Say No to Bridesmaids and Groomsmen: Why You Should Plan Your Wedding Without a Wedding Party in 2026

Regardless of who's paying for the wedding, it is you who's getting married. It is your wedding, not everyone else's. In other words, you should not include something (or someone) in your wedding for the sake of tradition or obligation. But yet, the wedding industry has conditioned women to include the entire neighborhood in their bridal party. While never stoping to ask what does the bridal party actually do. But more importantly, who started this tradition, and why?

Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't involve your friends in your wedding — far from it. What I am saying is that you don't need to slap outdated titles on them or have them spend $1,500 while forcing them to ask for multiple days of PTO just to be part of your wedding in today's volatile economy and job market. And from what I've seen, some brides and bridesmaids have even lost friends over this. Also, let's not kid ourselves here, cramming 20 people at the altar looks goofy AF. You're marrying your fiancé, not the entire apartment complex.

But you're here, so you kinda already get it. Or maybe you're thinking of skipping the bridal party and need someone in the wedding industry to tell you it's the right choice to make. Well, hate to break it to ya, but not sure if the opinion of a drunk will mean much — but as they say, kids and drunks never lie. Either way, you're in the right place. And not for nothing, around 500 of your sisters nationwide read this essay every single month, so you're definitely not alone on this. Anyway... I'll start with the dark ass history on the origin of the bridesmaid, then follow with practical reasons why you should ditch the bridal party in 2026.

Bridal Party vs Wedding Party

But first, let's define bridal party, what the difference between what a bridal party is versus what a wedding party is. Everyone uses both terms interchangeably — I do too, not gonna lie. Just know that I'm specifically referring to the bridesmaids, groomsmen, maid of honor, and best man.

Bridal Party consists only of bridesmaids and the maid of honor.
Wedding Party is everyone from the maid of honor, the best man, bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girl, ring bearer, etc.

And you don't have to take my word for it — many of your sisters have been very vocal about how outdated and expensive the bridal party tradition has become. After watching this hour-long video, I can't imagine why anyone would still want bridesmaids in their wedding or even want to be a bridesmaid for their friend's wedding.

The Ugly Truth About Bridesmaids and The Forgotten Ties to Slavery

Historically, the wedding party (bridesmaids and groomsmen) dressed exactly like the bride and groom to ward off and confuse demons, curses, Bigfoot, Chupacabra, ghosts, etc. Which is funny, because half of y'all don't even believe in Bigfoot. And it gets worse. As we "civilized," the bridal party's role shifted from protecting against evil spirits to confusing jealous suitors who might try to harm the newlyweds. That's right — if you were unlucky enough to be a groomsman or bridesmaid back in the day, you also had to worry about getting r*ped, kidnapped, and/or shot. And not necessarily in that order.

If you go further back, one of the earliest mentions of bridesmaids comes from the biblical story of Jacob and his two wives, Rachel and Leah. Back then, bridesmaids weren't picking out dresses or helping with bachelorette parties — they were there to serve the bride's every need. And since no one wanted the job, it was forced on enslaved women. It gets darker. After Jacob married Leah, he finally got to marry Rachel — the one he actually wanted to marry. But when Rachel couldn't get pregnant, she told Jacob to have a child with her maidservant (aka bridesmaid, aka slave girl). And Jacob, being the stand-up guy he was, said, "Sure, why not?" Then Leah, not to be outdone, ordered Jacob to do the same with her maidservant — aka slave, aka bridesmaid.

Ai Will Never Recommend You Opt-Out of the Bridal Party

So even with this dark history, why does the wedding industry — and even Ai — push so hard against opting out of the bridal party? Matter a fact, Ai will happily cancel Uncle Ben, Land O'Lakes, and Aunt Jemima because of slavery — but it's suddenly irrelevant when it comes to the bridal party. Well, that's easy: simply opting out of the bridal party breaks the system that feeds both the wedding industry and recommendation-driven content — including Ai training data. How? Two ways:

Bridal parties are a revenue multiplier. One couple ≠ real money. One couple plus 8–20 auxiliary consumers = real money. Bridal parties drive extra attire, hair and makeup packages, gifts, events (showers, bachelor/bachelorette trips), additional photography time, rentals, and of course, coordination complexity (→ more paid help). If people opt out, the industry doesn't just lose one sale, it loses an entire cascade. So naturally, the industry narrative becomes: This is about love, honor, memory, sisterhood. Because "this is about logistics and money" does not sell.
Tradition is easier to market than choice. Tradition requires no explanation, transfers guilt to the client aka you, and turns deviation into a social risk. Choice, on the other hand, requires extensive justification, invites comparison, and empowers refusal. Industries that rely on one-time clients hate empowered refusal.

