid in their weddings, they would be good options as well. Remember that your bridesmaids are your support system throughout the wedding planning process and on the big day. Only consider including people that you know you can rely on and that would truly be a good addition to the group – not a detriment.
Photo Credit: Capitol Romance
If you cannot think of anyone else that you want standing up there with you on this important day, you can begin to consider who might not need the title. For example, if your aunt insisted that you include her daughter as a bridesmaid but you aren’t actually that close to her, you can invite her to events such as the bachelorette party or the bridal shower and ask her to give a toast or a reading at the rehearsal dinner or reception instead.
Photo Credit: The Bride’s Cafe
More Bridesmaids Than Groomsmen
If you and your partner have settled on having an uneven number in your wedding party, you can arrange the processional in a way to accommodate your bridesmaids and groomsmen.
An Example
If you have 4 bridesmaids and 2 groomsmen, you can have each groomsman walk down the aisle with a bridesmaid on either arm. If you have one extra bridesmaid, you can have pairs of bridesmaids and groomsmen walk together and have the Best Man or the final groomsman walk down with a bridesmaid on both arms.
It gets a little trickier when you have many more bridesmaids than groomsmen. Remember that a good solution to these situations would be to have everyone walk down the aisle single file so that it’s not as obvious the number is uneven. You can also follow tradition and have the groomsmen already be standing by the groom so the bridesmaids each walk out alone.
Photo Credit: Wedding Bee
More Groomsmen Than Bridesmaids
You may find yourself in a situation with more groomsmen than bridesmaids. Maybe your partner was in a fraternity and wants to have all of his closest brothers standing with him as he says “I do.” In this case, you can easily solve the problem by having all of the groomsmen already standing with the groom at the altar so that you won’t have to worry about pairing your bridesmaids with them.
Your bridesmaids and Maid of Honor can each walk down the aisle one by one, or you can also have them paired to walk down two at a time. By having the groomsmen already standing at the front, you won’t have to deal with the awkwardness of finding pairs that fit.
Photo Credit: Magnet Street
If you still want to find a way to send all your groomsmen and bridesmaids down the aisle, you can have each bridesmaid walk with two groomsmen and your Maid of Honor walk down with just the Best Man or by herself. You can adjust this method accordingly based on the number of attendants you have.
Remember that you can even have two groomsmen walk down side by side if you find yourself with more groomsmen than bridesmaids in your wedding party. Organizing your processional to accommodate an uneven number of attendants is easier than you think! If you simply cannot find a good way to pair your bridesmaids and groomsmen, either having everyone walk out single file or having the groomsmen already up at the altar are excellent solutions.
