How To Manage Conflict In Your Bridal Party

When you invite the most special women in your life to be in your bridal party, you are probably thinking of how much each of them means to you. Most brides don’t give much thought to how the individuals in their bridal party are likely to function as a group. The sad truth is that supporting the bride is not enough of a reason to put aside differences for some women. These helpful tips will guide you in resolving disputes between your bridal party members.

Women tend to get married later in life than they used to. Chances are that you will have bridesmaids from various parts of your life. There is your best friend from high school. Your freshman roommate from the dorms. The co-worker that you love to go to happy hour with on Fridays. Your sibling who is going to be your maid of honor, even though you don’t always get along. When bridesmaids come from very different walks of life, it is natural that some tension can arise. And if you consider how diverse their lives are, it is no wonder that not all of your friends from different parts of your lives will get along so well.

Whatever the source of conflict, your wedding party will have to figure out how to work together. Sometimes problems arise when one bridesmaid simply cannot agree with the others on matters of taste, such as the bridesmaid dress or what type of bridesmaid jewelry to wear. When your attendants can’t agree on anything, you might just want to pick the bridesmaid dress style without them. You shop for bridesmaid jewelry and dresses, and your choice will be the final one. The impossibility of getting everyone to choose one style often leads brides to allow her attendants to all wear different dresses. It will certainly put an end to the endless disagreements.

Problems tend to crop up because your friends lead very different lives. Perhaps you have one bridesmaid who is a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker and another who is a true Georgia peach. Would it be so shocking to learn that their view of how to plan a wedding shower is different? Sometimes the arguing women need a mediator to step in and explain the other person’s perspective to them. It can help to take each woman aside and help her get an understanding about where the other is coming from. But then leave it to your bridesmaids to sort out the details, simply telling all of your attendants that you trust them to plan a party that you will love.

What is hardest for the bride to deal with is being dragged into the middle of a disagreement between two of her friends. It would be nice if adults were beyond childish nonsense, but that is not always the case. A thoughtful bridesmaid will do her best not to stress out the bride. It is not the bride’s job to play referee between her bridesmaids. You would be perfectly within your rights to let the warring parties know that it makes you sad that they are not getting along, and that you hope they can put their differences aside for the sake of your wedding.

If your maid of honor is not involved in the fighting, you can ask her to have the chat with the other bridesmaids so you can remain above the fray. Sometimes the bride has to tell her bridesmaids to suck it up and play nice until the wedding day is over, and then after that they can avoid each other for their rest of their lives. When you make the situation clear, your friends should be able to put the bride first long enough to get through the wedding.