not married, not engaged, just bridesmaid experience
the wedding I was in, my friend had 1 maid of honor, 1 matron of honor and 3 bridesmaids. There were about 50-75 guests.
we bought our own dresses, paid for our own hotel rooms, but only for the night before the wedding. the night prior and the night of we (well the two non married and non-engaged ladies of the bunch) stayed at my friends apartment. we got a discount on the hotel.
my friend bought us our necklaces, which were freshwater pearls. i still wear my pearls on special occasions today.
my friend really tried to make it cheap for us.
although I'm not engage or even dating seriously right now, i know when i get married i'll probably have between 4-5 bridesmaids. I figure i'll go with the same number of groomsmen. however many he chooses i can match. I know there were definately be two, no matter what (my bestest friends in the world). The others would be other friends I would want to have.