5 bridesmaids and 5 groomsmen

Picture "balance" doesn't matter. You want the people next to you who support you the most on your special day and you in the decision you are making to start this new chapter. If those 5 people are the people that come to mind, leave it at that. It will save you more time, money, and less frustration in the long run.

Yes, and you should make sure to mention that reason to the sixth person when you ask. "I don't love you enough to think of you originally, but I want my pictures to look pretty so will you fill this space?"

See how ridiculous that sounds?

I think you are on to something! After all, these pics look so unbalanced!

Beyond the fact that you should only ask the people you truly want in your wedding to be there... here are a few things to consider.

1) The ONLY pictures that will be "off balance" will be you + your party OR him + his party. All together, just them, or even just pictures of the two parties together, will all be in balance. Plus, if you add your flower girl in there, you're all good again!

2) Photographers are professionals. They know how to balance a picture to make it so it's not super noticeable. I'm MEGA into symmetry and need things to be balanced, but I have 5 because that's who I want there. I talked to my photographer about this and she told me all the different types of shots they can do to make it less obvious that I went with an odd number.. but that she'd also go for close ups and group shots because she thinks the picture will be cute enough that I won't even notice the imbalance.

Hope this eases your concern!

I would be very offended if I was asked to be a bridesmaid simply to even out the numbers

Picking BMs and GM should be about picking the people you're closest to and want standing by your side on your wedding day, not about symmetry for pictures. If you have 5 friends you want to honor, stick with 5. Don't pick an extra person just because you think a handful of pictures might look better with an extra person. Keep in mind that a good photographer knows how to handle this and will set up shots where an odd number of people will look perfect.

We have 7 each on our sides but i think including the bride/groom in pictured will help even it out. i had a hard enough time finding 7. I wouldn't go and find an 8th girl just to even out my photos