How many groomsmen can you have in a wedding?

How many groomsmen is too many? How many groomsmen are there usually?

Ah, questions, questions.

Usually people ask this question about how many bridesmaids to have standing up in your wedding but lately, we’ve been getting this question from our couples: how many groomsmen can I have? That, coupled with: how many best men can I have?

Here’s the answer.

How Many Groomsmen You Can Have

The number of groomsmen you can have in your wedding is… any amount that you want! Ha, I know you were probably expecting a specific answer.

But really, as a general rule of thumb, the best number of groomsmen tends to coincide with the number of bridesmaids on the opposite side. If you have one best man and one maid of honor, that’s nice and balanced at the altar.

If you choose two bridesmaids, two groomsmen works perfectly.

You get the idea.

How Many Groomsmen and Bridesmaids

Do you have to choose the same number of groomsmen and bridesmaids? No, but it seems to work best in photos when you do. :)

This doesn’t mean to choose just anyone to be a groomsman simply to make the numbers match; that would be crazy. If you choose three bridesmaids and two groomsmen, nothing bad will happen, you’ll just need to get a little creative with your wedding photos to make them look more balanced. Your wedding photographer should have some great suggestions to do so, and it’s no big deal.

If you’re planning to have the wedding party dance at the first dance with you as a couple, then obviously, you’ll need everyone to be paired up. But then again, no biggie either way.

Ideally, it seems the perfect number of groomsmen to have in a wedding is anywhere from 2 to 4; larger weddings typically select 5 to 6 groomsmen to be in the wedding.

Large Wedding Parties = More Money Spent

We love a big wedding party.

But keep in mind that the more groomsmen you choose for your wedding equals more expenses.

There will be more tuxedo rentals or suit purchases, along with additional invited guests, as each groomsmen gets to invite a “plus-one” to the wedding, according to traditional etiquette.

This also equates to more groomsmen gifts to purchase.

There are two additional expenses some couples don’t factor in:

• the additional place setting / setup at the head table, and

• the cost of transportation for a larger wedding party, if you’re planning to get a limousine or a party bus

If you can afford it, the more the merrier!

If not, we recommend downsizing your bridal party. There’s nothing wrong with having one best man and one maid of honor if you’re not in favor of a large wedding party.

And I recommend, if you do like a bridal party, to keep it to four groomsmen and four bridesmaids. It seemed to work perfectly for us.

How Many Best Men Can I Have?

If you can’t decide on one best man, sure — go ahead and ask two best men to be in your wedding. Brides do it all the time with the Maid of Honor and sometimes, you just need to give two people the honor. However, we recommend keeping it to just two: any more than that and it is recommended to nix the Best Man title altogether and give them the titles of groomsmen.

Do You Have to Ask Groomsmen With Proposal Gifts?

No! Groomsmen proposal gifts are fun, but they aren’t a requirement. We do like when they’re kept simple: ask over the phone, in person, or give a small gift like this one from DanielleTaylorCo. It always gets a laugh!

Want to go a bit bigger? This groomsmen gift box is always in style! By ThePersonalizedGift.

Now that you know how many groomsmen to have in your wedding, or at least some suggestions on it, what is the number of groomsmen YOU’LL have in yours? Tell us about it in the comment box below. We’d love to hear about it!

Hope it helps!

xo
Emma