Bridal party after 40?

I'm 53 and just got married for the first time. I had my sister as my MOH and my two lifelong best friends and his niece as my bridesmaids. What's holding you back from wanting a bridal party? If you had a couple of bridesmaids they could help your daughter plan all the festivities.

There’s many brides who are 40+ so age is irrelevant. Do whatever makes you happy. I’m 40+ and having a regular group of bridesmaids who are part of a tight knit friend group…no in laws or anyone else out of obligation who has no business being part of it. Being older makes you more conscientious of whom you are actually close to vs pleasing others so you aren’t happy so you aren’t as likely to pick random people for popularity reasons like if you were at prom.


I’m also aware that many women don’t want to be bridesmaids in general and very few will get offended if they are not asked because they prefer the guest role where the only responsibility is to have fun.

Mid 40’s here. We chose not to have bridal parties to make things less complicated when it comes to planning, gifts, personalities, etc. I don’t feel it’s frowned upon if you choose to have them.
Do what makes you happy.

Like everyone says, this is a personal decision that comes down to what you want. Do you genuinely not want a bridal party? Completely fine; they are not necessary. Do you want to ask your friends but worry that they won't want to be bridesmaids in their 40s? That is certainly possible, but if they are good friends you should let them choose (and accept any declines with grace).

But ask for this: "...my MOH is my 23 year old daughter and I think it would be a lot for her to plan bridal activities on her own." That's not a reason to ask more people to be in your party (if you didn't want them already). Attendants are not actually responsible for planning any bridal activities that they don't want to/can't afford. Your daughter, simply as your daughter or your MOH, wouldn't be on the hook for hosting parties and planning events for your wedding, no matter what her age.

Ummm, 65 here and doing it again for the 3rd time....... and hell yeah I'm having bridal attendants! Granted, only 2 but still ..... I say go with your gut and have as many or as few as you want. As most people like to point out, it's YOUR wedding (and your FH, too, of course )

I’m 42 & this will be my 2nd marriage. I have a bridal party consisting of my best friend (MOH); my fsil; and my 2 daughters (ages 13 & 9). I absolutely love that I’ve gotten to include my daughters & they’ve been so happy to be included.


The bridal party doesn’t really do a lot in terms of planning. Mostly they just give support & show up when they need to.

I'm over 40 and this is my second marriage. I would have loved to make my daughter my MOH, but like you, it would be too much for her. My two best friends are my MOH, my daughter and my fiance's daughter are bridesmaids, and my nieces are the flower girls. keeping it simple.

Age is not relevant. You can have attendants at any age.


But don't add people on hoping they'll throw you extra parties. Their only obligation is to show up in the dress

Hi! I just got engaged too and I am 43! I am having 4 bridesmaids and a matron of honor and one maid of honor ! So go for it girl ! Age is not an issue. We all deserve a beautiful wedding.

I also have been debating this, friends in late 30s/early 40s — do you all think there is any difference to calling them attendants/bridal party but not official “bridesmaids” or is that really the same thing?

View Quoted Comment Most people don’t care. Attendants (and wedding/bridal party which is the same thing) covers both genders together. The bride’s attendants are still called bridesmaids and the groom’s attendants are still called groomsmen.

Your wedding ….your way. I am only having my sister as my MoH.

I am 40 this year—41 the weekend before the wedding!
I am having 2 bridesmaids and 1 maid of honor. We are opting for small and simple- but I want the experience! For FH - he will just have best man and my son who will be doing a sand ceremony 😍🥰

41 here. First wedding. No wedding party but that hasn't stopped my friends from planning parties, bachelorette etc for me.

I am 46 (gulp, how did that happen?!) and I decided to have my two best friends and my sister be co-MOH's. it worked out well because I didn't have a lot of expectations other than they show up to the wedding, but they worked together to throw a really lovely bachelorette party, and I was able to lean on them all at different times when things came up, and it played to their strengths.

There was no way to choose between them, and I didn't want to have bridesmaids and the whole deal, although with a daughter of my own and 4 nieces, we wound up with a ton of junior bridesmaids.

I say you do you. Think about what you would want to ask for help with from attendants, and if it seems overwhelming for your daughter and you can think of other people who you would truly want to have as attendants, go for it. If not, then don't worry about it. And talk to your daughter and see what she thinks too!

I'm 43, first wedding. My sister is my matron of honor, and other than my FH's niece and nephew as flower girl and ring bearer, that's it for the wedding party. Various friends have already talked about ideas for a bachelorette (VERY low-key!).

I didn’t have a bridal party and I didn’t have a MOH. My mom, grandma, sister and soon to be mother in law and soon to be sister in law threw me a bridal shower