So, when it comes to wedding stuff, I may be a little behind the 8-ball in some areas. One of the areas is bridesmaids dresses. I thought the whole “pick any floor length champagne dress you want” thing would work…..fail. The results were disjointed and not really pretty; now the ‘maids are close to mutiny. I knew that I needed to pick a dress and soon.
My only problem was the whole matchy-matchy thing….it is so not my style. I wanted all my girls to look, not only absolutely gorgeous, but like themselves when they stood next to me on the big day. I also moonlight as a retail sales manager and the girls being fashion forward was a must for me. I love clothes and fashion and I wanted that to be reflected throughout the day. We are working with a neutral color palette for the wedding…. Think champagnes, nudes, creamy ivory, candelight and a hint of shimmer here and there; very refined and very luxe. I don’t want the girls to blend into the space, but to compliment the environment; almost like handpicked denizens of the evening.
With that in mind I began scouring the internet….everything I loved was designer and way more than I was comfortable asking my girls to spend….and everything else from the mass chain bridesmaids retailers just weren’t my style…
Then I stumbled upon The Dessy Group…..Can I just say YAY! These dresses didn’t freak me out or cost $800…the absolute best of both worlds! They are still definitively “bridesmaids dresses”, but they are fashion forward and well made. Also the site, which features several designers, was easy to navigate and the option to narrow down choices based on color, length and fabric were immensely helpful.
So I have 6 bridesmaids and I’m presenting them with these 9 options:
{Top row: Images 1-3 Courtesy of The Dessy Group; Middle Row: Image 4 Courtesy of The Dessy Group. Images 5 (Lazaro) & 6 (Occassions) Courtesy of JLM Couture; Bottom Row: Image 7-9 Courtesy of The Dessy Group}
From there they can pick what they love the best. Even better the Bella Bridesmaid in Jacksonville carries all of these designers so hopefully they can try on the actual dresses.
Here are my tips for pulling together a perfectly coordinated bridal party:
1) Go the same length: Even though the dresses are different the same length will create a uniform sight line in photos; the length also helps define the formality of the event…having one girl in a micro-mini and one girl in a maxi may look disjointed
2) Keep the same skirt shape: All of my girls’ dresses will be fairy straight. This will provide a bit of contrast to my dress, so keep that in mind when picking out shapes. Also, having one girl in a fit and flare and another in an empire waist could look a bit crazy….everyone needs to look like they are going to the same party.
3) Tread Carefully when mixing fabrics: Our party will have two fabrics choices for their dresses Lux Chiffon and Dupioni. The key here is both fabrics have the same amount of luster. So while texturally different the dresses will still look consistent in photos. I also like how the weights of the fabrics play off of each other, one is heavy and one is light. I think it will add an element of visual interest.
4) Bling it up with accessories…not dress details: This was a hard one for me….I really wanted to bring some red carpet glamour to the bridal party. However a quick Google search of “champagne formal dress” will bring you a bevy of pageant and prom dresses….not really what I had in mind. So keep it simple with the dresses and pile on the baubles while getting dressed
5) Have Fun!: Remember these girls are your BFF’s! Take care of them and help them pick something they will be proud to wear on your big day…if you do that the huge smiles, sweet tears of happiness and the sheer joy emanating off of your crew will be more stunning than any dress you could ever find!
What are you putting your gal pals in for the main event?
xo,
Whit
Whitney Lauren creative 