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Mrs. French Fries, Milwaukee Age and Occupation: 27, Paralegal Fiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Investments Advisor Engagement Date: September 20, 2008 Wedding Date: June 2010 Venue: Ceremony: Catholic Church, Reception: Hotel Ballroom About Me: I'm a Midwestern girl who longs to live in a warmer climate (my feet would be happy in flip flops any day!). I love travel, impromptu napping, grilled cheese sandwiches, my iPhone, singing with reckless abandon in my car, and Mr. French Fries.
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Put Your Glad Rags On

October 21st, 2009 @ 11:05 am by Mrs. French Fries

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:

Put Your Glad Rags On :  wedding bridesmaid dress 13 1

Source

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:

Put Your Glad Rags On :  wedding bridesmaid dress 22 2

Source

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.

Put Your Glad Rags On :  wedding bridesmaid dress 32 3

Source

Put Your Glad Rags On :  wedding bridesmaid dress 41 4

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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!)

Put Your Glad Rags On :  wedding bridesmaid dress 51 5

Put Your Glad Rags On :  wedding bridesmaid dress 61 6

Put Your Glad Rags On :  wedding bridesmaid dress 71 7

Source for Aria dresses

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

Tags: bridesmaid-dress |
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30 Responses to “Put Your Glad Rags On”

1 2 

1.
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Member
flamingred (message)  1,953 posts, Buzzing bee

I just said “red” and they are picking out whatever they want. Only my two sisters have picked dresses so far and they are as different as can be but I love both. I’m excited to see what my other girls pick.

 
2.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Frozen Yogurt (message)  2,685 posts, Sugar bee

I let my girls pick, and I think they were very thankful. Now I’m waiting to see what they will all choose!

 
3.
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Bee
Miss Trail Mix (message)  6,485 posts, Bee Keeper

I went with J Crew, chose the fabric and color but they still had 5 options for the style of dress…And of course, all but 1 picked the same damn style…I like the ones you chose!

 
4.
alohababy28
Member
alohababy28 (message)  468 posts, Helper bee

I let my girls pick too (same exact parameters as you), and it has been a nightmare. A case of too much freedom for their own good. They have done nothing but complain since day one; they actually complained to me that they can’t find shoes to go with their dress. “You can’t find BLACK SHOES????” Ugh. I joke that next time I do this I’m going to pick the ugliest dress I can find, and they all have to wear it. Then at least they’ll be unhappy for the same reasons! Who’d have seen this coming, seriously???

 
5.
hotchildinthecity
Member
hotchildinthecity (message)  4,136 posts, Honey bee

I went with David’s, color watermelon, and let them pick anything cocktail/short length and in silk/satin/flat taffeta/whatever. I have 8 BMs, two have picked the same dress, two others picked different dresses, and the other four haven’t picked yet.

It’s working out pretty well and the price is great. One of my BMs got her dress for $80. I’m just suggesting they get them altered elsewhere because I heard David’s tends to overcharge.

 
6.
Ms. Min Pin
Member
Ms. Min Pin (message)  282 posts, Helper bee

I fortunately have a small wedding party…just my sister! I told her the color that I would like her to wear and told her to start shopping…she lives in another state so we unfortunately can’t do it together :(
I was a bridesmaid a few years ago and was incredibly disappointed by the dress I was forced to buy and wear…dusty lavender floor length ball gown…vomit. It looked horrible on everyone…and even if I could shorten it or something, the color was unwearable. I would have much rather had the freedom to find something for myself.

 
7.
Sage
Member
Sage (message)  728 posts, Busy bee

My girls are choosing their own LBDs! No requirements; they have to fly across country to get here, so they can wear whatever they want. I’m only being a control freak about, well, everything else related to the wedding ;)

 
8.
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Member
LittleWit (message)  114 posts, Blushing bee

I only have two bridesmaids so we’re be hitting up the holiday sales for their dresses. :) Shouldn’t be too hard to find coordinating dresses that fit both of their personal styles.

