Wedding Par-tay...or lack there of...

Before Mr. Mek and I got engaged and were just having the "wedding talk", we discussed who we would have stand with us at the alter for support; aka the wedding par-tay. Deciding to have the wedding in Hawaii actually made things a lil' easier for us. Mr. Mek only has a handful of close friends to begin with (like 4), so he had maybe one or two people that immediately stood out to him. But even then the decision wasn't easy to make. For me it was a lil' more difficult. See, I don't have one clique of friends that I hang out with. More like a friend here, a friend there, a few friends who sometimes interact with each other, but all in all close friends in their own way. I don't have a best friend....in PA. I have a few great friends.

Now, to back track a little...I grew up as a military brat, so I moved every 3-4 years growing up. It's really hard to keep in touch with friends and real easy to lose touch with friends. That being said, two of the oldest friends I have are my bestests I met in Hawaii; both of whom I meet at the ripe age of 12-ish. Having a wedding in Hawaii meant not having to chose from my PA friends who to be my bridesmaids but instead letting my PA peeps enjoy their Hawaii vacation (not having to worry them about my wedding poop) and "burdening" my bestests who live or have lived in Hawaii already instead. Or at least, that's how it was going to be.

Mr. Mek's bestest got engaged a couple months after us. Exciting! Now they are in the wedding process also and last time I talked to Mr. Meks bestest's fiancee (did you get all that?!) they were thinking of planning a summer 2009 wedding in Florida. Meaning that they probably will be on a budget themselves and might not make it to our Hawaii shindig. No worries..although I do hope to make it to Florida for their wedding!!

So now we don't know if any of Mr. Mek's close friends will be able to make the trip (or afford to go) to Hawaii. And although I know my bestest's will be able to make it to Hawaii (one lives in Hawaii and the other has family in Hawaii so it's usually no big deal for her to come visit), I couldn't imagine having my 2 girls stand up and support me and Mr. Mek have no one standing with him. So....we nixed the wedding party.

This is actually saving us in many ways.
1. Two less bouquets to buy (if I decide to go the flower bouquet route)
2. In Hawaii, the bride traditionally buys the bridesmaid dresses, shoes, accessories, etc. So that's a few hundred there that I would be saving.
3. Less people usually equals less drama.

Now...question to all of you. I love my girls. And although they won't be wearing the ugly dress and standing next to me at the alter they will still be my honorary bridesmaids helping me get ready and all. So what can I do for them to let them know I appreciate them? Is there a way I can still honor them on my wedding day?