Rings, cake and a venue are just a few things couples might deem essential when planning the lead-up to their nuptials.
But there’s one ‘traditional’ wedding element that more and more brides-to-be are ditching – their posse of bridesmaids.
Love Island’s Olivia Attwood recently spoke about deciding not to have bridesmaids on her big day, stating: ‘I was like, “if I get everyone in, who would be expecting to be one?” It was just going to be so many. I could buy ten dresses, or buy myself a piece of jewellery.’
And she’s certainly not alone in this decision.
Despite having two sisters she’s close with, 34-year-old Jacqs Taylor decided not to have any bridesmaids when she got married four years ago.
‘I just don’t like the bridesmaid tradition. I don’t even like being a bridesmaid myself,’ she tells Metro.
‘I had a lot of pressure to have bridesmaids but I think I have been so independent my whole life that I felt I didn’t need the bridesmaids.
‘Also, in my opinion, I don’t really know what a bridesmaid adds to a wedding.
‘I organised my hen do myself too (a weekend in Barcelona, no “hen activities”, just sunbathing, sightseeing and drinking in the bars).
‘I have no regrets about not having bridesmaids at all.’
Katie Chodosh, from Surrey, also chose to ditch adult bridesmaids and simply had her four young nieces as flower girls – mainly to reduce the amount of stress when planning her big day.
The 33-year-old, who works in PR, says: ‘Children aren’t as fussy about what they have to wear, and all of their parents were very happy to help with choosing the right size clothes and taking them to get appropriate shoes.
‘I had also seen from other weddings that choosing adult bridesmaids can cause upset – it sometimes feels like a game of picking and parading who your best friends are out of them all, and that made me feel uncomfortable.
‘I tried to be upfront with by friends about it and explained that I wanted one less thing to organise, and I felt that they understood. I guess I can’t be completely sure, but I still stand by my decision.
‘I’m sure that there would have been more upset if I had handpicked a few bridesmaids, rather than opting out completely.’
Kate Greenhalgh, from Bolton, also didn’t have bridesmaids for this very reason.
The 44-year-old didn’t want the pressure of selecting bridesmaids – so she came up with an alternative idea.
‘I had a maid of honour and asked eight friends and family members to wear blue dresses to match. They decided to name themselves my Blue Belles,’ Kate explains.
‘Having been a bridesmaid myself several times and attended 12 weddings in the three years before our big day I either needed to have nine, or none. I opted for none, but saved them all seats along the aisle and they all rocked the blue brief.
‘The included my five closest friends, cousin, god-daughter and step-sister. My other step-sister was my maid of honour.’
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