- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee Blog
Let’s be honest. We have all spent hours scouring the web and bridal stores for the perfect bridesmaid’s dresses.
I thought I knew what I wanted, until I purchased my dress. The bridesmaid’s dresses I had in mind were WAY too formal for my dress, made of heavy satin or were tea length. So, it was back to square one.
I found a few contenders in my second wave of searching, with this one topping the list:
I love this dress to pieces. However, I don’t love how this dress has the potential to fit on all of my girls.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love this dress, and plan on purchasing one for myself. I’m just feeling that it doesn’t fit cohesively with my vision for my girls. And, it’s made of a cotton material, which made me worry about wrinkles.
Disclaimer: Again, I love this dress. And, by no means am I suggesting that it looks bad in the above bride’s wedding. I am concerned on how it will look on my girls in MY wedding.
After ruling out option #1, I knew I still wanted something that the girls could easily wear again. Now, I realize that almost every bride says this. But I REALLY mean it. If my girls are going to drop $100-$200 on a dress, I want them to be able to wear it. What makes this next option so appealing (other than the fact that it is absolutely chic?) is the price. A whopping $76 dollars (Bonus!). I even had one BM say she would probably buy it even if I didn’t choose it as the one.
Although I really like this dress, a lot, I wasn’t in love with it. The cotton-y material was appealing, but the idea of if it being wrinkly even before the ceremony made my head spin. So, back to the interweb I went to find another option.
As a side note, I highly encourage you to check out other dress on the Shabby Apple site. Not only are there some fabulous finds, but the company donates micro-credits to women in poverty-stricken countries.
Another great bridesmaid’s option I came across was this find from David’s Bridal. Now, I’m not normally a DB fan, but I loved the modern feel of this dress, and the fact that it falls above the knee. Too many of the options I have found in stores and online were “tea length” and I didn’t want anything at that length. Plus, I was trying to avoid having the girls buy a dress and then have it hemmed to above the knee.
My bone to pick about this dress is that I have seen it in one too many weddings. And I’m not a huge fan about the rouching around the bust, but it’s still a great dress.
And back to the search I went…
It was on to the final choice: A chocolate brown, taffeta wrap dress from J.Crew for my ladies to wear. I searched the J.Crew site so I could share it with you all and they no longer make it (good thing I had the girls buy the dress back in November).
However, my fantastic photographer, Lisa Hessel, shot a wedding where the bridesmaids wore the same dress.
Image courtesy of Lisa Hessel Photography
What was the most important factor to you in searching for a BM dress? Price? Material? Length? Color?
Oooh! I really like your choice, I haven’t seen that style in a wedding before. I also am doing chocolate brown, and of course I wanted it to be a dress the girls could wear again (everyone says that!), but also I didn’t want to break the bank. I went with the Sophia Short from J.Crew because their clothes are classic, and you can add accessories to really make it look different from “just a bridesmaid’s dress”. Plus, it was on sale and they paid less than $80 a piece. Score!
One of my girls got that first dress! It is super cute. I just wanted them to wear something they liked and felt comfy in!
Thanks for picking a dress that ladies can rewear easily! I always am so afraid at being asked to pay a pretty penny for something that’s so difficult to reuse.
great dress find! Price was really important to me. I also wanted something that fit well on all figure types. Oh, and a tad sassy. I feel it was almost harder than finding a bridal dress.
I love the first dress, too! In fact, I had my maids choose the dress they liked in the “Cotton Cady” material in the color of my choosing. My MOH chose the first dress : )
Definitely price and style. I want my girls to love the dress and be excited about purchasing it. I also want the style to match that of the rest of the wedding…
I love all your choices. I’m partial to green so my eyes were automatically drawn to the first two pictures. My second favorite of these is the david’s bridal knee-length dress. It’s super cute, looks comfy, and like it’d fit everyone nicely!
Good luck choosing 
Very cute. We were trying to get a dress that was rewearable and budget friendly and ended up with a little black number from Anthropologie for $50!
I was hoping one of my girls would pick that one since it was one of the options I gave them but no one did! I love it tho, great choice!
just bought our dresses. I started out very particular- the dress had to be warm tones but not red, nor yellow, nor brown. Couldn’t be blue or purple or black. As soon the 4 of us went to try stuff on, the most important factor became clear- the dress HAD TO FIT WELL, as the girls have different figures, heights, complexions, and hair color.
So the dilemma We decided that the right fit (by process of elimination) was more important than the color. Once I knew the right sizes and appropriate dress shape that fit all 3 girls, I searched online and found my dream dress. They didn’t even get to try it on until AFTER I bought the dresses and brought them over. No alterations and 3 happy bridesmaids later, we have a dress! And it happened to be a wonderful warm tone like I originally wanted.
Long story short- pick a dress style that suits everyone first and then worry about the colors.
to add- once I knew what I wanted, I was able to find a dress for $75 bucks! Way under what we saw in some of the traditional bridal stores.
very cute choice! for me its mostly about color and the price. I really want black dresses. My MOH will wear a long dress, the other 2 BMs will wear a shorter dress… as for the material it can mismatch, as long as it “makes sense” 
I LOVE your J. Crew pic and actually purchased in pewter a few months ago. But alas, aparently I have extra wide arms for my frame because those sleeves were like boa constrictors. I’m sad to say, it had to go back.
I picked the color (black) and material (taffeta) but the girls all picked their own dresses. It ended up that all seven wanted J. Crew and they ended up going with three different styles. Plus they got them on sale ($65-$120). Super score!
I love those wrap dresses — I think the sleeves and the ruffle detail are super cute.
Price (since I’m paying for it) and style since I want my girls to be comfy in it and re-wearable, of course. I still haven’t found my BM dresses yet. You said you saw tons in tea length? Mind sharing some ideas???
Ooh, love the one you chose, especially the ruffly collar!
@NurseK: $80 is not bad at all!
@Ms Potato Chips: I love the first one, too - I have it in black.
@Miss Dachshund: The Cotton Cady line is great - well, all of the J.Crew options are - great for mixing and matching!
@SaraElizabeth: The girls are wearing the last one (the wrap dress) and they love it.
@Miss Lace: That’s a great deal!
@yummyducky66: I wanted chocolate brown, and my girls were up for anything - luckily the wrap fits really well on all body types!
@Miss_Riley: I actually own the bridesmaid dress in the pewter and black. I liked it so much I wanted it for myself, too (in different colors, of course).
@alivoo01: I saw a bunch when I was looking for my dress in shops around town. J.Crew and Davids have a lot. So does Alfred Angelo and The Dessy Group. You can always find a great long one and have it hemmed to tea length.
The dress looks great! I didn’t have criteria for my bridal party because i only had my sister as MOH and i wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. So she picked out the colour she liked, dress, designer, price point, etc.
I love that it isn’t a typical bm style and the girls can definitly wear it again! I was worried about price and finsing something non shiny to go with our more casual feel.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Mrs. Argyle, St. Louis Age and Occupation: 24, Project Coordinator Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Pilot Engagement Date: February 15, 2009 Wedding Date: September 2010 Venue: Jewel Box in Forest Park and Windows on Washington About Me: I'm a true Midwestern girl (born and raised), lover of red wine, reality TV and the entire J.Crew catalog. I love to dance regardless of who is watching, and enjoy a good laugh with my girls. I have a soft spot in my heart for planet Earth, my two dogs and my fiance. Fall is my favorite season (which is why we are marrying in September), but I love a warm summer day and the Colorado mountains in the winter. We are planning a modern soiree downtown, with lots of bold colors, and fun, eco-friendly elements.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 30 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
Latest Gallery Pics