 
9.
Gator
Member
Gator (message)  607 posts, Busy bee

I have 4 gals and I wanted them to wear the same dress. Although I heard a few groans at first we finally choose a dress that eveyone liked! We really hit the jackpot though as the dresses (with shipping) were $53! Although searching was a hassle I was glad to save the girls so much money (and I kept the party looking great). :)

 
10.
Jessie516
Hostess
Jessie516 (message)  5,480 posts, Bee Keeper

I asked my ladies to chose a LBD from JCrew. I knew I wanted them in black and wanted them all in different dresses. JCrew had great options for them–and they were all able to get their dresses on sale! Score!

 
11.
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Member
grace8367 (message)  1,014 posts, Bumble bee

We used Aria dresses as well and they looked fantastic. My MOH chose a 2pc skirt/wrap top with 3/4 sleeves and they other maids chose various dresses based on their shape. It was ideal, they were all very happy with their dresses, they didn’t take forever to come in and needed very little in the way of alterations. I think you’ll all be glad you went this route!

 
12.
alishaneva
Member
alishaneva (message)  2,152 posts, Buzzing bee

Those are great - thanks for sharing the Aria dresses! I’ve recently fallen in love with Two Birds, One Dress. And I’m hoping my gals will want to do something from there - but Aria may be the next contender!

 
13.
MaPo
Member
MaPo (message)  315 posts, Helper bee

My ladies all picked their own black knee/tea length a-line-ish cocktail dresses and looked fabulous. I promoted finding deals and not spending a ton, but the majority went with more upscale things than “bride guilt” would have allowed me to pick if I was doing all of the choosing :)

 
14.
teeleaf22
Member
teeleaf22 (message)  475 posts, Helper bee

I am going with Jim Hjelm. the eggplant color is exactly what I want. They can choose whatever style they like in the chiffon fabric and it should be cocktail length. I have been searching for a less expensive option for them and have come up with a few but they all still like the Jim Hjelm. Luckily my bridal salon will give them a 20% discount. am going this weekend with them to try some on .. YAY!

 
15.
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Bee
Miss Moonbeam (message)  1,732 posts, Bumble bee

They’re probably so excited that you chose this option.

 
16.
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Member
JulyBride2010 (message)  14 posts, Newbee

I picked “watermelon” from Davids Bridal and let them pick what dresses they wanted.

 
17.
Mrs. French Bulldog
Bee
Mrs. French Bulldog (message)  7,706 posts, Bumble Beekeeper

I’ve had my eye on those BW/BM dresses!

 
18.
tea
Member
tea (message)  7,278 posts, Busy Beekeeper

i plan on having two bms so i’m thinking i’ll let them pick their dress in a specific color. i figure since there’s only two of them they don’t necessarily need to match

 
19.
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Member
dille_dalley (message)  72 posts, Worker bee

I’ve never really desired that the BMs all dress alike- just within a certain color palette. For my attendants, I plan for them to wear any brown or pink (preferably solid) knee-length dress they want. I’ll even go shopping with them if they want. That way they feel comfortable in what they are wearing and can truly wear it again.

 
20.
Ms. Mojito
Member
Ms. Mojito (message)  399 posts, Helper bee

I have four BM(s) who have worn every color under the rainbow, so I opted for classic black dresses (tea length) from Jenny Yoo. Same collection, but I let them choose their necklines. J Crew was an option, but their sizing didn’t work for one of my b/m (s). I like the dresses you chose-beautiful!

 
1 2 

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Mrs. French Fries
Mrs. French Fries

Mrs. French Fries, Milwaukee Age and Occupation: 27, Paralegal Fiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Investments Advisor Engagement Date: September 20, 2008 Wedding Date: June 2010 Venue: Ceremony: Catholic Church, Reception: Hotel Ballroom About Me: I'm a Midwestern girl who longs to live in a warmer climate (my feet would be happy in flip flops any day!). I love travel, impromptu napping, grilled cheese sandwiches, my iPhone, singing with reckless abandon in my car, and Mr. French Fries.

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