Trying to plan a wedding, but WAYY too many females, and not enough males. HELP!!?

Question

Ok, I'm newly engaged, but already trying to start picking the wedding party. The problem is that both sides of our families seem to have way too many females and a huge shortage of males. I know you can have junior brides, junior bridesmaids, etc, but is there a limit as to how many? For example, there are two little girls (age 3 and 4), that we wanted as junior brides, but is that too much. Another issue on the same topic, my fiance'ssister is only 14, should she be a bridesmaid or a junior bridesmaid? If she's a junior bridesmaid, does she still need a groomsmen to walk with her? I'm so confused. Any advice, tips, suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

Put some of the women on the groom's side. And omit the little girls, at that age they can be unpredictable. They aren't likely to miss it. Having too many bridesmaids (and junior bridesmaids) get fussy. There are other roles, so maybe you can offer some of those? There is no set limit though.

What would you be doing to distinguish the junior bridesmaids? If it's only a mention in the programme/order of service then she should be a bridesmaid. If they're getting a more flattering dress (younger girls generally don't wear strapless dresses) then it should be her choice which one she wants to wear, as 14-year-olds can be very self conscious.  

Answer 2

I think the 3 and 4 year old girls should be flowers girls, and the 14 year old should be a jr. bridesmaid.  Im having 2 junior bridesmaids and they are waking down the aisle together, no jr. gromsmen.   and you can have a couple of the bridesmaids walk with out a partner.  They dont all have to have one.

Answer 3

You dont have to have even numbers for your wedding party. If you really want it, have all older attendants - bridesmaids, MOH, and grooms men in pairs. Then have the youngsters on their own. Or have two girls walking hand in hand, thatd be cute :) I would haev a 14 year old a fully fledged bridesmaid. She is probably old enough and mature enough to do the job instead of just turning up and looking nice.You can have as many or as few people in your party as you want! Your choice entirely.

Edit - you dont have junior brides, they are just called junior bridesmaids. And on top of that, you can have flower girls and ring bearers for the little boys.

Another Edit - How old are they all? If you have 2 around 10 or over, could they be junior bridesmaids? And the other 2 flower girls? Or if you have no boys at all, you could have 2 girls being ring bearers. I know its normally boys, but it could be really cute - a pillow each with a ring each.

They could have white dresses and white pillows. The pillows could have a nice frilly edge in a colour that matches your BMs and the girls could have a sash on their dress in that colour. I know its a bit different but it could look lovely.

Or you could always have 4 flower girls! There would be a lot of petals, but thats ok! Lol.

Or maybe have a couple hold your veil/train if its long?

Hope I have helped!! :)

Answer 4

dress some of the junior bridesmaids up as males, they are really an expendable group anyway.

Answer 5

Don't sweat it.  Not every relative needs to be in the wedding party or have a role in the wedding.

Keep the wedding party really small to avoid hard feelings between all the family members.  Don't 'make up' make-work (but useless) tasks just to give everyone something to do.

If you don't have lots of men, don't worry.  Have an uneven bridal party.  

Answer 6

There's no rule that says that you need to balance out the males and females in the wedding party. You can have as many of each gender as you like, as long as they're the people who you truly want to stand up for you at your wedding.

That said, bridesmaids do not need an escort. They can walk down the aisle either unescorted, in pairs, or two girls each on the arm of a guy - but nobody will make a fuss if there are no groomsmen or ushers to walk with them.

At 14, your fiancee's sister is most likely a jr bridesmaid, but it's really up to you. If it would make her feel better to be a regular bridesmaid, you might want to go with that - it's a nice gesture to someone who is about to be in your family!

Answer 7

I would make the two little girls flower girls - they can walk down the aisle together tossing petals.  

I think the 14 year old could be mature enough to be considered a bridesmaid (not a junior).  

If you want even sides, if doesn't have to be just family...I'm sure your fiance should have some male friends to be groomsmen.

For my ceremony, I had all the men already up at the alter with the officiant then I had my bridesmaid walk down followed by my maid of honor, followed by the flower girl, then me.  After the ceremony, the procession was this:

me & husband

maid of honor & best man

bridesmaid & groomsman

flowergirl

officiant

Good luck!