I have never been a Maid or Matron (what an attractive word, sounds like a woman who works in a prison ) of Honor or even stood up for a wedding. With the exception of my mother's second wedding, but I don't think that counts. Plus the dress was hideous. My step sister was a cutter, so my mother decided the dress would cover from our necks, all the way down to our wrists and were too long. to cover my sister's scars. They were not in the least attractive.
Living in a working class neighborhood, most of my friends had fairly small weddings. Most of them only had a one or two people standing up, or simply eloped. My cousins on my dad's side had ostentatious affairs with up to 12 bridesmaids, too much attention getting stuff and I had no interest in being involved in that. (Several of these hundred thousand dollar weddings ended in divorce after only a very short time.) My cousins on my mom's side either never got married or came from large families where their sisters and brothers were enough people to fill a wedding party.
Most of my friends in same sex relationships have either never had ceremonies or had very small ceremonies with no one standing up.
My own wedding had only a Maid of Honor and a Best Man. I tend to like to keep wedding parties small when it comes to "standing up." I don't really understand the whole concept of having half a dozen or more people standing at the altar in matching dresses and what it has to do with one's eventual happiness with your partner. As I've said, I'm not a romantic person by any sense of the word.
My Man, however has been in a lot of weddings. Guys seem to choose their ushers and even their best men at the last minute. He's gotten calls the night before weddings to stand up. He stood up in my brother's wedding, one in which even I wasn't asked.
I guess it's saved me a lot of money and a lot of ugly dresses hanging in my closet that I will never wear.
