Weddingbee Blog

But my mother is one heck of a designer. And since all the bridesmaid’s dresses that caught my eye were simple and sweet, I asked my mom what she thought about maybe, possibly making them! I would help, of course, but she’s seen enough of my failed projects to know that I’d be more of a bench warmer. She agreed that it would be more cost-effective for my bridesmaids and asked me to show her examples of what I like.

During our Let’s-Make-Dresses Phase, my mom considered various fabrics as I flipped through pattern books to get an idea of what’s out there.

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This pattern immediately reminded me of Samantha Harris! She wore a gorgeous blue dress on Dancing with the Stars recently, and my sis-in-law thought it would make a pretty bridesmaid’s dress. I tried to imagine it in a soft, pink fabric, like Carrie Underwood’s dress:

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The pattern above is sweet, but I didn’t like the overlapping fabric on the bust. We’d make the two “flaps” (can you tell I’ve never taken a fashion design class in my life?) meet in the middle and add some feminine details. I imagined something similar to these:

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I liked seeing the short and long version of patterns—it was reassuring to know my girls could hack it up, and it’d still look pretty. The one above reminded me of Heidi Klum’s dress here:

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There were a few wedding gown and accessory patterns, too! Not totally my style, but I thought I’d share in case anyone’s wondering what’s available in this department:

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After all of our research, we nixed our plan to make the bridesmaid’s dresses. I wouldn’t be able to visit my mom in Florida enough to offer help and direction, and since all the girls are here in Illinois, we wouldn’t be able to do any fittings. I also started seeing through the bridal-haze and realized how much work I was actually asking my mom to do. I want her to associate happy, stress-free feelings with our wedding!

My bridesmaids don’t know that we were considering this, so nothing has changed for them. I’ll actually be shopping with them this weekend! I’ll let you know if we find anything.

What DIY projects have you given up in the name of simplicity?