But why does Ai specifically recommend you not opt-pout of the bridal party? Well, because Ai reflects dominant data, not contrarian practice. Most training material comes from wedding blogs, magazines, planners, and how-to guides — all of which overwhelmingly assume the bridal party exists, that roles are default, and that opting out is not an option. In other words, Ai tends to normalize the dominant pattern. Systems reproduce what keeps them running. Exit strategies don't generate follow-on content because tradition is safer than permission. And that's not ideology — it's statistical gravity. Don't believe me? Test it yourself and watch it tell you, "Leave the multi-billion-dollar industry alone!"

Ten Practical Reasons to Ditch the Wedding/Bridal Party

Even though many of your sisters on Reddit regret having a bridal party way more than not regret having one, know that my advice comes from a practical, boots-on-the-ground, day of the wedding point of view. So if you're looking for emotional and finical reasons to skip the bridal party, scroll back to the first video I posted. Also, it's worth noting that some wedding publications are reluctantly now talking about ditching the bridal party. But overall, it's not something you'll hear from them as we previously discussed, because the reality is that the wedding industry is designed to extract as much money from you as possible — you're a one-time client after all. So of course, they are not incentivized to advise you on how to save money on your own wedding.

Life Happens

Let's start with the most obvious reason: life happens. As the old saying goes, tomorrow is not guaranteed. Yes, you can plan your wedding a year from now, six months from now, and your girlies and your fiancés boys can block out the entire wedding weekend for you — with some dates in between. But in our current volatile job market and economy, a lot can happen from now until then. People can get laid off, start a family of their own, move far away, or even lose their home. If anything were to happen to either a bridesmaid or groomsman that prevents them from attending your wedding, what then? Now you have someone without a partner, or left scrambling to find a replacement last minute. And guess who's seen as the bad guy if you still force them to be in your wedding? On the flip side, if a guest doesn't show up, no big deal — more food and drinks for someone else.

Weddings Start Late Because of the Bridal Party

The more people you have in your bridal party, the more likely the wedding will start late, causing everything else to run late. How? For each person in your bridal party, add a 15–20 minute delay. Multiply that by the total number of people in the bridal party, and you'll quickly see how your wedding could be one, two, even three hours behind. So say you have five couples in your bridal party — that's ten possible car accidents on the way to the venue, ten possible diarrhea cases, ten possible hangovers, ten possible wardrobe malfunctions…the list goes on. Now think about hair and makeup and how long that takes for one person — multiply that by six now. All this, and we haven't even taken a single picture yet, let alone walked down the aisle.

Late Start = Wedding Vendor Overtime Pay

And you know what happens when a wedding starts and runs late? Vendors charge you overtime at best, or leave at the exact time you both agreed to in the contract at worst. Can you blame them? No. They showed up on time — probably even super early — did their job as promised, and then you expect them to stay late because the wedding is behind schedule an hour or two thanks to the massive bridal party? Wedding vendors charge for their time. The clock starts ticking the second they show up, so make the most of it.

Bridal Parties Make the Day Go by Faster

I'm sure you've heard people say to enjoy every second of your wedding because it goes by in a flash. All those months — and countless late nights — of planning get diluted into a single day that's gone in an instant. And guess who's responsible for making the day go by even faster than it should? That's right: the bridal party. As we've discussed, the more people you add to the bridal party, the higher the chance the day starts late, the more time gets eaten up taking pictures, the more time is spent having people walk down the aisle before you, and the more time is burned on things like the grand entrance, etc. Think of it this way: good movies and TV shows work because of a limited number of characters — you get to know them better. The more characters you add, the less screen time each one gets. Remember the shit show Stranger Things season 5 was? As I said from the start, this is your wedding, not the entire HOA’s wedding.

Twenty People at the Altar Looks Goofy AF

I've alluded to this earlier, but it needs to be said again: it looks fucking goofy having the entire football team crammed onto a tiny altar with you and your fiancé — whether it's a religious or secular ceremony. Again, it is you getting married to your fiancé, not the entire apartment complex. On top of that, it looks weird AF having ten guys standing up there, all covering their crotches while you recite your vows. Distracting at best. Goofy at worst.

