Ok so I typed out this huge long explanation and tried to post it.......... and the page didn't work. SO. I'll attempt it again.

Here's the lowdown on my situation. I have six bridesmaids- my sister (MOH), my cousin, 2 friends from school, my fiance's sister and a newer friend (my fiance's cousin's wife).

My two friends and I go way back- one I met in first grade and the other in eighth. Right off the bat these two just didn't seem happy that we were engaged. One was excited to be asked to be a bridesmaid, but the other really didn't have a reaction at all (my wedding will be her 4th in 4 months so I understand). I have seen both girls at least twice since our engagement and neither of them has asked to see my ring and neither of them has said anything about our engagement pictures that we had taken in October.

I keep our day to day conversations focused on things other than the wedding. I ask them how their days are going, how Christmas went, how one of them was doing after her dog passed. If I have anything wedding related I send out a mass message to all 6 girls. I don't send these messages constantly- I think I've sent out two to three since I asked all of them to be in the wedding. These messages are just to say that I was able to find a bridesmaid dress that I liked, that their measurements and down payments are due next month, what color shoes I'd like them to wear for the wedding.... things like that. 4 out of 6 of the girls message me back saying that they love the dress, the idea about my making flower hair pins for them, that kind of thing... the other two I feel like I literally have to BEG them to give me feedback. One didn't say anything on the thread until today and I started the message in September. I had an issue with that same girl while she was in the state for Christmas and we made plans and she didn't bother telling me that they weren't going to come over... I ended up texting her boyfriend to see if they were coming and they fed us some lame excuse about not being able to make it and didn't even apologize for not letting us know.

I know I should focus on the fact that I have 4 bridesmaids that are wonderful and ask if there is anything that I would like them to do for me for planning or even just get giddy and tell me that they're so excited and honored to be in the wedding. It's just hard not to be hurt by the fact that my two best friends aren't more excited for me. Hell I'd be ok if they faked excitement at this point. I guess it just hurts that people I've known less than 2 years are more excited that this is happening than people I've known forever.

Dropping them doesn't seem like an option for us- Joe has a huge family and wants to include his friends, which is why his sister and cousin's wife are involved in the ceremony. If I get rid of my two girls then he'd have to ask 2 of his family members not to be in the wedding which would totally be a bummer for him.

I like the idea of giving them jobs, however one lives 2 hours away from me and one lives in a different state so I cant give them materials to do jobs.