Traditionally, brides hand-pick a group of female bridesmaids and grooms select a handful of male groomsmen to stand by their side on their wedding day.
傳統上，大婚之前，新娘總會精心挑幾個要好的女性作為自己的伴娘，新郎則會選幾個男性當伴郎。

But many Australian couples have decided to break tradition and mix up their bridal parties to ensure their loved ones are included and honoured with the traditional roles - regardless of their gender.
但在澳大利亞，很多夫婦打破了傳統，為了能讓至親的人都參與到婚禮中，他們別出心裁地決定：新娘可以有伴郎，新郎也可以有伴娘。

Over the past year, weddings across the country have seen a rise in 'groomswomen', 'bridesmen', best women and 'males of honour' taking part in the celebration.
去年，全國很多地方的婚禮都出現了“女伴郎”和“男伴娘”——新郎新娘各自最要好的異性共同參與婚禮的慶祝。

In March 2015, Alex and Sara Mazzoni married in Brisbane, with Mr Mazzoni choosing to include a groomswoman in his party.
2015年3月，艾利克斯和薩拉·馬佐尼在布里斯班舉行婚禮。婚禮中，新郎艾利克斯就有一個伴娘。

'It was a pretty easy decision...my best man and two groomsmen were my best mates since high school and my 'groomswoman' would be my sister,' Mr Mazzoni told Daily Mail Australia.
。“這個決定沒什么不妥。我的主伴郎和另兩位伴郎是我高中以來最好的朋友，而我的伴娘是我的姐姐。”艾利克斯對澳大利亞《每日郵報》如是說。

'My sister and I are pretty close. I was actually her 'man of honour' a couple of years before and my sister had also grown up knowing my best man and groomsmen very well, so it was the perfect team!'
“姐姐跟我關系很親近。實際上，兩年前她結婚的時候我就是她的伴郎，而且姐姐跟我的伴郎們也很熟，所以這樣的搭配非常完美！”

Sara Mazzoni said she'd love to see more couples embracing a less traditional approach.
薩拉說她樂見越來越多的新人用一種新穎的方式踏入婚姻殿堂。

'I love when couples break the rules and find fun and authentic ways to celebrate the start of their marriage. I think it's definitely the new normal for weddings - you should be able to share the day with your nearest and dearest by your side, no matter if they're a man or a woman,' Mrs Mazzoni said.
她表示：“當我看見新人們突破傳統，用既有趣又真誠的方式來慶祝婚姻生活的開始，我就很開心。我覺得這無疑將成為一種新的婚姻禮俗：在這個重要時刻，你應該有至親至愛的人陪在身邊，而他們的性別根本不是問題。”

Mandi Takis and her husband Robert married in October, with Mr Takis choosing to include Mrs Takis' cousin Evette in his party.
10月，曼迪·塔基斯和丈夫羅伯特結婚了。在他們的婚禮上，塔基斯太太的表姐伊維特就是女伴郎。

'Robert had been married before and had a good mate as his best man so we decided that for our wedding we would like to have my cousin as she is close to me and my partner,' Mrs Takis told Daily Mail Australia.
塔基斯太太告訴澳大利亞《每日郵報》：“羅伯特結過婚，當時是好友當他的主儐相。所以我們決定，這次婚禮就由我的表姐來當伴郎，因為她跟我們都很親近。”

'We thought it would only be right to have her be the one next to him and do the honour of the best man duties as my sister was next to me as my maid of honour.'
“我們覺得讓伊維特站羅伯特旁邊當他的主儐相再好不過了，正好站在我旁邊當伴娘的是我妹妹。”

Mrs Takis said the decision was an easy one as the pair are very family oriented.
塔基斯太太表示，他們夫妻二人的家庭觀念都很強，所以在這個問題上很容易取得一致。

'I am very much a family person and they are always number one on my priority list so we would much rather have our family a part of our wedding and included in the important roles as we trust them more,' she said.
她說：“我很看重家庭，家人在我心里永遠排第一。因為我們更信任家人，所以更希望他們成為我們婚禮的一部分，參與這個重要的時刻。”

Other women decided to include their male best friends as part of their bridal parties - all of them happy to go against tradition to make sure their best mates had a special role on the big day.
也有的女性會讓自己最好的男性朋友參與到婚禮中來。她們都很樂意打破傳統，讓自己最好的朋友承擔起婚禮當天的特殊角色。

Samantha Amiridis and her partner also both chose to mix their bridal parties.
薩曼莎·艾米麗迪斯和丈夫也在婚禮上選擇了 “混搭式”伴娘伴郎團。

'I had my brother Timothy as my chief bridesman and my husband had his sister as his best woman,' Mrs Amiridis said.
薩曼莎說：“我讓哥哥蒂莫西做我的主伴郎，而我丈夫的姐姐則是他的伴娘。”

'Why? Simply put my brother is my best friend and I didn't want anyone else by my side on the big day. Likewise with my husband.'
“理由很簡單：哥哥是我的好友，所以在這樣重大的日子里，我只希望陪在我身邊的人是他。我丈夫也是這么想的。”

'For my husband Billy, his sister Maria was his best woman. She made sure he was on time, dressed perfectly and all organised. She stood by him at the front of the room whilst I walked down the aisle.'
“我丈夫比利的姐姐瑪利亞是他的伴娘。在她的操持下，婚禮那天比利準時到場，衣著完美；瑪利亞把一切都安排的井井有條。我步入紅毯的時候，她就和比利一起站在門前。”

'Essentially, we firmly believed that whoever was by our sides on the day were going to be people who would be by our sides forever.'
“最重要的是，我們堅信，婚禮那天能陪伴在我們身邊的人，也將陪伴我們一生。”

英文來源：每日郵報
譯者：chenger25
審校&編輯：杜娟