Should Your Nieces Be Bridesmaids?

Not sure whether to make a family member a bridesmaid, junior bridesmaid or flower girl? Read this.
sophie ross the knot bridal fashion and beauty expert
by
Sophie Ross
sophie ross the knot bridal fashion and beauty expert
Sophie Ross
Bridal Fashion and Beauty Expert
  • Sophie Ross is a Senior Copywriter at Adore Me.
  • Sophie is an experienced style and beauty writer.
  • Sophie worked as an Associate Editor for The Knot from 2017 to 2019.
Updated May 21, 2018

If you paid attention to any of the coverage surrounding that little thing called the royal wedding between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (aka, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle), you probably noticed the couple's wedding party comprised almost entirely young children (besides the best man, the groom's brother Prince William).

While it might seem untraditional for American weddings, it's actually the opposite in Great Britain—in fact, it's pretty much commonplace across the pond, and Pippa Middleton's wedding party last year was also led by Prince George, Princess Charlotte and other children of family members and friends.

In the case you're incredibly close to your nieces and nephews (or the offspring of your close friends), you might be asking yourself if you should follow suit. Of course, that decision is entirely up to you—but there are plenty of other ways to incorporate your young relatives in the ceremony, especially if it doesn't fit in your vision optics-wise. (For example, your 5-year-old niece might be too young to walk down the aisle with one of the 40-something groomsmen.)

If your nieces are aged 9 to 14, you can simply have them be junior bridesmaids—aka, they don't have to plan a shower or fly out for your bachelorette party (duh), but they can help out with other duties like making favors, seating guests at your ceremony and walking down the aisle together. They'll likely be enthusiastic and more than willing to provide help where you need it.

If they're younger than 9, you're in flower girl territory (which is always adorable, even if she drops the basket while walking down the aisle). If you have multiple young children you want to include in the ceremony, remember you can certainly have more than one flower girl.

If you really can't decide on a role for your young nieces and you know you want to include them in the ceremony, you can always assign them the very important jobs of program distributing, guest book greeting, present patrolling, favor arranging and more. There's definitely something for every loved one you want to include, no matter how young they are.

Again, the choice to have a young official bridesmaid is yours—and if you do decide to give your niece that status, she'll be in good (royal) company.

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