Wedding Blog

I was definitely aware of the expenses - especially since 3 of my BMs had to travel too. My goal was to pick the least expensive possible dress, but my gals had nothing to complain about because they picked it themselves! They wanted chocolate brown and I wanted red so I was a little nervous but it ended up being PERFECT.

Love the dresses - they look great on your MOH.
Becky

I recently made the decision to go the same route as Miss Pineapple, but with a catch: the dresses will all be within a certain range of grays, and fall somewhere between having a sheen and actually being shiny. I put together a very simple collage on Polyvore of different dresses that were different shades of gray and had different levels of “shinyness” to give them an idea. This way everyone can pick a dress that they like and are comfortable in, while also making a personal decision as to whether they want to invest in something they will wear again or go for something cheaper knowing they will only wear it once. After the dresses are purchased, we’re hoping to tie them together through a matching red accessory or a jewelry item incorporating Tahitian pearls (my engagement ring is a Tahitian pearl rather than a diamond).

First, you picked the one dress style in the world that really does look flattering on most people, so feel good about that. Second, I bet at least half of the girls will wear the dress again, because it’s a dress that’s actually is very wearable…modest, festive, and doesn’t scream wedding (perfect for the xmas holidays). Third, burgundy may end up being a blessing, because at the end of the day it’s not the exact shade of the dresses or trim that matters, it’s how it all comes together with the backdrop as a background for you & your groom. The fan is very cute, I debated what to do myself and went with parasols, which I ended up loving. Plain white paper parasols work wonders at keeping the heat off & look smashing in pictures; they give everything a pulled together, dreamy vibe, and are very flattering to the girls with the soft light they throw on the girls faces…I wish I could post the back-lit pics of my girls. As far as what I did, I asked my girls to pick their own dress as long as it was a solid color and was knee length, and their own shoes. They all went with a dress that was either blue or green, and all looked confident & beautiful. (And all found something in their price range, one of my sisters wore a Betsy Johnson dress that she’d worn in another wedding, it was gorgeous!) They carried white parasols & white tulips– loosely bunched & tied with ivory satin ribbon– (total cost, $10 ea for the flowers + $10 ea for the parasols). The white brought the whole thing together, though they could have done just the parasols and looked smashing. I carried ivory roses & tulips with an ivory ribbon, and no parasol, though I wish I’d posed for a couple pictures with one. And this I say on behalf of all the bridesmaids out there: If anyone is thinking about letting your girls pick their own dress, you really have to mean it. If you micro-manage, it will drive them nuts and be way more annoying for them than if you just send a link and say “buy this”. If you really want ultimate control over how they look, accept the fact and do what you want! They won’t mind. My girls were constantly checking in with me, saying ‘are you sure this is ok? what are they guidelines again? They’d each had a rough experience with someone more in love with the idea of their bridesmaids picking their own dresses than the reality of it. I’ve worn some hideous bridesmaids dresses on behalf of the girls I love, and no, I will never wear those again, nor the gorgeous lavender strapless floor length satin number, but who cares? It’s part of my memory of my best friends weddings, and they were happy and so was I.