Choosing Your Wedding Party

At this point in our lives, Tyler and I have made a lot of friends. We grew up in the same small town, so naturally we have some of the same friends. After high school, I got my undergrad degree at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA and then my MBA at Willamette University in Salem, OR. I met amazing people at both schools and many of these people are still really good friends. Tyler went to college for a year and then became a lineman apprentice. He is more outgoing than I am and has made many friends  as well.

So far, I have been a bridesmaid for 2 of my cousins, my sister-in-law, a high school friend, a college friend, and the maid-of-honor for another high school friend. Before we were engaged I joked that I didn’t want to get engaged until I had been in 27 weddings so I could bridesmaids like Katherine Heigl in 27 Dresses. Realistically, I was not going to wait for 21 more weddings!

With a lot of friends from different stages of life and a big family, it’s hard to narrow down just a few people. Tyler, my fiance, was in a similar situation so we decided to have 10 people each! Some people think we are crazy, but I know three women who each had 8 bridesmaids.

Here’s my lineup of girls from different times in my life:

Karissa, step-sister that I’ve known since she was born  |  Maid-of-Honor

Clare, Tyler’s sister + my friend of 10 years  |  Bridesmaid

Katriina, friend since 2nd grade & always made me feel like part of the family  |  Bridesmaid

Karisa, friend who I did every school activity/sport with  |  Bridesmaid

Taryn, friend since 5th grade who is my opposite |  Bridesmaid

Whitney, friend since 5th grade who I spent almost every weekend with junior year of high school   |  Bridesmaid

Dena, friend from PLU + Tyler’s roomie of 3 years + my roomie of 1 year  |  Bridesmaid

Nicole, friend from PLU + roomie of two years + Tyler’s friend’s girlfriend  |  Bridesmaid

Hannah, friend from PLU + RA at PLU  |  Bridesmaid

Jamie, friend from Willamette University + roomie of 2 years  |  Bridesmaid

There’s no magic number for a wedding party and there’s no number too many. Just do what you want! After all, it’s your day. Basically, I don’t care if people think we are crazy for having 10 each. More people to celebrate and help with the wedding. 🙂

I use www.theknot.com for their checklists, articles, and website to help make wedding planning easier:

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