Weddingbee Blog

OK, 10 points goes to anyone who can identify the song reference in my title. Broadway lovers, this is right up your alley.

Give up? Then enjoy this clip from one of my favorite Broadway musicals.

Video via YouTube / From Les Misérables

Obviously I’m talking about lovely ladies of a very different sort than those described in this song from Les Mis: bridesmaids!

A few weeks ago, most of my family flew into New York to attend my graduation. Since I wasn’t moving back to California for another month, we decided that this was the perfect occasion to look for a bridesmaids’ dress for Sister Parasol, who is my maid of honor. Originally I thought that I could just give her a few guidelines and send her shopping on her own. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew that I wanted to not only share the experience with her, but also see the dresses on her before we made a decision.

After doing a lot of research on bridesmaids’ dresses and talking with Sister Parasol about what she felt most comfortable with, I came up with a few specifications: I wanted something knee length, chiffon, and in a neutral color. Thankfully, these requirements met with all of Sister Parasol’s expectations. When we first talked about dresses, she said she would be happy with anything that wasn’t a grape-colored floor-length satin ballgown. Needless to say, there was no danger I would choose a dress that looked like these:

Image via The Knot / Photography by Studio Atticus / Bridesmaids’ dresses by Bella Bridesmaid

Don’t get me wrong: these dresses are lovely, but they’re way too formal for the Parasol wedding. Satin + floor length makes me feel like I should be getting married in a ballroom, not under an oak tree at a California winery. Plus, these kind of scream “bridesmaid!” to me, and I wanted to make sure that Sister Parasol can and will actually use her MOH dress again.

Once we nailed down what we were looking for, I quickly decided that Sister Parasol’s dress would also come from Priscilla of Boston, where I bought my wedding dress. I had an amazing experience at their salon and was gladly willing to give them more business. But most importantly, they have an amazing bridesmaids’-dress selection. Their dresses look like high-end evening gowns and cocktail dresses, and they have an impressive selection of knee-length dresses in a variety of materials and colors. I especially loved all of their grays, as well as a striking color called smokey amethyst that seemed to be the perfect shade of gray with just a hint of purple. And to top it all off, POB offered us 15% off on bridesmaids’ dresses just because I had purchased my wedding gown there. Sister Parasol and I were sold.

When we went to POB, our consultant pulled every chiffon knee-length dress in the store, and Sister Parasol quickly started trying on all the options. She started with the dress that had been at the top of my list since first looking at bridesmaids’ dresses:

Image via Priscilla of Boston

I love the sweetheart neckline on this dress, as well as its simplicity. It also has a deep V-shape in the back, which is really flattering on the body. Sister Parasol had some hesitations about this dress at first, but I think she was still getting used to being in a dress that didn’t quite fit her. She felt a lot more comfortable when our consultant worked her fitting magic and made the dress look more like it would in Sister Parasol’s correct size. It’s amazing what consultants can do to make you feel like an ill-fitting dress is perfectly made for you! She also advised that my 5′10″ sister order extra length, which would give her another four inches and ensure that the dress hit right at her knee.

Next we moved onto Sister Parasol’s favorite dress from the POB website:

Image via Priscilla of Boston

The moment Sister Parasol slipped into this dress, she was in love. She felt comfortable, confident, and so beautiful. Her face instantly lit up. And I could tell she was much more comfortable having the one strap. She was also ecstatic that they had the dress in her size, so she knew exactly how the dress fit her and what it looked like on her without our consultant having to pin her in. And they had the dress in the same color on the model, a gorgeous shade called pewter. It was such a stunning gray with that hint of purple I was looking for.

Prior to our appointment, I had been hesitant about this dress. I worried that it was too Grecian or modern or wouldn’t go with my dress. But when Sister Parasol tried it on, there was no denying that it was pretty much perfect. It looked so soft and romantic, and even though I still loved the other dress, I was starting to fall in love with Sister Parasol’s choice as well.

Even though we loved the first two dresses, we wanted to at least see the other contenders on Sister Parasol before making a final decision. Besides, how often do you get to try on such beautiful dresses? It was too much fun to stop!

Image via Priscilla of Boston

Although this dress looks amazing in the picture, on Sister Parasol, it looked ridiculous. She looked like a cross between a pageant queen and a Southern beauty, which is not what we wanted for my wedding.

Image via Priscilla of Boston

Our consultant said that this dress normally looks really flattering on a variety of body types, but on Sister Parasol, it was an instant “No!” Because Sister Parasol has broad shoulders, the straps and neckline drew attention to that and made her look much wider than she really is. And, as Sister Parasol said, she doesn’t want to look like a football player in her dress.

Image via Priscilla of Boston

The moment Sister Parasol looked at herself in this dress, she burst out laughing and our consultant said, through muffled laughter, “You look like you’re wrapped up in a bathrobe!” Again, the dress looks amazing on the model, but it just didn’t do anything for Sister Parasol. All the folding and draping is beautiful, but on the wrong person, yes, this dress does look like a bathrobe.

Although we had quite a few “misses” on our dress-shopping adventure, we had two very big “hits” and, most importantly, we found the dress Sister Parasol will be wearing as she stands beside me as my maid of honor. So which dress did we choose, my pick or Sister Parasol’s pick?

Image via Priscilla of Boston

Why Sister Parasol’s, of course!

I still do love the first dress with the sweetheart neckline, but the second dress is perfect for Sister Parasol. It’s her, she feels great in it, and she’s already planning to wear it again. Mission accomplished.

The only thing left to settle on was the color, and when I saw the swatch for smokey amethyst, I immediately vetoed it. It was way too purple in real life. Thankfully, Sister Parasol, my mom, and I absolutely loved the pewter color, and it was much closer to what I thought the smokey amethyst would look like. I glanced at a few of the other gray colors, but it didn’t take long for me to decide that pewter was exactly what I wanted for Sister Parasol’s dress.

A few measurements later, our consultant put in the paperwork, and Sister Parasol’s MOH dress was officially ordered. I’m so thankful that Sister Parasol is like me, the kind of girl who knows what she wants and makes decisions quickly instead of continually looking and agonizing. We probably spent less than an hour trying on dresses. As much as I would have enjoyed another dress-shopping adventure, I’m very thankful that I no longer have to worry about deciding what she’ll be wearing to my wedding.

What was your bridesmaids’-dress-shopping experience like? Did you and your bridesmaids have different opinions about what they should wear? If so, how did you compromise?