i have no one to be in my bridal party

The purpose of a bridal party isn't to help you plan the wedding or throw you a shower. The purpose of a bridal party is to stand with you on your wedding day and support you. Also, anyone can throw a bridal shower... aunts, FMIL, grandma, etc. So forget about having someone to plan things for you and picture this instead.... its your wedding day, you'll be walking down the aisle in 2 hours and you start to feel nervous... who do you picture there with you, comforting you? That's who should be in your bridal party.

Many people dont select a bridal party anymore. If you'd like your cousin to be one I would just ask. Is she young as in a junior bridesmaid? You could find a simple dress for her to wear that doesn't cost more than like $50. It doesn't have to be anything extravagant. And you can have your mom next to you if yall are really close! You shouldn't worry about bridal showers. They arent required and if someone wants to throw you one they'll figure it out.

Exactly, the purpose is to have people standing with you. Not about parties/gifts. Those may not come even if they were here for you. Think about what it is that you really want.

View Quoted Comment I didn’t mean to come off as if I just want them to plan things for me. But typically that comes with the title. I was a bridesmaid for my fiancé’s sister about a year ago, and we planned the whole shower. The only one I can really picture having with me is my mom, but she would be doing that anyway. I don’t picture myself with anyone because I don’t really have friends.

View Quoted Comment I didn’t mean for it to come off like that. I don’t care about parties or gifts because I am uncomfortable in groups and when receiving gifts.

View Quoted Comment My cousin is 19. I was thinking about asking her mom, my aunt, to be a bridesmaid because she’s like a second mom to me, but she just got engaged and I don’t want to throw that on her.

I dont have a bridal party. I am ok with that. I am trying to figure out the friend thing though
... did you have a falling out, never keep in touch? If my best friend was getting married, I dont think id let distance get in the way. Good luck and congratulations on your special day!

View Quoted Comment We had a bit of a falling out a few years ago. A few years after I moved to Jersey, our of nowhere she blocked me on all social media and stopped talking to me. I had no idea why. I reached out to her a year later and she said she felt like I didn’t need her anymore because I had my fiancé and I lived far away. Mind you she had a serious boyfriend at the time. We talked it through and made amends, it just hasn’t been the same. She can be a bit flaky too, so I don’t know if she would make the trip up here, let alone be a bridesmaid.

2 out of the 3 girls in my bridal party live far away, and the 1 that lives close is really not into doing wedding stuff (I knew that before I asked her but didn’t care). I personally don’t care if they can’t help me with anything leading up to the day, as long as they are there with me at the wedding!

View Quoted Comment What’s your plan for bridesmaids dresses for your friends from afar? I worry about that for myself honestly

View Quoted Comment My bridesmaids all ordered their dresses online. Or you could send them a swatch of the color you like and tell them what you want them to get and let them shop

View Quoted Comment Thank you!

View Quoted Comment I’m choosing a color from David’s bridal, and they can all go to any David’s bridal near them and get a dress in the exact color

View Quoted Comment That’s a great idea!

View Quoted Comment Yeah it should work out! For me at least it works really well that none of them are helping me too much with the planning process because I’m a bit of a perfectionist and control freak when it comes to stuff like this so I actually enjoy doing everything myself. And my MOH (despite that she lives far away) is always there for me to bounce ideas off of!

You're not obligated to have a large bridal party, or even a bridal party at all. A few recent weddings that I went to had only a MOH and best man, no one else in the wedding party. It was lovely and intimate and didn't look out of place whatsoever. I can also definitely relate to what your saying, I feel like I just don't have many close or local friends at this point in my life. I decided to fall back on my family and maybe FH's family. I asked my sister to be my MOH (we're close), and 2 of my cousins to be bridesmaids (we're friendly but not "close"). We'll see how many people I "need" based on the number of groomsmen FH wants (but whatever with that too). If I want a few more people, I'm considering asking some of my FH's female friends or his sister or female cousins. Your wedding party can be whatever you make it

Honestly, I have no bridal party because I didn't want to deal with the drama of it. I don't think you need one and if you don't like to have attention of opening gifts and are uncomfortable in groups, especially considering that you'd be the center of attention. Also 19 is not too young for your cousin, unless you wanted to do something that she would not be able to do (age-wise). Just stick to your plan, it'll be easier and not cause any headaches.