How to pair bridesmaids and groomsmen to walk down the aisle

katiegarro · January 2013

My fiance's and my friends are all different shapes, sizes, and heights. Is there a right or wrong way to pair groomsmen and bridesmaids so that they "look" and "feel" good around each other when walking down the aisle and taking pictures. Also, some of them know each other and some will be meeting for the first time. Is it best to pair the ones that know each other together, or am I altogether putting WAY too much thought into this?

AddieCake · January 2013

You're putting way too much thought into it; they are just walking next to each other for a minute, not going on a date.

AddieCake · January 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_how-to-pair-bridesmaids-and-groomsmen-to-walk-down-the-aisle?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:37Discussion:7afe8e5f-476f-4181-bcc9-2267895227d1Post:794e767d-3895-4ff9-976f-3426a8faa3f7">Re:How to pair bridesmaids and groomsmen to walk down the aisle</a>:
[QUOTE]Wow. I'd hate to see what you'd think of my Husband and I, since we're totally different "sizes" and "shapes" from each other.
Posted by StageManager14[/QUOTE]

<div>Hahaha! Same for us!</div>

mlg78 · January 2013

You're way over thinking this. I'm pairing people up by similar personalities only because one groomsman is super goofy and one girl will tolerate that more.

artbyallie · January 2013

As someone else said, they will be side-by-side for all of 30 seconds. Ours were paired partly according to the order they were standing in and partly according to their own relationship. We had two married couples, so they walked together. His brother and sister walked together. The MOH and best man walked together. Which left one completely random pair of one of our mutual female friends with my male cousin. Who happened to be more than a foot taller, but nobody cared.

bridalmarch · January 2013

lol...I'm a tad under 5'4 and FI is 6'5. We look plain silly together, and we've taken many a great picture.

Just pair them up. Some of our WP members are married to each other, so of course they will walk with their spouse, but everyone else I'm not too worried about. All they have to do is walk down the aisle and possibly into the reception together.

Peledreamsofrain · January 2013

Why have them walk together at all? It's not like your BMs will get lost, fall, or hae a mental breakdown because they aren't being escorted. This isn't the 1700s, women are pretty awesome at walking by themselves nowadays.

My party walked by themselves, and it gave the photographer a chance to get awesome solo shots of everyone walking down the aisle. Everyone was comfortable, nobody got lost, and there weren't any 'pairing' problems.

melb2013 · January 2013

Draw names from a hat- seriously, it doesn't matter.

beardownbchs · January 2013

I agree with most of PPs, but I also think...maybe, MAYBE both a GM and a BM would feel awkward if the BM was significantly taller than the GM. I'm not short, and I was a BM in my brother's wedding recently. If I wear heels, I'm pushing 6 foot and my brother's GMs are on the shorter side of average. I asked who I was walking with just to see what shoes to wear because I didn't want to be taller than him. "Shape" really means nothing, but if it would make your wedding party more comfortable, I'd pair them up either according to height or as a PP suggested, the order you want them to stand in according to your relationship with them. I know I would be uncomfortable if I were grossly taller than a GM, but I've had some insecurities with my height so that might just be me.

Kate61487 · January 2013

ditto PPs, but I'll echo beardown. I certainly didn't intend to judge my BP, but I did pair my taller/larger BM with H's taller/larger GM. I know I am self-conscious about my size and would prefer to be next to a guy who makes me feel smaller in a photo; so sue me.

We also did a bit of personality pairing (I had two MOHs so I put the one who I thought would be more entertained and less irritated with H's BM who's quite a character). and our Bridesman and groomsmaid walked together b/c we thought it made sense. That left two others to pair and we just did it by who we thought they'd be more comfortable / have more fun with.

I realize it's only a 30 second walk either way, but might as well try to make it less awkward, right?

slgirl21 · January 2013

your putting way to much thought into this, just pair them up, my bridal party doesn't know any of my FI groomsmen, we may just pair them up by personality, not to worry it wil all work out.

[Deleted User] · January 2013

Just send them down the aisle. I was a BM in a wedding and my escort and I met each other at the entrance to the church. He couldn't be at the rehearsal and so it was a quick nod of hello and down the aisle.

Please don't overthink this!

stantokm · January 2013

In weddings that I've been in before, it's usually done by height after the honor attendants (BM, MOH). I've never witnessed anyone in any bridal party having an issue with who they walk with; probably the only thing I've ever heard is single BMs wanting to get paired with the hottest single guy on the other side.

Jager1219 · January 2013

I would do it by height because of how it would look in photos. But seriously, other than my 5'10" BM (before heels) no one cares. She was worried that she'd tower over our GM, but fortunately, one of them is 6'3" so she's in the clear.

harper0813 · January 2013

Order-wise and shape-wise, it's probably inappropriate. I don't find height an offensive way to pair people up, however. Order, yes, but as a girl who is 5'7" I'd prefer to be paired up with a groomsmen who is at least my height (I was in a wedding this past summer where I was the tallest bridesmaid and 5'10" in heels but I walked up with a guy who was 5'5"). It's just personal preference, though. I felt a little uncomfortable.

itzMS · January 2013

Just echoing PPs. However, I did have some taller bridesmaids actually request the taller groomsmen. If someone has a preference, they'll speak up.

I'm tall myself, so I totally understand pairing by height to some extent!

We let the photographer do the posing for pictures and didn't make anyone stand anywhere in particular i.e. you MUST stand next to the exact person who escorted you up the aisle, blah blah.

hollyk224 · March 2013

I paired people up in certain ways, but I didn't overthink it. For example, I paired up my MOH and his BM (obviously), my brother & his wife, my other brother and his wife, my friend and his friend, and my cousin and his brother. A lot of it was easy for me because we had several family members in our wedding party. If you don't have family members, just pair them up according to their personalities. It's not like they'll be attached at the hip or anything - they'll just walk up and down the aisle together and stand together for some pictures. Trust me, this will be the least of your worries on your big day!

How to pair bridesmaids and groomsmen to walk down the aisle

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