Childhood BFFs Steph & Jeni - now both Maids of Honour!

Quite apart from the fact that your bridal party may have to suffer the embarrassment of wearing meringue-like dresses in pastel hues, there’s also the bridezilla jitters they’ll have to cope with, and being your human shield from the myriad catastrophes that could happen on your wedding day. If you’re like TWG contributor Elaine Ho who picked her two childhood best friends Stephanie & Jeni as her maids of honour, decision making isn’t too difficult. For the rest of us though, here are some top tips to ensure you end up with the right people on your A-team for the Big Day:

• Size doesn’t matter in this case – If you’re planning an intimate little affair on the beach, a bridal party of 20 bridesmaids is going to look a touch incongruous. A good rule of thumb is to have a ratio of one bridesmaid and one groomsman to every 50 guests, ergo a large wedding will require a larger bridal party whilst a little beach do won’t

• Don’t judge a book by its cover – please, please, please don’t be superficial and eschew asking a good friend to be a bridesmaid just because she’s overweight and won’t “make the photo look good”; it’s just not done. Similarly, if you think someone can’t afford the accoutrements you have in mind, ask them anyway and give them the option of bowing out if that is the case, remembering to give them another task so they can still be part of the proceeding

Courtesy of FIFOTO Photography

• It’s not an eye for an eye – so someone asked you to be her bridesmaid years ago. Now you’re taking the walk down the aisle and even though you haven’t hung out in ages, you feel obliged to return the favour? Uh-uh, don’t worry, it’s not expected

• You can’t pick your relatives but you can pick them to be your bridesmaids – Even if you don’t get along with your stepsister and would rather extract your eyeball with a blunt fork than have her in your bridal party, think again. A politically correct gesture like that will stand you in good stead for future family negotiations and show the world that you’re such a bigger person than they’d imagined you to be

• Because two heads are better than one – If you have two best friends, don’t fret; it’s totally okay to have more than one maid of honour. Just remember to forestall bitchy squabbles by clearly outlining each one’s duties. If your best friend is a bloke, by all means include him in the bridal party as an attendant or bridesman; just don’t force the poor fellow to wear a lilac tux!