Weddingbee Blog

Glad rags: formal or dressy clothes for a special occasion. As in, the BM dresses. I’m not sure if this is NZ specific slang or not (any Americans still use it?) but my mother always says it, so there you go.

When it came to figuring out what my bridesmaids would wear, I was a bit all over the place. I want them to feel pretty, I want them to be able to wear the dresses again (or at least delude myself into thinking they can wear them again), the dresses need to be appropriate for a not-so-formal but still elegant and English-y picnic wedding, AND they have to be $100 NZD or under (eek!). Oh yeah, and if the colour falls somewhere in the purple range that would be awesome.

During my search, I saved pictures of favourite outfits will-nilly and then when I got sick of inspiration and was ready to sort through it all I divided the dresses into two categories: The Stunning Impossibles, and the Gorgeous Possibles.

First, my Stunning Impossible beauties:

USD $395 from Saja Bridal

USD $295 “Holly” from Jenny Yoo

Silk Ruffle Dress by Amanda Archer

Oh so beautiful, but oh so pricey. At least looking at “the unattainable” helped me figure out slightly the kind of dress I was going for.

What about some Gorgeous and Possible looks?

“Lavender Labyrinth” USD $64.99 from Mod Cloth

“Best Dress Ever” USD $59.99 from Mod Cloth

“Royal Flush” Purple Ruffle Dress USD $49.99 found at Ruche

All right, I think that is enough purple dresses for one day. By the end of my search I felt completely overwhelmed by the options, and the fact that all my bridesmaid were in different corners of the earth was making it even harder to decide. How did we finally choose? Stay tuned for part 2!