So my fiance only wants his best friend as his BM and I have my cousin as my MOH. He doesn't have a lot of close friends and doesn't want to force the idea of an even wedding party.
I on the other hand have 5 friends (in addition to my MOH) I would want to be the equivalent of bridesmaids/man (4 women and one man). I wasn't never particularly attached to the idea of a traditional bridal party (especially since we're older - when we get married I'll be 38 and he'll be 48), but I do want my closest friends surrounding me throughout this process.
So, I've come up with the idea of us having a "VIP Party" instead of a normal wedding party. In addition to our traditional MOH/BM, we'd have our VIP guests walk in informally before the flower girls/ringbearer and myself, sit in the front row at our ceremony, take pictures with us before the ceremony, and wear corsages or boutonnieres to be more differentiated. I'd still have my girls get ready with me and ask them to plan my bachelorette, but they wouldn't be "announced" into the reception (though I would list them in the program if we decide to have one).
However, this creates a few other dilemmas:
- I have no desire to have my girls in matching dresses, but I do like the idea of them wearing dresses within a particular color range (e.g. different shades of teal/aqua) so they stand out a little more and it looks nicer in pictures. Is it weird to ask this if I'm not officially having bridesmaids?
- Since my side is mixed gender already, I was thinking my fiance's sister and her husband could sit on my fiance's side. However, I also don't want to insult her by not asking her to be a semi-bridesmaid (my side is just so uneven already and I think it makes more sense for her to be on his side.)
- If I do keep my girls dressed in the same color scheme, should I ask my fiance's sister if she wants to do the same? Or does it not matter since she's technically on his side?
Appreciate your thoughts!