Wedding Party

Uneven number of bridesmaids and groomsmen

My fiance and I want to have the people who matter to us most in our wedding, and it might end up that we have an uneven number of bridesmaids and groomsmen (5 ladies and 4 men).  Have any of y'all had this setup, and was it awkward or did it work out well?
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Re: Uneven number of bridesmaids and groomsmen

  • Neat, I like the weave idea!  I've never seen it done, but it sounds great.
  • Nobody cares if the sides are even.
    What did you think would happen if you walked up to a group of internet strangers and told them to get shoehorned by their lady doc?~StageManager14
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  • You don't need even sides. People can walk down the aisle alone, escort the grandmothers, women can walk with women.... Having uneven sides and an untraditional processional is no big deal.
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  • Sides don't have to be even.  And anyone can walk down the aisle with anyone else.  Don't sweat it.
  • We had one more girl than guy, so two girls walked with one guy. It worked out great!
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  • I see uneven sides pretty often, it's very common!

  • We are having 4 girls on my side and one guy on his side. I never thought it would be weird.
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  • We have 6 guys & 5 girls!  2 guys are going to escort a girl!  No reason to ask an additional person if you really don't want to!  It's NBD!
  • Ours is extremely uneven - FI's side has 7 and I have 5.  2 of my girls will have the pleasure of walking with 2 men.  It'll work out fine and I'm sure the girls will have no issue with it. :o)  
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  • missallieeeeemissallieeeee member
    First Comment
    edited December 2013
    I am having 4 bridesmaids and my fiance is having 5 groomsmen. He can't add or subtract one without adding or subtracting another, and I simply don't have anyone else to add without adding 10 more (haha). It really bothered me at first because I like things symmetrical, but after thinking tings over, it is more important to me that my BEST friends are up there with me, no matter how many people that is. Don't stress about the numbers being uneven or the pictures. If you have a great photographer, they will make the pictures look great no matter how many are in your bridal party! See attached link below:
  • I was MOH in my best friend's wedding a couple years ago and she had me walk down the aisle alone to show that I was the MOH (I assume). It cool and nerve wracking at the same time.. :) I'll either do the same thing or the "weave" with our bridal party do to 5 girls and 4 guys.. :)
  • We had 4 on my side, 2 on his.  The last two ladies on my side walked out together.  Originally there was a third guy, but he had to drop out.  If he had been able to make it, we would have done a weave and let everyone walk alone.
  • Decades ago, brides had the typical attendants (MOH + BMs, who actually were expected to help with all aspects of the wedding), but grooms only had a best man. They had ushers, but these men did not stand with the groom. Times changed, and around the 60's grooms began wanting their fair share, so "groom's men" were added - but the sides HAD to be even.

    Times recently changed again, and honor attendants became exactly that - people closest to you who you wanted to honor - regardless of their gender, and it didn't matter if the numbers weren't "even". With each change, it has taken quite a few years for perceptions, attitudes & etiquette books to catch up, so this is why we see so many people today still focusing on the "old ways".

    FWIW, I know a bride with severe OCD, and anything asymmetrical sends her into a panic. Her BM dresses will NOT be one-shoulder and the number of attendants WILL equal that of her groom's. It just so happened that she & her groom have the identical number of friends/relatives who they wanted to honor, so no one was slighted. Everyone who knows this sweet bride understands her illness and loves her all the more for how hard she struggles. We are all unbelievably thrilled that, unlike 2 years ago when she was planning her funeral, today she is planning her wedding!
  • Many people here have and none have ever mentioned having a problem with it. You could have one man escort two women, or do a weave (woman, man, woman, man, etc and ending with the last woman).
    Or don't do the escorting thing at all, which is what I prefer.

    Have the Groom and GMs enter from the side or go down the aisle 1st, then the BMs.

    "Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."


  • It will be fine. I am having 3 bridesmaids and my FI is having five groomsmen :)
  • I have 6 BM and he has 6 GM, though his dad will be standing up there with him (two best men) to in the end 6 & 7... not a big deal... I was freaking out about this for so long but in the end no one will truly notice and as long as you have who matters most your bridal party will be perfect
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  • I have 3 BM and FI only has best man.  We never thought about it being weird.

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  • We have two groomsmen and 4 bridesmaids. The best man will escort my maid of honor and the other groomsman will escort two bridesmaids, then the last bridesmaid will walk our dog (the ring bearer). It all works out fine in the end! 

    Good on ya for picking people who mean a lot to you instead of just trying to fill space. My fiance only had two people that meant enough to him that he would want them in our wedding, I on the other hand had a hard time paring it down. 
  • I tend to like things clean and symmetrical but it really isn't bothering me that we are having uneven number of people on each side for our wedding.

    Our situation is a bit unique: I have five girls standing up on my side but my fiancé is more complicated. His bestman is his 85 year old grandfather who won't be able to stand by him the entire ceremony so he will walk out with my fiancé and then sit in the first row. Then he has 6 other groomsmen, however one of the groomsmen is also the pastor and is marrying us so he won't be standing with the rest of the guys. So during the ceremony there will be 5 girls on my side and 5 on his but pictures will be more complicated.

    We are having the guys come in from the side and the girls walk down the aisle by themselves. Each groomsman will escort one bridesmaid on the way out, and his grandfather will escort his grandmother.

    You just have to be creative and remember it's your wedding...you can do things however you want!
  • I'm having 2 bridesmaids and he's having 3 or 4 groomsmen. I'm going to have each walk down the aisle separately. Each will wait til the other is half way down the aisle, and then start.
  • We're having 5 GM & 4 BM.  GM at the front and the girls will walk down by themselves.  The only thing I worry about is how to do the introductions at the start of the reception.  I'm thinking we'll do pairs & then one girl with two guys.  The bridesmaid with the biggest personality will probably have the honor of being escorted by two groomsmen :-)
  • I'm going to have 5 attendants on my side- including one guy- and he's going to have 6 on his. What we decided to do is to start the ceremony with all of the guys on his side already standing at the front, then my girls would walk down one by one. I think (read:hope) this will keep it from looking too weird, and it also allows my 2 best friends (one guy and one girl) to walk down together to stand next to me. 
  • I too have an uneven number. I decided no one REALLY needs an escort, so they will be walking by themselves. 3 people at a time. The best way to describe is a less than sign such as < the next group will be the opposite >. The spacing among the 3 is very important, to keep beat with the music.
  • That's what I am going to do
  • RNatalie13RNatalie13 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2013
    Our wedding party is uneven, as well! I will have only 2 while my fiance will have 5. I always knew we would be uneven as he is super social and has a lot of close friends, whereas I only have a few. We really didn't have a problem with it, but when we started telling people this was what we were doing we heard more than a few comments. "Don't you have anyone else to ask?" was very popular among my family. It seems to bother some of the more traditional people.
  • Or just say you're doing it the British way! Over here bridesmaids walk down the aisle on their own, before the bride and her dad. The groom, best man and grooms men/ushers (not sure if there is a difference in the US, but they are the same thing in the UK), are ready standing at the end of the aisle.
    We're having 3 bridesmaids and a best man, and there are no problems :)
  • What about the bridal party dance?

  • AMack1567 said:

    What about the bridal party dance?

    Oh please, for the love of holey knickers, don't do a bridal party dance.



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