Weddingbee Blog

A while back, I gave my five bridesmaids the choice to buy any dress* they wanted. (*Stipulations included 1. picking from J.Crew’s silk chiffon options in Light Shell or Deep Rose; 2. Choosing a custom Sarah Seven dress in a coordinating color; or 3. Finding a different dress altogether, but getting my OK before buying it.)

Two of the girls opted for J. Crew’s Juliette dress in Deep Rose, below.

(source)

The other three decided to try out the custom route and order dresses from Sarah Seven. Luckily, Sarah is very generous and will give you discounts if you buy more than one dress. Her prices became fairly reasonable (~$200) and the girls placed their orders: 2 flock dresses (1 in peachy-pink and 1 in dusty rose) and 1 tulip dress (in peachy-pink). Measurements were made, payments were sent, and the wait began.

Sarah’s dresses understandably take quite a bit of time to make. And with a very recent boom in her business, it didn’t come as a surprise when it took, well, longer than expected (about two weeks longer, putting us about two weeks from the wedding. Eek!).

And, unlike Ms. Mouse who had a very good result arrive at her doorstep, my girls were, um, not as happy. The peachy-pink color came out very close to J. Crew’s Light Shell, but the fit wasn’t quite working. Bridesmaid Georgia models hers below—you can see how the fabric hung lower than the corset, showing BG’s undergarments.

In the next picture, you can see how the corset pushed away from her chest and sagged along the side.

Her dog, Bronco, seems to like it, though! MOH A, modeling hers below (along with Jackson Puggle), liked hers a bit more (”with some alteration”) but the color, which is supposed to be the same as J.Crew’s Deep Rose (at top) is quite a bit more coral-y.

I apologize for the tiny pic. iPhones don’t make for great blogging photos.

At first, I got nervous. Sarah’s site says no returns (no exceptions!) and I knew alterations would cost my girls an arm and a leg more. I immediately e-mailed Sarah and she responded quickly—readily offering a refund or even to pay for alterations(!).

I gave my bridesmaids their options, and they all decided to return the Sarah Seven dresses and (quickly) order J.Crew dresses.

Which did they pick? We’ll see! They get them this week. Fun surprises, two weeks before the wedding.

How did your bridesmaid dress hunt go? Successfully, or did it take a few tries?