Wedding Party Rules

I have two really amazing sisters—we're only a year and a half apart each. Here's a picture of us:

Personal photo

Oh wait, this picture is from Halloween over 17 years ago! Apparently I was a bride and my two sisters were my bridesmaids—that's Sister E on the left and Sister A on the right. I love our bouquets and hair bows—but clearly the best part is the turtleneck underneath my frilly dress. Halloween in Wisconsin is cold!

I tried to find some more recent pictures of us, but somehow all the pictures of us either involve hiking or running. For real, I have dozens of pictures of us in the Blue Ridge Mountains, doing 5Ks, off on training runs, etc., but nothing formal. Here's one shot I found from Christmas a few years ago—Sister A (the youngest) is the tallest on the left and Sister E is on the right. Oh, and that's my little brother creeping in the background. Classic.

Personal photo

This is my favorite picture of us, taken this Christmas while running in Minneapolis—bonus points if you can recognize where this picture was taken!

Personal photo

Why yes, we do like to rock matching neon jackets, especially when running on busy roads or at night. Safety first!

Anyway, the point of this post is to say that obviously I was always going to include my two sisters in my bridal party. Beyond that, though, I wasn't sure. I always wanted a small bridal party, but Mr. Lemur has two sisters and I have several close friends—and to be honest the numbers just started to add up.

I struggled with this for awhile. But you know what? There are no "wedding party rules." You don't have to include every best friend you've had since kindergarten, although what's really awesome is that if you want to include twenty girls, heck, go for it!

What worked for me is to just invite my two sisters to stand up with me as I commit to Mr. Lemur for life. Mr. Lemur will have his two brothers standing up on his side. So yes, it's "even," but more importantly it's comfortable and right for us. We're including our other family members and friends in other ways in the ceremony and reception, and I couldn't be more excited!

How did you choose your bridal party? Did you go the "traditional" even route? Have sixteen girls stand up with you? Have guys stand up on the bride's side or girls on the groom's side? I want to hear about it!