- Alexis Coffey asked strangers to be her bridesmaids on
Bumble BFF . - They agreed, so Coffey's
wedding party was made up of women she barely knew. - "It was like we'd been friends for years," the bride told Insider of the bridal party.
Picking your bridesmaids is often a stressful part of wedding planning.
Many brides struggle with choosing who will be in their wedding parties, as they don't want to offend friends by not including them.
But Alexis Coffey, a Texas bride, decided to ditch all that stress, asking strangers to be in her wedding party instead.
Alexis Coffey asked strangers to be in her wedding
Coffey and her husband moved to Texas at the end of January 2021, and they hadn't been able to meet new people in the area because of the coronavirus.
They knew they wanted a wedding party for their nuptials on Sunday, so Coffey decided to ask strangers to be part of the day.
Coffey also told Insider via Instagram messages that the fact that people often lose touch with the members of their bridal party made her willing to ask strangers to be in her wedding.
"They become strangers, so why not make them strangers from the beginning," she said.
@daniellehaley9 MR & MRS ❤️✨ what’s your favorite line?! ##bridesmaid ##bumblebff ##fyp ##weddingtiktok ##fortworthtexas @lulunation44
♬ Marry You - Bruno Mars
Coffey asked people she met on Bumble BFF, people she saw in her neighborhood, and people she was connected to through her photographer to be in her wedding, as she said in
She ended up with five bridesmaids, at least one of whom she asked to be in the wedding just two days before the event.
Coffey connected with Haley on Friday, who agreed to be in her wedding on Sunday.
Coffey's bridesmaids provided their own dresses for the event, so they ended up in a variety of gowns for the wedding. Some bought their dresses new, others borrowed gowns, and some wore dresses they already owned.
Texas isn’t currently restricting
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still recommending people avoid large gatherings whenever possible, social distance at events, and wear masks when near others.
The nontraditional bridal party went viral on TikTok
Haley made a TikTok about Coffey asking her to be in her wedding through Bumble BFF the Friday before the wedding.
Like Coffey, Haley had just moved to their area, so she was looking for friends too.
She detailed her Bumble BFF interaction with Coffey in the video, which led Coffey to ask her to be part of the wedding. Haley agreed right away.
"I think it's a really cool idea to meet new people and to be part of their special day," Haley said of Coffey's bridal party in the video, which has since racked up one million views.
@daniellehaley9 ##bridesmaid ##weddingtiktok ##bumblebff ##fyp
♬ Man! I Feel Like A Woman! - Shania Twain
In the original TikTok, she said she planned to make more videos to commemorate the experience for herself.
She documented herself finding a bridesmaid dress and going to Coffey's rehearsal dinner - where all the bridesmaids met for the first time.
Haley told Insider she was surprised her videos took off.
"The TikToks have been really unexpected but super fun," she said. "I've met a lot of girls in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and plan to keep sharing my story of meeting new girls and hopefully attending some more weddings."
Both Coffey and Haley made videos about the wedding itself as well, showing their followers what a wedding full of strangers was like.
@lulunation44 Inviting strangers to my wedding was my BEST idea yet!!! #strangers #wedding #bridesmaids
♬ original sound - Lions WBB
Coffey told Insider she's glad she asked people she didn't know to be part of her wedding.
"I would not have wanted it to happen any other way," she said. "Everyone we found was so supportive and friendly. It was like we'd been friends for years."
"Our favorite part of the whole experience is now we have new friends to keep in touch with," she added of herself and her husband.
"The best part was definitely getting to know the girls and their stories and watching a group of strangers come together to support the bride," Haley agreed.
"I completely recommend people get out of their comfort zone and attend a strangers wedding," she went on to say. "It was so exciting and really not weird at all!"