Including Junior Bridesmaids in Your Wedding
Often when you are planning a wedding, there is a little girl that you would like to include who is a little too old to be a flower girl and not quite old enough to be a bridesmaid. Rather than leaving her out of the fun, there is another option: invite her to be a junior bridesmaid.
The perfect age for a junior bridesmaid is from about nine to fourteen. This can be a great role for favorite nieces who have outgrown the flower girl role or find it to be too “babyish”. Just think how happy you will make your favorite “tween” when you promote her to a more adult role!
Many second time brides and grooms have children from a previous marriage. A good idea to help them accept the idea of forming a new family is to include them in the wedding. If you have daughters of the right age, they can be given the ceremonial role of junior bridesmaids to help them feel like a part of your big day.
The junior bridesmaid walks in the processional between the flower girl and the bridesmaids. She usually carries a smaller version of the bouquet the bridesmaids carry, rather than a basket like a flower girl. At the end of the processional, the junior bridesmaid can either stand up with the rest of the bridesmaids or sit in an aisle with her parents. Generally, the younger ones prefer to be with mom and dad, and the older girls think it’s cool to be with the bridesmaids.
In terms of attire, the junior bridesmaid should be dressed in something in between the bridesmaids and the flower girl. Although she has been advanced to the next level, it would be inappropriate to dress a young teen in the same gown as the grown women wear. This is especially true if the bridesmaids are wearing a strapless gown.
For my wedding, we designed a dress for the junior bridesmaid that combined elements from the flower girl’s dress and the bridesmaids’ gowns. The flower girl wore a tea length white dress with a round jewel neck and a burgundy sash made from the same fabric as the bridesmaids’ gowns. The bridesmaids wore full length burgundy gowns with deeper scoop necks and a sash that tied with a square knot instead of a bow.
To tie the bridal party together, my junior bridesmaid wore an ankle length dress made from the same fabric as the bridesmaids’ full length gowns. The sash at her waist was tied into a bow, like the flower girl’s, and her neckline was somewhere in between the scoop of the grown ups’ and the high jewel neck of the little girl. That made the junior bridesmaid’s dress a bridge between the bridesmaids and the flower girl’s dresses in length, neckline, and sash style. It is a great solution.
You will undoubtedly want to honor your junior bridesmaid with a special gift before the wedding. One very nice idea for a junior bridesmaid gift is a piece of jewelry. Young ladies rarely receive gifts of jewelry, so each piece is very important in their small collections. Look for classic pieces that will grow with her, such as sterling silver bracelets or pearl pendants. If your junior bridesmaid has pierced ears, you could also give her the matching pearl stud earrings to go with the pendant.
When it comes to planning your wedding party, the more the merrier! If you have girls of an awkward age, by all means, invite them to be junior bridesmaids. It is sure to be one of the most special memories from their childhood.