He wants groomsmen, I don't want bridesmaids.

Is this something that can be compromised on, or is it a his way/my way situation? It makes me uncomfortable thinking about having bridesmaids, but I don't want to hurt his feelings over it. He isn't really expressing any reasons other than he thinks he should, so it's hard for me to take it too seriously because it seems he's just being swayed by tradition.

What do I do???

Aren't most things in weddings swayed my tradition? Why do you want to wear a white dress? Why do you want to walk down an aisle? Because they feel special and important, just like having groomsmen do to him. There is nothing that says you have to have bridesmaids if he has groomsmen, there is also nothing that says you have to pick a maid of honor. I would try to compromises and be happy that your FH is thinking about the wedding and wants to have input. Don't have bridesmaids, don't pick a maid of honor, whatever it may be, but I think you can make it work.

I was in the same situation. I finally gave in and now he's seeing my point of the headaches it can cause. I don't know how to compromise with this though.

We are only having one each. That was as many as I was willing to have, and he was good with that, although I'm sure he would have asked more if we were having a larger wedding and I was into the idea of a big bridal party.

Just this week I recall looking at a BAM thread where there were no bridesmaids and 3 groomsmen. I've also seen photos of a wedding that had 3 bridesmaids and no groomsmen. It can be however you want it to be. If he wants groomsmen and you don't want bridesmaids, why not just go with it?

I think he needs to realize that if you're adamantly against something (and for good reason) that he should respect that. Your wedding is about the two of you, not about taking pictures with friends. If he can't articulate exactly why he wants groomsmen, then is it really worth making his future wife uncomfortable on what should be the happiest day of your lives?

You can always have 1 or 2 of his guys stand on your side.

We had a BM and a MOH -- that's all, nice & simple.

My friend's grandparents felt the same way, so she had no bridesmaids and he had 7 groomsmen. The pictures from their wedding are SPECTACULAR.

You dont HAVE to have a maid of honor. I do plenty of weddings where there isnt one

I felt the same way, did not want a bridal party but he did. So WE compromised – that is important, compromise, we agreed to 4 people on each side, although he could’ve went for more. But that is what compromise is about. Like other say, don’t pick a maid of honor. And as far as dresses choose one from a store like macys or something they can order online it will be a lot easier. Good luck

Is the only reason you don't want bridesmaids because you don't want to pick a MOH? If so , that's silly, I didn't have a MOH for the same reason (I felt equally close to each of my bridesmaids and didn't like the idea of having a "leader)...and also your BMs shouldn't be expected to plan stuff for you.

If its the dress thing stressing you out, choose a color and length and tell your girls they can choose any dress they want. If they don't get a dress, don't stress over it, just tell them upfront, if you don't get a dress I can't have you in the bridal party.

If you still don't want to have BMs, that is still okay, your FH can still have his groomsmen. I had 5 bridesmaids and my hubby had 3 groomsmen.

Bridal parties do not have to be even, and that includes only males or only females is okay.

Happy friday ladies!!!

Agree with all of the above. Maybe just have 1 or 2? We are each having two and not picking a "best man" or "MOH" and it hasn't been stressful at all.

We were in the same position. I wanted to compromise and just have a MOH and BM. Nope. It was 5 and 5 and then he added 2 more GMs. So I wanted 0 and now we have 12. They are great, they really are, but there is just inevitable small drama which I would have rather spared, and the costs are high. Bouquets, bouts, gifts... We could have probably saved close to $1000 had we not had a bridal party.