How big is too big???

If he really wants 7 you do not need to have 7. There is no rule saying bridal party sides must be even. I hve 4 girls and he only has one guy.

Just consider the costs before you decide. Are you going to pay for anything for them (hair, makeup, dresses)? What are you going to get them as gifts?

There is no right answer here! It is up to you and your FH who you want to be in the wedding party. If you don't want to have a huge wedding party maybe just have 6 on each side since that seems to be the number you had that you really wanted and then the other two or three guys your FH has that are close to him can be ushers or something. You can always have anyone else close to you attend other wedding related events of course (bachelorette + bachelor parties, shower etc.) but they just won't be in the actual wedding as bridesmaids/groomsmen. I wouldn't stress about it! The number of groomsmen/bridesmaids also doesn't have to be equal, you could have 6 and him 9 if you want- or have your younger siblings be flower girls/ring bearers/jr bridesmaids and they can stand on your side.

Have you asked him why he wants aaaall of them in the wedding party?

Can he include some of them as ushers?

If we couldn't definitively say that we would have these people in our lives in 5 years (if not 10), we didn't ask them to be IN the wedding.

Are we talking length or girth?

Sorry, I had to

LOLOL.

They don't all have to be in the BP; consider that (in my area at least) each bout is 20.00 and each BM bouquet is at least 45.00 (and that is the bare minimum). Then there are gifts, the rehearsal dinner; it totally adds up and honestly, just keeping track of that many people will add to your stress exponentially.

I'm seeing more and more BP's with 1 or two on each side (and they don't have to be even...)

The number of bridesmaids and groomsmen doesn't have to be even...however, I totally understand wanting symmetry and not wanting everyone standing at the front of the church looking "lopsided" because there are twice as many groomsmen as bridesmaids. You and your man should probably have a little chit chat about your views for the wedding and your attendants. Everyone else who has posted has brought up great points! The more people in your wedding party, the more cost it will be to you (boutineers, bouquets, wedding party gifts, if you are going to supply their jewelry and/or offer to pay for hair and makeup, etc.). There are other non-groomsmen roles that his guy friends could fill such as being ushers, doing a reading, or even see if one of them would be a "personal attendant" who oversees everything the day of your wedding and can make any emergency errands if needed so that you aren't frazzled before you walk down the aisle. And just remember that you don't need to give every family member or friend a role in your wedding. Just that they were invited to celebrate your wedding with you should be enough of an honor.

We had a MOH & Best Man only. Easy, no stress at all.

Were having an uneven number my fiance is super close to alot of guys and has been for ten years so he will have 9 and i will have 7 i found myself wanted the same number however i refused to just choose someone for that reason so we will have an odd number and im fine with that

U can have how ever many you guys want. There is no rule that say u couldnt. Plus is yall wedding so u can have 20 each if u wanted lol but u get what im saying

I say, it's your day..I have 8 girls and 4 guys. I know it's a lot, but I have a tight group of girls, my sister and his sister.

The benefit is that my shower was really nice because they split the cost of everything.

Our engagement was only a year. You hvae lots of time. Is your FH aware of the cost of having a large bridal party?

Like others have said, you don't need an equal number on both sides.

I was unaware that I didnt have to have matching bridesmaids and groomsmen. I wanted it to look even, and didnt want groomsmen walking down alone. He wanted 7 groomsmen so, I scrapped up 7 girls. Some are family that I'm not too close to, but hey, they're family. (One cousin who was kicked out).

I wish I didnt match the number of ppl he had on his side. Everything is much more expensive. Gifts, the limo has to be bigger to accomodate etc. Sigh, all things I found out AFTER lol.

As others said, you don't have to have an equal BP, but I have OCD so I needed mine to be equal to my FH's. We now have 8 BM, 8 GM, 2 FG, and 1 RB and 3 ushers. It's going to cost me $700 in gifts for my bridesmaids alone. Really consider the cost of the size of your BP before making choices.

FHs cousin got married last August... she had 14 BMs and 14 GM plus a FG and two ushers. In her group photos... you can't even see the faces of people because the photographer had to be so far away.

Not to mention the processional literally took like 8 minutes.

14 is too many!

Use your budget to determine how many you can afford to have in your bridal party.

The "sides" don't have to be even either... It's about having up there WHO YOU WANT to be up there - not what looks good, or balanced, or matching up to the other side....

I did the huge bridal party with my first wedding and it was way too much. I would do what you can to cut it back if at all possible. It gets really expensive when you're talking gifts, rehearsal dinner, limo etc.. Reconsider and I definitely wouldn't worry about sides being even.. The more bm's the more drama!!!

Very good advice ladies thanks so much, I have some new things to think about

Keep it smaller rather than larger. To tag onto Celia's point, you will need a bigger limo too. $$$$$

We have 7 on each side, it's as big as I'd go. I couldn't imagine any of them not being in our wedding but some days I wish it was 3-5 just for time and picture taking time sake. But I wasnt worried about $$ or limos, wer driving a few of our own cars and I found great deals on a few small gifts and handmade some others.