The tradition of choosing your own bridesmaids has a checkered past. Even today, being a bridesmaid can mean both a full-time job, or active involvement in wedding planning, and simply coming to the wedding. Whatever role the bridesmaids play in your wedding, it's important to spell it out and define it so that the bridesmaids' involvement is productive and enjoyable. And the myth that you will necessarily have to wear unflattering and uniform dresses is more of a misunderstanding than a tradition .

From necessity to honor

Historically, bridesmaids have had different meanings in different times and cultures. They played both the role of witnesses, being present at the time of the marriage, and were the maids of the bride, who help the bride get dressed on the wedding day. The number of bridesmaids has also been linked to the social status of the family. The more bridesmaids, the richer and higher-ranking the family. Also, bridesmaids were usually young and unmarried women, they could also be young girls.

this tradition - to choose bridesmaids, has been preserved to this day and something from all the above has been transformed into it. Bridesmaids tend to be active helpers both in the wedding planning process and on the wedding day. However, more and more often professional help is involved in wedding planning and the role of bridesmaids becomes more symbolic, it is rather an honor. Sometimes a bridesmaid's only job is to show up on the wedding day.

In Latvia, the tradition of choosing ushers - an experienced couple who will both help organize a wedding and introduce the new couple to their future life together, has taken root. However, this does not prevent you from choosing bridesmaids as well. Even more, bridesmaids will make the work of ushers easier.

In addition, relatives and friends are usually happy to be involved in organizing a wedding . However, before involving girlfriends and relatives, it is good to think about how well they will be able to work with each other and find out if they will have enough free time to get involved in wedding organization . You can always ask for help and advice from a professional wedding planner, who can delegate certain tasks to the bridesmaids, as well as monitor whether everything is going according to plan. In this way, you will honor and involve the women close to you, but you will save yourself the worry about whether they have thought of everything and divided the responsibilities between them.

Same outfits

The fact that all the bridesmaids should be dressed exactly the same on the wedding day is a rather strange assumption. such a setting arose with the industrial revolution, when it became possible to quickly produce several identical dresses , and the commercialization of weddings. Yes, bridesmaid dresses have always been relatively similar, kept in shades that correspond to the symbolism of the specific culture and time. At times, even the dresses of the bride and bridesmaids were not much different. However, bridesmaids dresses were not identical because they were rarely made specifically for weddings. Often the bridesmaids arrived each in their best dress. If the dress was sewn especially for a wedding, then with the idea that it will be able to be worn in the future at various festive events. It was the same with the wedding dress, it seemed rather absurd to sew a dress only for one wearing.

Although nowadays brides are allowed to sew or buy a dress to wear only on the wedding day, bridesmaid dresses are the ones that you should think about whether you will be able to wear them in the future. This is one of the reasons not to choose the same dresses for everyone. The second reason is that every woman is different. A wedding is a special event where everyone wants to look stunning, so bridesmaids will be happy to be able to choose silhouettes and shades that suit them. Of course, you have to think about the overall look, but this issue can also be solved, for example, by inviting a wedding stylist who will allow each of the bridesmaids to highlight their personality, but will also make sure that the overall look is harmonious.

Search for bridesmaid dresses here: WEDDING DRESSES / EVENING DRESSES

What to give to the bridesmaids

Being a bridesmaid is already an honor, but it is also a responsibility that requires some financial and time investment. Therefore, it is only natural that the bride wants to thank them also in the form of a gift. It's great if the wedding gift is something meaningful and useful, and is a lovely memento from the wedding. If the bridesmaids use one of their existing dresses or buy new ones themselves, then the bride can give them some accessories that will refine the existing dresses and fit into the overall wedding style. such gifts, which will be useful on the wedding day, should of course be given before the wedding. A good time for this is, for example, a date night before the wedding.

It never hurts to talk everything out, so that there are no misunderstandings and that preparing for the wedding itself is like an adventure and a pleasant experience. When invited to be bridesmaids, girlfriends tend to throw themselves wholeheartedly into organizing weddings and related events, such as bachelorette parties. However, maybe the bride doesn't want a bachelorette party at all. By making this clear, the bride will save her friends both the effort and the money invested. In addition, this does not mean that you should give up the opportunity to spend time with your girlfriends, on the contrary, the bride can take the initiative and organize an evening in honor of her bridesmaids, thus saying thank you.

Author of the article: RENĀTE BERGA

Photo: JO DARLING / TAMARA GRUNER PHOTOGRAPHY