What to do with an uneven wedding party during entrance, ceremony, and photos
A common worry for weddings is having an uneven wedding party, for fear that the uneven number will appear odd in photographs and that it’ll disrupt the flow of a wedding entrance or precession or look awkward during the ceremony. I’ll be the first to tell you that it is more than okay to have an uneven wedding party.
You and your partner deserve to have the people you love and adore by your side, no matter the number! Don’t feel pressured to add or subtract anyone from your party for looks; uneven wedding parties are more common now more than ever and there are plenty of creative solutions to address these concerns. I’ve outlined a few solutions for you below.
Uneven Wedding Party Entrances
For the precession line during the ceremony, you have a couple of options. You could have the people in your wedding party walk out based on their attire (i.e., any individuals wearing a suit, regardless of wedding party, will walk first and find their spots at the altar, followed by everyone wearing a dress, as an example.). You could also pair the attendants 2-to-1, depending on how many are there in your party (i.e., have a pair walk together followed by an individual).
Example 1: Uneven Wedding Party Entrance
During Olivia and Richard’s wedding below, their ceremony started with Olivia’s father walking her grandmother to her seat, Olivia’s sibling walking their mother to her seat, and Richie’s brother walking their mother to her seat. Then, everyone wearing suits in either Olivia and Richard’s family made their way to their spots through an entrance towards the side of the venue. Olivia had two people wearing suits in their party and Richie only had one person in a suit.
After the people wearing suits were in place, Olivia was walked out with her father where they’d embrace and she’d later receive a hug from her mother. Then, the people wearing dresses in either party walked down the aisle and went to their spots. In each case, Richie and Olivia only had one wedding attendant wearing a dress. Then, Richie was walked down the aisle by his father to meet Olivia. Richie gave a hug to both parents and the ceremony started.
Example 2: Uneven Wedding Party Entrance
For Amanda and Verity’s wedding, Amanda had six wedding attendants and Verity had five, thus making the whole party an uneven eleven. However, Amanda and Verity were really smart with their wedding entrance.
Amanda’s sister would walk her down the aisle towards the end of the precession. This left a remainder of ten wedding party attendants that needed to walk down before Amanda and her sister. The remaining party attendants walked arm in arm with a person from the opposite party (i.e., Verity’s first wedding party attendant and Amanda’s first wedding party attendant were paired, then V wedding party attendant 2 and A wedding party attendant 2 were a pair, and so on and so forth). Then, when Amanda’s sister walked down the aisle, she then joined the rest of the wedding party. It made for a very smooth entrance!
Then, at the end of the wedding, Amanda and Verity’s wedding party attendants exited a little differently than how they entered but they all left in pairs of two, with exception of the last group which made it down the aisle in three. However, because they strategically placed the person wearing a suit jacket in the middle, you’re given the illusion of balance, when there’s an odd number of people in that particular moment. Pretty cool stuff, huh?
Uneven Wedding Party during the Ceremony
Don’t worry too much about your uneven party during the ceremony. I guarantee you that no one is looking at your party because all of the attention will be on you and your partner. If it’s still a big concern for you, you can get creative with spacing and have the side with fewer attendants spread out and the side with more attendants stand closer together to give the illusion of an even party.
Alternatively, you could have all the people in both wedding parties stand on one side of the altar, where you could either alternate people (i.e., spouse one wedding party attendant, spouse two wedding party attendant, and so on) or keep each side together (i.e., spouse one’s wedding party attendants stay together as a group and stand next to spouse two’s wedding party attendants as another group).
Notice how during the ceremony that Verity’s uneven wedding party stood slightly farther away from on another and that Amanda’s even wedding party stood closer to one another.
Example 1: Uneven Wedding Party Spacing
And notice again how the same uneven wedding party spacing trick was used during Olivia and Richard’s ceremony. Again… an illusion of balance is being created only by adjusting the spacing between wedding party members.
Uneven Wedding Party Photos
For photos, instead of posing each wedding party on their respective “sides”, blend the two parties together and alternate the individuals (similar to that of the ceremony approach). Utilizing chairs and stools could also be beneficial here; your photographer can have the wedding party with more attendants stand alongside you and your partner and the group with less attendants can sit in front.
Both parties could also stand in a semi-circle around you and your partner, again using spacing to your benefit by spacing out the wedding party with less individuals and keeping the other party with more people closer together. If you’re looking to have a more traditional wedding party photo, have the attendants stand in a V-shape and space them out so that each group appears even. These three solutions are offer a few creative ways to incorporate your uneven wedding party in your photos.
