Johnny Weir Is Far From the Only Bridesman Out There

Johnny Weir shared on Instagram that he’s going to be in Tara Lipinski’s wedding party, because, “When @taralipinski asks you to be her bridesman, you say yes.” She apparently asked him by giving him a mug featuring a cartoon of a woman and a man wearing bathrobes with “Bride” and “Bridesman” on the back. We’re not sure if that’s a custom-made mug, but given how many brides and grooms are erasing the gender line in their weddings, it could just as easily be a standard “Will you join my wedding?” gift.

Most people have close friends and siblings of different genders, so it’s almost baffling that the tradition of all-male groomsmen and all-female bridesmaids has held so steady into the 21st century. Is it just for the sake of bachelor/bachelorette parties and bridal showers that people want to maintain their same-gender teams? (Of course, with those outings also becoming co-ed, that can’t be a reason for long, either.)

Mara, who got married 10 years ago, said it was a no-brainer for her husband to have a best woman. “We only had one attendant each, and the groom wanted to include his sister,” she told Yahoo Style. “They are very close, and it made so much sense for her to stand up with him. For us, it was important that the people supporting on both sides were people who were special to each of us.”

Mara’s maid of honor wore a red dress with a peach belt, and her sister-in-law wore the same dress in black with a peach belt. The best woman didn’t plan the bachelor party; her status was more about standing by her brother’s side for that important moment.

If you’re letting your best woman or man of honor duck out of any traditional duties, you might want to discuss this with the rest of the bridal party in advance of any resentment. Ashley shared with Yahoo Style how her sister had asked their brother to be her man of honor, but she left all the bridal shower and bachelorette-party planning to Ashley. Did getting all the work and none of the glory embitter her as a mere bridesmaid?

“If my sister ever asked me, I would say no, but when I was doing all the work, I had my moments of, ‘This sucks that I am not the maid of honor.’ But at the end of the day, I know that it should have been my brother,” she said. “My brother and sister are best friends, so it would be weirder if they weren’t [each other’s person of honor].”

Another bride told Yahoo how her husband’s groomswoman, a friend from college, walked down the aisle with one of her bridesmaids. “It was pretty cool,” Lindsay said. “All my bridesmaids also wore black dresses, which horrified my grandmother, who thought the wedding would look like a funeral, so we were all about bucking trends from the beginning. We got married at 22 years old, so we weren’t too concerned about having a PC wedding. We just wanted a wedding surrounded by all our friends.”

The groomswoman in Lindsay’s wedding wore the same dress as her bridesmaids. “We didn’t think about giving her a corsage or bouquet, which was an oversight,” she said. “So we just improvised and pinned on a boutonniere.”

If you’re concerned about throwing out gender-specific traditions because you’re not sure how to coordinate the outfits for your wedding party, you need but turn to Instagram for inspiration.

There are men in suits that match the bridesmaids’ dresses:

Some guys just match their ties to the color scheme:

And some don’t need to match at all:

Similarly, groomswomen can match their dresses to the men’s ties:

You can choose a feminine yet menswear-inspired look:

Or go for a suit like the rest of the guys:

Who else can’t wait to see what Johnny Weir will be wearing when he walks down the aisle? We’re pretty sure it will be fabulous.

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