Weddingbee Blog

When it comes to dressing the ladies who will stand beside me on our wedding day, I knew that I really wanted to have them pick something that they liked and ideally, something that they could (and would!) wear again. I know that every bride claims “you can totally wear it again!” but really? Am I going to wear a shiny satin floor-length ball gown ever again in my life? I don’t go to formal events often ever, so chances of me wearing it are very slim, unless I’m wearing it while vacuuming and being a fancy lady.

That’s why I’m operating under the assumption that since all of my girls are grown adult women and have been dressing themselves for quite a few years, that they’re capable of making informed decisions about what they like and what looks good on them. Therefore, I’ve decided to let my girls pick what they want to wear (with some gentle guidance on my part). Like many brides before me I have a variety of body types to dress; one dress for all 6 girls isn’t going to cut it. Let’s do a quick rundown of who will be up there with me that day: MOH French Fries (my sister), my other sister French Fries, two Fry Gals from my college days, and two Fry Gals from my first “real world” job.

So, these are the parameters that I’m thinking:

cocktail length or tea length (not floor length), probably the same manufacturer (for some continuity), and solid black. I’ve wanted solid black bridesmaid’s dresses for as long as I can remember (it was just my accent color that changed a few times). I hope that a black cocktail dress (a “little black dress” if you will) will be something that my girls can stash in their closet and use from time to time. I’m not going to pretend that they’re going to use it every weekend, but if they can use it a few times for a nice dinner out or a work event, then that’s great. Not to mention, black contrasts amazingly against our accent color of pink. Look how the pink bouquets in the picture pop against these lovely ladies’ dresses:

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So, am I going to leave my girls to find their way through the bridesmaids dress wilderness? Nope. I’ve been doing some dress scouting for them for quite some time, actually. My first choice for bridesmaid’s dresses was J.Crew. I love me some Crew (and would love to have their personal stylist dress me from head to toe) but to be honest, their size options are a bit limited. Also, they don’t really have many options for my girls to cover their shoulders, if they so choose (other than a cardigan, which is cute, but isn’t exactly the look I’m going for). One of the requests that I’ve gotten from a few of the Fry Gals is that they have more options than just a strapless dress, and possibly some shoulder coverage options. Duly noted.

Just because I didn’t find anything at the Crew for my Fry Gals didn’t stop me from picking up a dress for our rehearsal, however. It’s not this exact dress (the one I purchased was 1 season earlier and has a v neck and not a wrap top) but it’s essentially the same dress:

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Wait! I’m getting sidetracked on my bridesmaid’s dress mission! Focus, French Fries. Focus! My next stop was White House Black Market. I’ve had really good luck with their dresses in the past, and have worn them to several weddings myself. They have a great section of basic black cocktail dresses, but again – the sizing is a bit limited, and there aren’t very many to choose from. I do like these, though.

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One day while wandering through the wiles of bridesmaid dress country, I made my way to the Aria Dress website. I think I may have hit the jackpot as far as dress customization, sizing, and styles to choose from! Most of the Aria dresses can be customized in things like skirt length/options (A-line, shirred, pleated, etc.) and sleeve options (cap sleeves, short sleeves, or three-quarter length). They have halter necklines, v necklines, one-shoulder dresses, bateau necklines, strapless dresses… quite possibly the greatest number of options that I have seen for bridesmaid’s dresses to date. The dresses aren’t too expensive and if we order all 6 at the same time, the Fry Gals get a 10% discount! Score.

Here are a few of the dresses that I love (and MOH French Fries is most likely going to be wearing the first one). I think that we’ll go with the knee-length black silk shantung fabric for all of them, but other than that, the Fry Girls can pick what they want until their hearts are content. (Sorry the pictures are so small, they’re the best I could do!)

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How did you choose your bridesmaids’ dresses? Did you let your girls pick, or did you do the picking?