Bridesmaid dresses

[*~Nicole~*]

Did you let your bridesmaids have a say in what dresses they would be wearing or did you pick them and that was it?

[Csara]

I didn't have bridesmaids, but I have been a bridesmaid twice. One of the girls said "pick any dress you want, just make sure it is long and purple (any shade)". We all appreciated it and I thought it looked cool to have everyone look like an individual. But then the other girl picked out a dress for us, which was beautiful and it looked wonderful in pictures with everyone looking the same. She did take a few of us bridesmaids with her to get some input, but ultimately she made the final decision.

[andrea]

we are not having any bridesmaids.. i am not going to ask someone to buy all the wedding stuff then pay for there hotel and all the stuff in vegas...

[Mel-icious]

My sisters were my bridesmaids, yes I most definitely let them have say. My sister asked what I wanted, I said whatever made her comfortable, and I want it in a fallish color, so have at it, she picked out gorgeous dresses.

[pikachu0519]

I had seven bridesmaids, with every hair color, and every body shape. So for me to pick one dress, or to try to get them all to agree on one dress, just seemed unfair to me. I figured, if they were kind enough to spend the money on a dress, etc. to stand for Michael and I, I wanted them to be comfortable in what they were wearing, and possibly buy something they would wear again. My dress was ivory, and the girls wore a barely-there pink . My maid of honor wore a very, very pale greenish color (like the color of celery when you slice it super thin-almost a celadon color), with a sheer, pale pink wrap, and pale pink shoes and jewellry to coordinate with the bridesmaids. I picked out the color (thought it would look good on all of them, and it did), gave them all a swatch, and asked that they come as close to this color as possible. The choices of fabric and dress style, as well as shoes, were completely up to them. I bought each of them a necklace and earrings (all different), as a thank you gift. Some of the girls opted to have their dresses made by a seamstress, but some also ordered theirs at a bridal salon. At first when they were shopping, I would get a lot of phonecalls asking if a material they'd seen would be suitable, or if I liked the style they were thinking of. It actually took a little while to get them to understand that I trusted them fully, and that it was entirely their decision. After they realized this, they ran with it! They were all so excited to have me and the other girls see their dresses, but wanted to share on the big day so that we could all be surprised at once. It was really cool, I heard descriptions of the dresses (as the girls would check with me to make sure no one else was showing up in the identical dress) , but I had never seen all of the dresses, let alone together. I had only seen my maid of honor's dress, and one bridesmaid's. But the bridesmaid dress I saw, I saw at the bridal salon, and it didn't fit her, and it was in a chocolate color. So the day of the wedding was the first day I saw them all, and they looked fabulous! Two girls chose shorter lengths and the rest, long, and not one of the dresses was similar. I couldn't have picked a better outcome if I'd planned it! I was so glad that I let them go that route. Everyone was comfortable and happy, and we received many comments on how beautiful the varied dress idea was. Plus, their choices really reflected their personalities, and I liked that. I would recommend this to any bride. It alleviates a ton of stress, it allows for different bridesmaid's budgets, and you can let the bridesmaid's choices be as limited (choosing sleeveless, strapless, long, short, etc.) or as unlimited as mine were.

[Amber77]

Since we are having a luau wedding I have decided to let everyone pick whatever they want. The guys all picked different shirts and are all going to wear either khaki shorts or pants. So I told my girls to pick whatever type of dress they want as long as it's long and not white and kinda hawaiian/tropical looking I am fine with it. After I told them all that someone told me they thought it would look better being all the same but I don't want anyone to be obligated to wear something they don't like. I think they will all look just fine! :)

[Life201]

My maid of honor helped me pick out my bridesmaids dresses and they did look great on everyone. DH & I paid for them, as it was our opinion that it was our wedding and we asked them to be a part of it for us. We didn’t want anyone to be inconvenienced financially or to feel obligated.

I have been a bridesmaid in a dear friend’s wedding in which the bridesmaids wore matching dresses in red & the maid of honor wore blue (red ,white & blue theme) and it looked great!

I think it’s important to get some input from your bridesmaids, but I also think everyone agrees that it is the Bride’s choice & the Bride’s wedding.

[veda]

both of my sis's are marrying this fall & i'm a bridesmaid for both (& they are each other's MOH). both of them sent us an email photo to see what we thought, but they made all final color & style decisions. & both were around $200 each not including shoes or accessories. none of us are young or in college though, so these prices were alright for us. but with a $600 airfare for each wedding (both bf & i are going), it did get a little high for us. my sis's are priceless though.

one style is okay for my body, but the other is flat across the top with spag. straps & i just KNOW that my small chest is going to be really obvious. not that i've ever cared, i like my chest the way it is, but certain styles don't flatter that body type. & it doesn't have a shawl(sp?) or anything :cry:

my bf & i are doing their videography (he's shooting the ceremony while i'm in it, but the rest is both) & i'm really afraid that my TOP is just gonna fly right out of the dress... more accurately, the dress will fly off of my top!! :rolleyes:

it IS definitely appreciated when a bride allows the bridesmaids to at least have a say in their dress decision. my mom let all of us girls (there are four) wear any style of three set colors. we ended up with all spag cut tops (unplanned) & a deep red, two browns & a celery green, with her cream dress it looked really elegant but fresh, yk?

good luck! post some pics! ;)

[Deana]

I told my bmaids what color I was looking for, and then we all decided on the dress. I wanted to make sure they were comfortable in the dresses. They ended up picking out a two piece - long skirt with a sleveless top. My sister wears the top out all the time with jeans and gets tons of compliments! I'm so glad she can re-use it.

[tinkster]

i picked a colour and let my MOH and two bridesmaids pick a style they liked
with different heights and figures i thought if they were going to pay $300 for a dress it may as well be one they like, so i will have all three in different dresses made from the same fabric

:)