Adding Bridesmaids... Is it too late to ask?

. We were engaged in May and are getting married in November of this year so it's been a pretty whirlwind and super accelerated engagement. So I have two friends that I want to add to my bridal party. One of them I asked earlier and she declined because she had other weddings to attend around the same time; now she's saying she can. The other person I just recently became closer than we have before. She has been really helpful in my planning process without me even asking and continues to do so. She helped me finally find my wedding dress. The women that I want standing next to me is not just about lifelong connections. These are women I know who willl support me, encourage, and pray for me going forward in and though my marriage. They've been so helpful through this process that I'd like to ask them to be a bridesmaid but I don't want it to seem like a "sympathy" ask. How do I do that without it making it seem that way and is it too late?