How late is too late?

melbenso

So one of my bridesmaids had to drop out of my wedding because of health issues.  The wedding is still 5 months away and she may be feeling better by then.  As things stand now, she is not planning on attending the wedding either (but that can be finally decided by RSVP time, so I'm not too worried about that.)   If she is, I know she would like to be in the wedding.  I would very much like her to be in it as well, if she is feeling up to it.  She hadn't purchased her dress yet.  If she is able to do so, how late is too late for her to decide to be in the wedding?  Just enough time for the dress to be purchased?

As an aside, do I still include her on the list of people to be invited to the bachelorette party?  (I plan to send her an invitation to the wedding, even if she can't be in it, unless she explicitly tells me not to - which is a possibility.) She had originally been planning it, but that has been passed off to another bridesmaid.

Maggie0829

I would find out from your bridal store when the final date a dress can be ordered and come in in time for your wedding is.  Let your friend know this date.

As for the bach party and other pre-wedding related events, since you are still planning on inviting her to the wedding whether or not she will be able to come then of course you can include her in these pre-wedding parties.  I mean she can still help plan them if she wants to.

OliveOilsMom

melbenso said:

So one of my bridesmaids had to drop out of my wedding because of health issues.  The wedding is still 5 months away and she may be feeling better by then.  As things stand now, she is not planning on attending the wedding either (but that can be finally decided by RSVP time, so I'm not too worried about that.)   If she is, I know she would like to be in the wedding.  I would very much like her to be in it as well, if she is feeling up to it.  She hadn't purchased her dress yet.  If she is able to do so, how late is too late for her to decide to be in the wedding?  Just enough time for the dress to be purchased?

As an aside, do I still include her on the list of people to be invited to the bachelorette party?  (I plan to send her an invitation to the wedding, even if she can't be in it, unless she explicitly tells me not to - which is a possibility.) She had originally been planning it, but that has been passed off to another bridesmaid.

You friend is having health issues, if it were me and my friend told me a week before the wedding, she was feeling up to it, I would just ask that she buy a dress in the same color as the rest of the BMs. 

If she were a close enough friend that she was a BM, I would send an invite to the b party and wedding.  I would enclose in the wedding invite a short note indicating that you would love to have her there in person, but her health is her #1 priority and more important than your wedding. 

Lastly, I would also keep her as a BM in the program and if possible, send her the bouquet she would have carried down the aisle with another short note telling her that she is in your thoughts that day even though she wasn't here in person.

erinlin25

I hope your friend gets better!  Agree that let her know you still consider her a bridesmaid (and you could even list her as one even if she cannot attend), so if it all works out let her know to pick a dress in a certain color and stand with you at your wedding.  You may even want to consider you doing that for your bridesmaids so if she can make it her dress would not look so out of place.  It would mean a lot to your friend that you care enough for her to be included.  And she can of course still be invited to the shower and bachelorette because she will still be an invited guest.  For what it is worth, we picked David's Bridal dresses and they came in about 3 weeks (of course they acted like 4 months to the wedding was "late" and we should think about rush ordering...)  I know that is not always the case, but many times dresses like that are already waiting in a warehouse somewhere just waiting to get shipped.