How Many People Should Be In Our Wedding Party?

Weddings are all about celebrating the love between you and your partner. You’re also celebrating the love you have with the people closest to you as a couple—and that includes your wedding party. Building the perfect wedding party can be tricky. You can’t include everyone but you also want a good range of personalities and loved ones. Exactly how many people you should have in your wedding party is entirely up to you, of course. If you’re struggling with the numbers, though, here’s an easy trick to figure out the best size wedding party for you.

Photo Credit // Eileen K Photography

How many people should you have in your wedding party?

The key here: Look at the size of your wedding.

Ideally, the size of your wedding party will be proportionate to the size of your wedding. So, for example, if you’re having an intimate gathering of 50 people, it might not make sense to have a full wedding party of 20. On the flip side, if you’re having a large wedding—and your current guest list is 200+—having a 20-person wedding party makes a bit more sense.

Whether you’re planning a small wedding, a large wedding, or something in between, here are some guidelines for finding that wedding party sweet spot.

If you’re having a small wedding...

If you’re having a small wedding—75 people or less—it makes sense to keep the wedding party small. Aim for 10 people or less total, not for each partner.

If you’re having a mid-sized wedding...

If you’re having a mid-sized wedding—let’s say between 75 and 150 people—you can reasonably add more people to the wedding party without having it feel disproportionate or unbalanced.

With a wedding this size, you can have a wedding party of up to 18 people (for example, nine one each side) without it feeling like “too much.”

If you’re having a large wedding...

Do you have a guest list that’s a mile long—and a list of potential wedding party members that’s almost as long? Well, we’ve got good news for you.

The bigger the wedding, the bigger you can make your wedding party without it feeling over-the-top or disproportionate to the number of total guests. Some couples have as many as 15 wedding party members—each.

If you’re having an extremely large wedding, you can also have an extremely large wedding party—really, anything up to 30 people should work.

Note: Bear in mind that this is your wedding. If you want a huge wedding party at a small wedding, by all means, proceed! These are just rough guidelines to help you plan.

Photo Credit // Haleigh Nicole Photography

Other Factors to Wedding Party Size

Obviously, the size of your wedding should play into how many people you ask to be in your wedding party. However, that’s certainly not the only factor you should use to decide your wedding party size. Here are a few important tips to keep in mind as you’re choosing your wedding party:

Keep your budget in mind.

One of the most important things to think about when deciding on the right wedding party size for you and your partner? Budget.

There are certain costs that you need to cover for your wedding party, like wedding party gifts for everyone and, potentially, hair and makeup for your bridesmaids. The more people in your wedding party, the more expensive it can be. So, before you decide on the right wedding party size for your wedding, make sure to look at your budget and get a clear idea of how many people you can actually afford.

Don’t worry about perfect balance.

Back in the day, most couples thought their wedding party needed to be perfectly balanced—you and your soon-to-be-spouse had to choose the same number of people for your respective sides.

Simply put: Don’t worry about it. If you have three people you want to stand by your side at your wedding and your partner has five, that’s totally fine. There’s no need to have each side of the wedding party be perfectly symmetrical—and there’s no reason to add people to your wedding party to make things look “even” or “balanced.”

Not having a wedding party is OK, too.

Don’t want to have a wedding party at all? No problem! There is no right or wrong way to do this. You can choose just to have a maid of honor stand next to you during your wedding ceremony—or you can choose to have no one at all.

Ultimately, it’s your wedding and you should do whatever you want to do! As long as you choose a group of people you want