My Fabulous Bridesmaids (Part 1 of 2)
June 2nd, 2008 @ 2:08 pm by Mrs. Coconut
When it came to our bridesmaid dresses, I knew 2 things. One, it would not be expensive and secondly, it would not be a typical “bridesmaid” dress. You know the ones I’m talking about - they’re ordered at a bridal salon, take 3 months to arrive and then it doesn’t even fit properly? Now, I don’t mean to disrespect anyone who has gone this route. To be sure, those dresses are beautiful and sometimes necessary for a formal wedding, but I wish more brides would start choosing simple cocktail dresses. Honestly, I think it’s less stressful than ordering from a bridal salon. To future brides-to-be who are looking for bridesmaids dresses, don’t be afraid to go against the grain. As Flor said in Spanglish, “Just try it on.”
You may recall I love J.Crew, so naturally I began stalking their frequent online sales for a dress. This was back in October of 2007, when I was a good 7 months away from discovering my true color scheme. First mistake: I picked out the dresses way too early. Mr. Coconut kept telling me it was too early, but I couldn’t pass it up. I had found some brown strapless dresses for $39.99. Seriously! I was trying to save my girls some money, so I didn’t really think about whether I liked it or not, I just went with it. They were quite pretty and brown was such a basic color, I thought anything I picked would go well together. (Hint: This is called foreshadowing.)
Here are some pictures of Sister Coconut with her head chopped off. Check out her shoes, they are cute, right? That’s another thing - unless the girls can all agree on one shoe, specify a color and give them some autonomy. They will love you for it, I promise.
To spruce up the dress, I found 5 champagne sashes at Ann Taylor. I bought all 5 for about $35 total. (Before you buy anything online, just google the store’s name & coupon. I found one for 20% off and free shipping.)
They’re cute, right? Super affordable and all of my bridesmaids said they would wear it again, so I thought to myself, SCORE! Little did I know what a long engagement would do to me eight months later…
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12 Responses to “My Fabulous Bridesmaids (Part 1 of 2)”
well, I have that dress from Jcrew and love it! Even if they don’t use it, it’s super cute - not weddingy at all!
That’s my bridesmaids’ dress too! The embossed beach one, right? All my girls look great in it and love it, heck, I even want one too!
I love the dress and the sash. I think it’s awesome that you took your bridesmaids budgets into consideration. I have been in wedding sthat code me $150 - $250 just for the dress. I wish some of my friends did this as well.
I love J Crew dresses! Great choice! I think every girl loves J Crew and they have some really nice wedding dresses too!
Do you know where your sister got her cute shoes at? They’re adorable from what I can tell! I’m in a wedding in September and the dress is also chocolate brown … those would go perfectly!
I actually had my sister wear that SAME dress in my wedding! AND- it really is something she will wear again!
I love your sister’s shoes!
[...] first option for the men was black. However, we initially had chocolate bridesmaid dresses and for some reason I just didn’t like them together. I know black is classic, but I just [...]
[...] hear the story of Miss Coconut’s first bridezilla moment, right?!?! Okay, so picking up from Part 1, I had scored some awesome, affordable bridesmaid dresses from J.Crew, but the color bothered me a [...]
OMG!!! I BOUGHT THE SAME DRESSES FOR MY BRIDESMAIDS!! THEY ARE SO ADORABLE!! I let the girls choose between the halter or the strapless, there’s a really cute mix & match theme going on. Nice color choices I must say 
Mrs. Coconut, Tallahassee
Age and Occupation: 27, Soon-to-be Lawyer (once I pass the bar!)
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, phD Computer Science
Engagement Date: March 2007
Wedding Date: November 2008
Blogging Since: May 20, 2008
Venue: 1930s Historic Building in Lakeland, FL
About Me: I never thought about weddings until I got engaged. Now, I can't stop thinking about them! Planning the wedding has really opened the floodgates to my DIY side. If there's anything I can do to avoid hiring someone else, I will do it! Mr. Coconut is my financial advisor, he tries to keep me budget-conscious! We've tried to make wedding planning a team effort!
Your post has me going “uh-oh” over and over in my head! This sounds exactly like what I am worrying about with my girlfriend. She is getting married in about a year and picked out dresses that we had to order this week because the style and color is going out. Unlike your story they weren’t cheap and they weren’t on her! And they are peach! I love her and won’t say anything to her about it, but I have this big worry that in about 5 months she will change her mind, my dress, and my balance in my checking account!