Choosing Bridesmaid Dresses

This has the potential to be a stress nightmare. Bridesmaids with different sizes, skintones, and personal tastes can make choosing a dress problematic, even before the price is considered. But take heart, Decidebride will help you ease into this decision with a few basic considerations.

COLOR:

Generally, bridesmaids dresses are a good place to incorporate your color palette, either with a bold statement in one of your main colors, or a more subtle use of your accent hues. Narrowing the color choice down to the few on your palette is a good way to start making your decision.

CUT:

The bridesmaid’s dress can really set the standard for clothing formality at the wedding. If the gals are in floor-length silk evening gowns, the event is likely highly formal. Tea-length cotton or jersey probably indicates a more relaxed setting. If you’re going sleeveless, consider purchasing shawls or wraps for the girls, both for those with modest taste and in case it gets chilly.

WHERE TO BUY:

The biggest source for bridesmaids dresses are wedding-specific clothing stores, but these are far from the only choices. Department stores and online clothing shops usually carry dresses in a wide range of sizes, allowing you to take advantage of sales and avoid the “wedding markup” charged by most wedding clothiers. Alternatively, you can also have a seamstress make the dresses for you.

VARIATIONS:

If you are purchasing dresses from a wedding store, they will usually offer many different styles in the same color. This allows the bridesmaids to choose a cut that flatters them, rather than all trying to squeeze into a standard look. If you are going to allow variation, consider requiring that the girls all choose a dress with a standard length, which will help keep the bridal party looking somewhat similar. Necklines, sleeves, and waistlines, however, can allow them considerable variation within the color.

 If, however, you simply tell your bridesmaids to all wear a green dress from wherever they please, expect that there will be some variation in shades. It’s very difficult to find dresses from different manufacturers that are exactly the same color, so be prepared for some tonal differences. Nevertheless, this look can be really lovely if you use one of your main palette colors, creating a beautiful tone on tone effect.