Wedding Party Problems: I Don’t Have Anyone to Ask

Your bride tribe is supposed to be a group of some of your closest friends. But what if you don’t have any?

You’ve just said “YES” to the love of your life, and now you're jumping into wedding planning.

But it all comes to an abrupt halt when your fiancé asks who you want as your wedding party. Suddenly you realize you don’t have any best friends or they live a continent away and won’t be able to attend your wedding. When you run down a list of relatives who could fill the spots, no one is worth asking.

You may feel embarrassed, ashamed or frustrated.

We’re writing about this because other brides have been in this scenario and survived.

Here’s what you can do if you have no one to ask to be your bridesmaid.

Don’t have a wedding party

If your fiancé has a group of close friends, but you don’t — ask him if he’d consider foregoing the tradition of having a wedding party.

Weddings don’t have hard and fast rules. There’s nothing saying you must have bridesmaids and groomsmen.

If your future spouse doesn’t have a big group of friends either, it may make it easier to decide to skip out on a wedding party.

The bonus? You’ll save money since you won’t be buying gifts, dresses, make up and hair for a group of bridesmaids.

Be unconventional

Who says a close friend or relative (about the same age as you) has to fill the role? Like we mentioned, weddings don’t have any rules.

Ask your mother, grandmother or aunt to make up your wedding party. You could also have younger friends, family friends or relatives be your junior bridesmaids.

Some brides have asked their best guy friends to be a man-of-honor or bridesman.

The point of.a wedding party is to be a support system for you on your wedding day, and it doesn’t matter who it is or how old they are.

Tap into your fiancé’s network

If your significant other insists on having a wedding party or his groomsmen outnumbers your bride tribe — consider asking relatives on his side of the family to be a bridesmaid, maid of honor or matron of honor.

You could even ask one of his friend’s wives or girlfriends to step in for the role. You never know — you could be forging a special friendship.

Hire a bridesmaid

We’re not joking. You can actually hire a professional bridesmaid.

Bridesmaid For Hire is a company that provides bridesmaids for hire — who will give you unconditional support and be your personal assistant on your wedding day. The company has been around since 2014, and has helped more than 150 brides.

If you’re really stuck in a rut, why not pay for someone who will be there to help you on the most important day of your life. It might be better than dealing with a high-maintenance or aloof friend you’ve chosen as a bridesmaid.

You’re not the first bride to deal with this situation, and you definitely won’t be the last. While this may have been a reminder that you don’t have any close friends to make up your wedding party — don’t forget the most important thing: your best friend is the person you’re marrying.

Written By Vows & Forever Founder and Veteran Journalist Maria Cid. V&F is a wedding vows & speech writing service that also specializes in speech coaching and wedding timeline coordination