Getting Bridal Party Together

As someone who has been a bridesmaid 14 times I would advise you to avoid a group chat. There’s nothing worse than being stuck in a bridesmaid group chat for a year!

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That seems fair! I feel like I have to go over everything with a fine tooth comb and make sure that I at least see everything before hand, lol.

I would ask them each individually what their budget is and then plan from the lowest one you're given. It can be very uncomfortable to discuss your budget situation with multiple people, especially if they are vastly different.

I sent my bridal party probably 3 emails. I picked out and bought dresses for them, and then gave them info on hair and makeup/shower/etc. There was nothing they needed to coordinate on.

Group text worked really well for when my best friend was getting married. Super convenient since we were all over the US

I'd 100% discuss budget privately with each person. It's a super awkward situation for people to talk budgets together if they have a lower budget than other people, and can be embarrassing. I honestly found it easier to do all of this myself, there was NO way I could get 9 girls together especially with some being out of town or out of state. I consulted each girl text or phone call on dress budget, then decided on a color/fabric/length from Azazie and let them all order their own dresses. My fiance called/texted his groomsmen on suit rental cost and went with GenTux so they all order online. I've been a bridesmaid twice. Once I went bridesmaid dress shopping but 3 of the girls didn't go and the other one I couldn't make it.

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Lol! Same thing I was thinking, but group chats seems to be everyone's go to. I'm more of a direct person and if it's about something important then, I'd rather say it sitting down than through a text message.

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I agree with PP's that if you're that focused on the details of your bm's hair and makeup and shoes then you need to be paying for it. It's totally fine to give a color or something for shoes, but typical for them to pick their own. With hair, everyone is so different in terms of what they're comfortable with and able to do with their hair I would find it very odd if a bride needed to "approve" my hairstyle.

View Quoted Comment I’m not saying don’t use text I’m saying just text people individually rather that in a group text.

I have this pure hatred for group chats and texts lol. My ladies do as well. So instead, we actually made a Facebook group with all of the info. It's the same concept, but a lot less annoying. Ha. And as the admin, I could see who saw each post, so if someone said something important and I saw that one or two of the ladies didn't read it, I could reach out to them directly without having to bug everyone else. It was super easy and it really helped them all get to know each other a little better as well.

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Thanks Lady! This helps! I'll probably utilize more of the email than the group chat. I have a wedding planner/coordinator who is also helping to get all the girls together to collaborate on my bridal shower and bachelorette party.

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Thanks Chelsea!

Maybe a group text or Facebook group message with the bridal party or groomsmen? to discuss plans to meet or make a private event with them on Facebook with the details

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You're totally right! Reaching out to them individually will help to make sure you get answers from each person.

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Yeah, definitely something to take into consideration. My BM's are more on the wilder side. So it's more like making sure they don't have red or colored hair and shoes that are 8 inches high that they can't walk in, lol.

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Gotcha! Thanks for that clarification

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Great idea! I didn't think to make an events page.

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Haha I get what you mean and why that wouldn't be your first choice! Overall though, you picked these girls because you love and want to honor them - including their wildness One way to mitigate the shoe debacle is to pick floor length dresses - then it literally doesn't matter what they wear because no one will see it! I would still leave their hair choices to them though!

My wedding party and FH's guys are all over the place so all getting together was impossible. We each started a group chat on phones and have been going back and forth from the get go. It has been a lot of minor issues (ended up having a bridesmaid bail out at 5 months out from the wedding) but for the most part it has been pretty good. Budget wasn't an issue with our groups though because all the guys are renting a tux so that was on them and they had a lot of time to save (rentals were $150) and my girls all got to choose their dresses as long as it was the navy color I chose so they could pick something in their price range so i think that has helped. Our biggest challenge has been organizing the bachelorette weekend and getting a final head count because there are out of state people and I can't get a solid count locked in because people don't know what they can afford but people don't want to book a place to stay until they know how much we are spending (which is completely understandable) I say if you can't get everyone together group messages via text or social media platforms are the best.

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Definitely! I love them and I'm sure they wouldn't do anything that makes me uneasy, lol

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Thanks Cassi! This helped alot!