These days weddings are quickly becoming less about the rules and more about having fun and making the most out of the occasion. While in the past wedding parties included only women on the bride’s side and men on the groom’s side, today it is perfectly acceptable to have people of both genders in both parts of the wedding party. So if you’ve always dreamed of having your brother or male best friend as a bridesmaid or a maid of honor, you totally can! So what is a male bridesmaid called? The traditional name for a male bridesmaid is a bridesman or a bride’s attendant, while a male maid of honor is called an honor attendant or simply a man of honor. So what are the rules and best practices of including a man in your bridal party?
Make your bridesman or man of honor feel included
The first and foremost thing that you need to do when making a man a part of your bridal party is to make sure that he feels comfortable. Even though the two of you might be best friends, he may not know your girlfriends very well or feel self-conscious in the company of all women. Keep an eye on your friend or brother and make sure that he is not feeling uncomfortable or left out at any time. Listen to his comments and suggestions about different parts of the wedding and take into account his male perspective. It can also be a great idea to ask your bridesman if there’s something specific he would like to do during wedding planning to contribute.
Man of honor wedding duties
All of your bridesmaids and your maid of honor would normally have some wedding duties to help you with wedding organization and planning. If you have a man as one of your bridesmaids or the maid of honor, there is no reason to exclude him from the tradition, just make sure that you adjust the list of duties accordingly. For instance, if the man of honor is into fashion, it is a great idea to bring him along for dress shopping, but don’t strangle him along if he’s not into it. At the same time, organizing the bridal shower, saying a toast at the wedding or helping out with vendors are all great tasks for a man of honor. You can even allow him to be in a bridal suit if your bridesmaids are okay with it.
Don’t be boring about the man of honor attire
While dressing the man of honor or the bridesman exactly the same as the groomsmen may seem like a good idea and is totally acceptable, don’t miss out on the chance to be creative and come up with a fun and unique outfit. For instance, you can dress your man of honor in short pants with fun, bright socks, add a boutonniere that matches the bridesmaids’ bouquets, or finish his outfit off with a tie of a pocket square in the same color as the bridesmaids’ dresses.
Iron out wedding ceremony details
Having a bridesman or a man of honor is not too big of a deal when it comes to the logistics of a wedding, but it can create some issues that need to be sorted out in advance. For instance, if you have a man in the bridal party, the number of bridesmaids and groomsmen will be unequal, so you will need to opt for something different from traditional groomsman-bridesmaid couples walking to the altar.