Even though there are a handful of ways to ease the financial strain of being a bridesmaid, it’s 
sometimes just not possible to commit to joining a wedding party for a variety of reasons — a demanding job, time-consuming family obligations, financial woes, etc. Although nowhere is it written that you must accept an extended bridesmaid invitation, you are most likely more 
concerned with how to properly say “no thank you” to the role without saying “good-bye” to the relationship. You obviously care for the bride if she wants you to stand beside her on her wedding day, but for whatever valid reasons, you just can’t say yes. Here are a few things to keep in mind when declining the invitation and a few tips for keeping the friendship in tact while staying out of the wedding party.
- As with most things in life, honesty really is the best policy. If you offer your friend excuses, her feelings will only get hurter, but if you offer her the truth — and express your true concerns — she’s more likely to offer empathy in return.
- Accept that she’ll be upset. Again, your reasons for not joining the wedding party are valid, but the bride still has the right to be disappointed with your decision. Verbalize your understanding of her feelings, and it’s more likely that you can get past the hiccup in the road faster.
- If possible, still keep her wedding important to you. Just because you can’t don the dress and help throw the bachelorette party doesn’t mean you can’t convey how important her wedding and marriage are to you. By attending her wedding and offering a thoughtful gift and card it will be hard to deny that even though you couldn’t fulfill the bridesmaid obligations, her happiness is still important to you.
With honesty, compassion and your presence on her special day, your friend will eventually understand your reasonings and your friendship may become even stronger.
Groom. If the families have known each other forever, this will be very natural. If the families are strangers — well, what better way for the mother of the groom to ensure she gets to be part of the fun than by making sure she gets to know the bride’s mother?
You can also add a special touch by having the bride and grooms initials printed on them.
Finally, you need to make it easy for everyone to find their seats. Have the place card table or 
Seating Chart placed near the entrance to the Ballroom or location for your reception. Make sure the font on the place cards or seating chart is easy to read in low lighting, since most people prefer to not have bright lighting for their reception. Make sure all tables are clearly marked and visible with either table numbers or names, so the guests will be able to locate the table you have chosen them to sit at. 
come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and are ideal for packing away all of those precious things that made the day so very perfect. But, what should go in them? And, who should give a wedding gift like this to a couple? Anyone can give a time capsule including the groomsmen, the bridesmaids or even the couple themselves. The idea is to take today, this very important day in their lives and somehow capture it in a time capsule so that they can remember it years down the road.
butterfly with its vivid orange and black markings. It is more expensive than the Painted Lady, but it is a larger butterfly with a wing span of 3 3/8 to 4 7/8”, and makes for a lovely release. Don’t let the price scare you from ordering these butterflies. You will definitely not regret it.
upper wings. They are not as expensive as the Monarch. They also are a smaller butterfly, with a wing span of 2 – 2 7/8 inches. They do work well in displays because of their size and they seem to be happy in smaller areas.
They have tails that can be easily broken. Also, if handled too much, their color does come off. These are raised by more butterfly farmers, but still not by a majority of them. You may be able to use these in a mixed release.
Lady. It has less white markings on its upper wings. Not as many farmers raise this type though, and you may have a harder time finding it. 
touched and may not be the most suitable for releases. They may work better for displays. This butterfly is not raised by many butterfly farmers.
are white spots near the apex of the wing. It varies in size, anywhere from 1 ¾ inch to 3 inch wing span. Again, this butterfly is not raised by all farmers.
underside of the wings are striped the same as the upper side of the wings. The Zebra Longwing tends to hover in flight, slowly and gracefully moving from flower to flower. These are raised and released only in the southern states.
They have tails like the Black Swallowtail butterfly. These can be easily broken. This does not hurt the butterfly’s ability to fly. Since they rest with their wings open, they look lovely in displays.
flower to flower, taking a long time to stop and drink from each bloom. These are raised by a few farmers, but not many.