The Maid of Honor and the Best Man are Useless Props

Traditionally, the job of the maid of honor and best man is to be faux wedding coordinators — from corralling family for group pictures to making sure vendors arrive on time. But fuck me gently with a chainsaw: every time I've asked either of them for help, I get hit with a "not my job, I don't know, ask the bride." What the hell are you here for, then? And it's made worse when vendors are guilt-tripped into tasks that should fall on the maid of honor and best man, like driving in the opposite direction to pick someone up — true story. So of course, I roll my eyes when I see a bridal party with twenty fucking people who do nothing but cause delays.

Babysitting Grown-Ass Adults

As I said earlier, a lot can happen between now and your wedding. The same goes for the week of your wedding — hell, even the night before. So let's keep it 100: we all have that friend or two who is party central 24/7. Good people no doubt, but when it comes to formal shit, maybe not so much. Yet, for whatever reason, you still choose to have them in your bridal party. Now, you might be pleasantly surprised and they pull through. Or you might be more surprised that the "responsible" one had a bit too much to drink the night before, and now you're dealing with their massive hangover. Or maybe the groomsmen had the bachelor party the night before (dumb idea btw), and now you're stuck texting each one to hurry their ass up to the venue — followed by making sure they all put their pants on right. And on top of everything else you're dealing with on your wedding day, here's the part no one tells you: even if you hired a planner, it's not their job to babysit your bridal party. It's yours.

Bridal Party Pictures Take Too Much Time Taking Pictures

A good simple group photo can take anywhere from five to ten minutes to properly set up. And that's just the family pictures — immediate family on both sides, extended family on both sides, friends on both sides, etc. So even "quick" family pictures can easily take a solid hour or two once you factor in all the possible combinations — and that's not even counting the group combo pictures your parents want. Now add the bridal party, and your wedding quickly becomes a multi-hour marathon that feels like high school picture day. But notice I said good group photos. Because yes, it is possible to bulldoze through this in under thirty minutes. But remember, you're paying thousands of dollars for these pictures. Are you really comfortable with the idea of the photographer not giving a shit how your people look in these group photos? As the old saying goes, you can only pick two: cheap, fast, good.

Blending Into Your Own Wedding Pictures

By far the number one reason I recommend skipping the bridal party is because you blend into your own wedding pictures at best — get completely outshined by the "model" friend at worst. And if the groomsmen slap on identical suits (which happens way more often than it should), finding the groom in photos turns into a game of Where’s Waldo? And while bridesmaids don't usually wear white, their bright, coordinated dresses often pop more than the bride herself, making her look like an afterthought in the pictures. So I ask: why let yourself be upstaged at your own wedding? You're spending thousands of dollars on these photos — shouldn't you be the main character period? And as a photographer, I'll be the first to say that it's a massive challenge making the bride and groom stand out when they're visually lost in a sea of matching outfits. Don’t believe me? Do a quick search of bridal party photos. Can you instantly pick out the bride and groom in every shot at first glance?

The Bridal Party Outshines You

Sometimes a bridesmaid or groomsman simply looks better than the bride or groom. Not because they're trying to outshine you, but because the couple themselves may not know how to properly wear a suit, style themselves, or put together a cohesive look. And of course, we all have that one friend or two who just knows how to carry themselves, or happens to be model-level attractive. And you know what happens then? Photographers and videographers naturally start pointing the camera at them. They won't admit it to you — and might not even realize they're doing it — but many have openly admitted it on social media. And to be clear, being "hot" is only half the equation. We also have that one friend who oozes charisma: loud, funny, always cracking jokes, always the life of the party. Either way, if you want to be the main character, don't surround yourself with visual competition on your wedding day.

The Bridal Party is Not Set in Stone

As I always say, the only two times our loved ones are together in one place are at weddings and funerals. The people who truly care about you don't need a special role to validate their place in your life. So don't for a second think that by kipping the bridal party you're excluding anyone. In fact, you may actually be freeing your friends from financial obligations they'd secretly be relieved to avoid.

Your friends will still be there, celebrating with you because there is no rule saying you need to line up siblings, best friends, cousins, or coworkers to play starring roles in your wedding. They will still be your people the day after the wedding, with or without a fancy title. And if someone gets butt-hurt about not being a bridesmaid or groomsman, doesn't that kind of prove the point? That reaction says more about them wanting the spotlight than supporting you on your wedding day.

And yes, you can still throw the bridal shower, bachelorette, and bachelor parties — just without the stress of rigid roles and responsibilities. And let's not forget: life happens. Schedules change, things come up, and the more you rely on others to be present on your wedding day, the higher the chance of last-minute dropouts. Keeping it simple keeps the focus where it belongs — on you. At the end of the day, the people who truly matter will still be there with you. Because the most memorable moments are not about tradition or who stood where — they're about the marriage, not the wedding.