Pros & cons of large bridal party.

Being a bridesmaid is expensive for

The girls as well. If I was one of 9 I wouldn't feel as honored. It's also more opinions on dresses and dress budget. It takes longer to get everyone ready for pictures. Plus ditto why everyone else has said about drama an being more expensive for the bride. Also depending on the venue sometimes it looks awkward and there isn't enough space for everyone to stand up front with you without being cramped.

I think if you have room to have them all get ready with you, go for it. Just mske sire there is enough mirror space

Thank you everyone!! I have some serious thinking to do. I just feel like I would hurt some of my girls feelings by not asking them. I know they would understand, but still. Plus FH has about 9 guys he named right off the bat that he wants to ask lol.

The more people involved, the harder it is to coordinate for pre-wedding events (showers, bachelorette, etc), harder to coordinate the actual wedding events, harder to decide on dresses that everyone likes, hairstyles, etc. Also, think about the rehearsal dinner -- if your FH wants to match your number, and you have 9 BMs and 9 GMs plus their significant others, that's already 42 people (added to you guys and both sets of parents) that would be at the rehearsal dinner, minimum.

FutureMrsT.. That just made my bank account cry. Ugh.

I have 8 girls and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Is it expensive? Absolutely but they have been pretty easy to deal with. I had one annoyance in the beginning but it was me being a bitch. Honestly if you want them have them. I told them all about dress fittings and if they wanted to be there they could. Some came some didn't and I didn't care. For their dresses same thing. No one complained. For my shower and bach it has been nice because it makes the cost cheaper by splitting it between all of them. I'm looking forward to having fun with my girls at all the events and getting ready the day of. Are you going to have drama? Probably but if your girls are easy going and you set the standards low then they should be fine. I haven't had any issues that they are arguing or not agreeing.

The only annoyance in my opinion is paying for everything. Gifts and rehearsal is not cheap but we are making it work. FH has 8 guys too and same thing. Good luck!

The only thing I didn't really think about before having a large bridal party was the COST. I thought about some but didn't really think about all the expenses related to that. Hair and makeup quotes for 8 bridesmaids (plus myself and my mom) were outrageous! Gifts for 8 BM, 8 GM, a flower girl and ring bearer added up FAST. We had to go with the bigger limo. We had to rent a conference room to get ready in, as the hotel we picked doesn't have suites and we won't fit in a regular hotel room. We have 40 people coming to our rehearsal dinner (nearly everyone in the bridal party is married) -- yikes. Its just a lot of cost I didn't even think about.

Keep in mind the ceremony space. I officiated a wedding in a large gazebo, but the large wedding party had to stand behind me (like back-up singers) because there was not room for them beside the B&G.

I can not think of a single "pro" to having a large wedding party -- I had a MOH (she introduced us at her b'day party) and my other best friend sang a solo.

I can't think of a single pro either. It costs a fortune between gifts, flowers, RD, etc. How special does anyone feel if they're one of 10 BM's or GM's?

Being invited to the wedding is special enough.

I have 6 BM's, would have had 7 but one declined, still hurt about that but that's another story. So what I found is 4 of my BM's are from college, 1 from childhood, and 1 is my cousin. The 1 from childhood keeps getting jealous and thinks that I am discussing wedding planning with everyone but her, which is totally not the case, and for some reason has it in her head that the other BM's are talking bad about her, also not the case. She also wants to get to know the other BM's because she thinks they are all best friends and that she's out of the loop on everything, again not the case. I arranged for us to hangout and have wine this weekend so said friend can get to know them and now she is the one flaking. Trust me have a small bridal party. I thought it was a good idea to have all of my best friends but it's not.

I just have a MOH, and it's PERFECT. I'm still having a bachelorette (Saturday! Eeee!), but all the people coming are coming 100% by choice, and not because they feel they "have" to because they are bridesmaids. As for the wedding, I'm letting my close friends know where and when I'm getting ready if they want to stop by the hotel room to hang out and drink champagne while a few of us get dolled up. Even though it's just a MOH, my mom, sister, and other girlfriend who is an usher are also doing hair/makeup for the fun of it. Meaning: I get all the benefits of a bridal party, but none of the stress or drama of the bridal party.

There is no pro of a large bridal party. 9 bridesmaids is just insane to me and too much work to wrangle and money to spend

I don't think your friends will be upset if they don't have to buy a $200 dress and pose for pictures for 3 hours. They'll actually probably prefer to just celebrate with you and enjoy a few drinks during cocktail hour.

Pros: usually looks great in pictures, you get to have all your close friends and family, makes shower & bach cheaper for them, also with a smaller bridal party (say 3 ppl) if 2 of them cant make the bach or shower its almost like none of them were there whereas if you have a lot (like 9) and 3 of them can't make it your still have a lot of your girls to celebrate with.

Cons: expensive (more flowers, more gifts), more difficulty coordinating (but honestly even if you have more than 1 BM they will still likely have different styles, taste, shapes, opinions. so even if its small you have this problem)

I have a Maid of honor, Matron of Honor and 5 BM's with 1 Jr Bm.

Pros: I love all these wonderful ladies and they haven't given me too much stress.

They have been helpful with certain tasks.

Cons: They all have different personalities and are from different stages in my life.

We will be having scheduling conflicts but I have told them all I really need from them is to get a dress and pretty shoes and show up on time.

Costs is definitely a HUGE con. It does cost a pretty penny for 8.

Yeah i couldnt imagine having more than the two i have. i would do 3 max personally, my BM bouquets are $100 each adding 5 more people on to get to 7 BM means that my flower cost would go up another $500 just for the bridesmaid bouquets not including the GMs bouts

Agreed with the rest of the ladies...cost and personalities. I have 7 BMs and 2 jrs. Gifts weren't that bad, but one BM is getting on me & everyone else's nerves playing the diva role. I'm 95% sure my sister/MOH is gonna punch her in the face post wedding lol

How old are your friends? My friends and I are in our early 30s and I am one of the last to get married. I think they are just as grateful as me that I am having a small bridal party (3-sister, cousin, best friend). If I got married 5 years ago I definitely would have asked more of them. Now I know what I want, I don't need lots of people to plan shit for me, and I think they are kind of over wedding minutiae also. I'll be so happy for them to attend my wedding as guests and wear whatever they want.

I have 8 Bm's. It hasn't been TOO bad but it is expensive. It is hard to get them all in once place at the same time. Another thing is not everyone knows each other that well and some may feel left out of awkward with the other girls.