Is eight bridesmaids too many??

Welcome to hitched

I was orginally going to have 8 but have decided on 6! Dropped 2 of my OH nieces as i don't get on with his sister and i couldn't trust the girls would turn up. Plus they live miles away so wouldn't be practical.

You should speak to your mum and see if making 8 is too many then take it from there...

For me personally 8 is too many but it's totally up to you as it's your wedding! I'm having 3 as I really didn't want more than that. x

Hey, and welcome to Hitched.

How many guests are you having? I ask, as personally for me, I think a small wedding with 8 bridesmaids would look OTT but a wedding of say 200 people with 8 bridesmaids would be fab.

Given the cost of the dresses isn't an issue (and assumably the accessories too - remember it could be up to £30-£40 per boquet, plus shoes, hair, make up, jewellery, cars, gifts etc) the only other problem I can forsee is - have you got time/space wherever your getting ready to have all 8 with you on the morning? If not, then there is not much point in them being BM. I have 3 BM, me, plus mom and 2 Flower Girls and we are struggling to finalise a morning timetable allowing enough time for us all to have hair/make up done etc, despite our 3pm wedding.

WLMS! You can have as many BM as you want but don't forget the costs involved multiplied by 8. It soon mounts up. It is easier to add additional BM's later on rather than to have to cut them out further along the line.

I'm having 8 BMs and we are only having around 40 guests. I don't think it's silly as they are all my best friends and it would be totally impossible just to choose few and my H2B is not even having a best man. Only thing would be the costs. I paid for my BMs dresses but they're paying for all their accessories (I want them to keep their style and personality and don't want them to look all the same). I think it's important that they don't look the same as eight women in same outfit and accessories would look silly to me. I think as it is your wedding and your day, you can do whatever you want. -Laura

I'm having 3 bridesmaids, My 2 best friends and my future SIL. I have a few other friends which I could have asked and when we first got engaged I was on such a engagement/wedding high that I wanted to ask the neighbours dog to be involved in the wedding!!!! Haha! If you're wondering about having 8 then maybe let the dust settle and think again in a month or so. They could be involved in other ways. My other friends will be doing a reading, one playing the harp (I'm so lucky I know her!!) and arranging other things in the lead up to the day. could you ask them to do this kind of thing. Otherwise sod it. Have 8 bridesmaids. There's no rules saying how many you can have. Maybe make sure your mum gets an extra special present she'll get RSI making 8 dresses!!!

Haha this is very true... I went to see a photographer and she had a pic of dog dressed up in the album.. gross!

It might be a bit crowded in the aisle if you are are having a church wedding and people may not be able to see you. However it's your choice. In the US it is quite common to have large numbers of BMs and groomsmen and I saw a group posing togerther for a fabulous photo in Florida. I also get orders for 6 to 8 BM necklace sets too. Add up the costs and the practicalities like getting them theree.

Personally it would be far too many for me (I'm having 3, had 4 at my first wedding) but this is your wedding. I agree with the others about considering the size of your guest list and how much space is available in the church/ceremony room.

Number of bridesmaids depends on so many things. I'd say for a big church wedding it's not too many, but for a 20 person registry office it's a bit OTT.

Can you afford all 8? With dresses and accessories and shoes and transport it all adds up. Or will they be willing to but their own shoes etc? Is there anything else you can do with your friends instead? Usher(ettes), readings, table hosts etc. or do you REALLY want 8 bridesmaids.

I think you should have as many as you want, provided that you can afford all of the things that go with it, such as make up, hair, shoes, gifts, etc. If you are able to do all of this, then have whoever you want up there with you on your big day. I certainly wouldn't, as a guest, think that you had too many...I would just assume that you had many good, close friends - which is a blessing.

If you are having a "big" wedding I see no problem at all, but I'd say keep it in proportion to the size of your day.

But to be honest, anything goes ?

Personally I might have the one friend who has grown up with you as BM number 4 but I'd probably not have all 8. Maybe find special roles such as readings, helping arrange your hen do and keep them totally involved but not as BMs. Apart from the costs, which would obviously be higher with so many BMs it's also really difficult to get all of them together for fittings, hair trials etc

I only had my 2 sisters but they both live miles away from me and organising them was an absolute nightmare!!

Thankyou all so much for your advice...and Laura it must just be a Laura thing ha!! I will be adding up whether we can afford it etc before I decide. We are very lucky as my friends have a big farm with lots of land so we are having a marquee there and having a church wedding so that has cut cost alot. We are having approx 75 people in the day and tops 200 at night x