Bridesmaid Dresses | UKbride

Coronation Street star Beverley Callard who plays Weatherfield’s Liz McDonald celebrated her fourth wedding in style in the West Yorkshire countryside last month. The star — who married builder Jon McEwan — recently announced that she’s quitting Corrie after 21 years on the street. But that didn’t stop her from executing showbiz style whilst tying the knot. With a lavish 20 bridesmaids all dresses up to the nines in beautiful bridesmaid dresses, Beverley certainly made up for her exit from stardom!

In light of this remarkable story, we decided to find out how many of our UKbride members could give Beverley a run for her money in the bridesmaid stakes...

Our exclusive UKbride poll revealed that 57% of our brides planned to have between three and five bridesmaids. In contrast, 32% plan to have only one or two, whilst 10% are budgeting for between six and 10 bridesmaids.

1% plan on having 10 or more bridesmaids, which shows that having a plentiful procession is not just restricted to the celebrity wedding world!

But what does this mean for brides getting married in a recession? The average cost of a bridesmaid is thought to lie around the £300 mark, what with bridesmaid dresses, accessories, gifts and flowers — and if the bride and groom are footing the bill for all their costs themselves, an extravagant number of bridesmaids means escalating costs!

However, as we all know, it’s not just about the money — there’s also the emotional implications of asking friends or family to be a part of the processional by recruiting them as bridesmaids. We found that many brides are faced with the dilemma of enlisting people because they feel they have to, or because they don’t want to upset anyone. But does having numerous bridesmaids remove the privilege of such a prestigious position?

When we spoke to our UKbride members, there were remorseful cries from one member of "If only I could turn back time, I’d only ask three!" and "I’ve got sixteen in my procession — it’s going to cost an absolute fortune in bridesmaid dresses!” which suggests that some of our brides are regretting enlisting so many bridesmaids. Ensuring that all the candidates get on seems to be another hurdle entirely — what with a combination of best friends, school friends, neighbours, sisters, cousins, and goddaughters, there’s bound to be tension somewhere along the line!

It is clear that many brides lose sight of the practicalities in the process of inviting gushing girlfriends, keen cousins, or spirited sisters to keep accompany them down the aisle. There are various factors to consider when contemplating who will play a part in your processional...

For starters there is the size of your venue's altar — after all, nobody wants a strained neck trying to catch a glimpse of the bride and groom tying the knot! In addition, coordinating a large group of your girlfriends is inevitably going to be harder than organising a more intimate group. Travelling to the wedding ceremony, attending numerous fittings for bridesmaid dresses and wedding rehearsals are all duties to be fulfilled by each and every bridesmaid. The size of the venue and the wedding itself are also crucial concerns; you need to make sure that everything is in proportion — if you’re having an intimate ceremony with 50 guests, having 20 bridesmaids might look a bit lavish!

With so much contemplation over how many maids one can merit, you may be wondering what the traditional role of the bridesmaid entails...

By tradition, bridesmaids were enlisted to accompany the bride on her wedding day. The style of the bridesmaid dresses were to be similar in appearance to the bride's attire in a bid to ward off evil spirits that were set to ruin a bride’s wedding day. Beliefs that cursers and evil spirits could interfere and spoil a wedding actually existed right up until the 19th century here in the UK, and if you carefully study old Victorian wedding photographs, it can often take quite a bit of inspection to pick out the bride and groom amongst the bridal party — which shows how far a bride would go to disguise herself in an attempt to ensure her wedding was a success!

However, their role has evolved dramatically over the centuries, and their most important duties now range from organising an exciting or unusual hen night, to providing all the support and re-assurance a nervous bride-to-be needs.

However many bridesmaids you choose to recruit, remember that your happiness is paramount! If your dream day includes a plentiful procession then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t fulfil that fantasy. Alternatively there’s nothing wrong with an intimate accompaniment including just one of two of your closest friends — be confident in your decision and enjoy your big day!