My Non-Bridal Party

June 16, 2009 | No Comments

The Wedding Co.’s Bride in Residence is Kellie Smith, she and her boyfriend, Glenn, (she hates the moniker fiancé) will be married this coming August at the Distillery District. Kellie also writes her own blog, The Bespoke Bride.

We do not have bridal party. It was one of the first things we knew we’d do differently when we got engaged. I know, sacrilege.

Maybe I’m jaded from hearing one too many bridesmaids lament the money they spent on a dress they’ll never wear again, or stressing about the multiple events that they need to plan and/or attend. We just felt that it would be easier for our friends to not be a part of a bridal party. And to be honest, a formal wedding party just wouldn’t fit with our ceremony or reception. Don’t get me wrong, I do know there is an honour in being asked to be an attendant, but the thought of having a friend “attend” to us just didn’t seem…well fair, or modern.

It turns out friends want to help, regardless of lacking the MOH title. We certainly didn’t want to exclude anyone from the fun parts of the planning process just without them having to shoulder any responsibility or need to invest any money. Rather than the traditional duties our bridesmaids and groomsmen would have felt compelled to participate in, many friends have helped in multiple ways: they have listened to ideas we were tossing around, shared their insight from their own weddings and even proofread our invitation copy. My girlfriend came over one night to help me assemble our invitations over a bottle of wine. {In hindsight, the wine probably wasn’t the smartest move, as a few incorrectly stuffed envelopes proved, but it was a lot of fun and great way to spend a few hours catching up!}

On the day of the wedding, our ceremony will be mostly about family so to celebrate with our friends, I’ll be hosting a drop-in for the girls and the BF will do the same for his friends.