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It’s getting closer and closer to the wedding and I realized I haven’t even mentioned what our bridal party will be donning for the affair. Fairly early on in the wedding planning process, I decided I wanted my girls to wear short black dresses; somewhat similar to Mrs. Avocado’s girls.
Via Mrs. Avocado on Weddingbee
I have been in several weddings, and generally speaking, the dresses are frightening (I’ve got some pictures of flower girl dresses I wore as a child that make Ronald McDonald look fashionable) and most certainly will never be worn again. Let’s just say Miss Ticket does not look good in yellow…
I did not want this for my girls. I want them to look hot and be comfortable and maybe, JUST maybe, wear that dress at least one more time (so overdone and cliche but true!)—just so they feel they got their money’s worth. I started out looking at David’s Bridal for dresses, since this is where I was planning on looking for my own dress, but there was really only one dress there that I liked and it was $150! I’m sorry, but asking my girls to pay $150 for a couple yards of fabric was an unacceptable option for me. Two of them will be flying in from out of state specifically for the wedding and I had no intention of asking them to spend hundreds more for an outfit they would likely only wear the one time.
With this in mind I started looking at other stores and checking out postings by other bees, because let’s face it, the hive is awesome. 
I found the idea of each girl wearing a different dress rather appealing. In case I haven’t mentioned it before my bridesmaids come in rather different shapes, sizes and colors. So, each one is going to look good in a different style. I thought about this for a while but ultimately it wasn’t a hard decision to make. I gave the girls a basic set of requirements:
Something like…
Did you let your girls pick their own dresses? If you did, did it turn out to be a hassle, or an easy process?
We let our bridal party choose and it turned out soooo well.
At first I was all for the “challenge” of finding a dress to flatter each of my girls, but the more I think about it, the more I like this idea.
I had my girls in “little black dresses” too just for the idea that they’d be really easy to re-use. Sadly my lil sis just got to/had to reuse hers for a funeral! But we got lucky and we got the PERFECT dresses at JCPenny that looked good on all three of my girls and they had all their sizes and they were only like $40.00 each! 
I though, “hey, I like the look of mis-matched”…”plus, then everyone can pick what *they* want and can afford”….
So not Bridezilla right?
Well i dont know how but the simple task of picking a dress has caused HUGE chaos and basically forced me to be more involved…. guh!
My traditional is to pay for my girls’ outfit and everything. So, $$$ matters! And I chose a little black dress too. Black is just so elegant!
I had been window shopping at http://www.ideeli.com for a while. Most of the items on ideeli are returnable for credits. I finally picked a style that would look good on most body type (V neck and A line), ordered my girls’ sizes and 1 size up and down, just in case. Then got them together for a dress fitting party. It turned out perfect!! I saved a lot of money, and my girls were happy with the pick.
I really like the mismatched look - I’m still hemming and hawing over a decision for my ladies, but I’m currently thinking of giving them a length, color and fabric, and having them choose from there. That was there’s some unity, but each girl can decide what flatters their body best!
I am curious what the hive has to offer on this topic also. I love the idea of matching shoes and then dresses of a similar theme.
I figured we’d never find a dress that looked great on all the bridesmaids (sizes 0, 6, 12 and 16). I assumed they’d all pick different black dresses, but we actually found one that looks great on all of them, the Jacquard Tank Dress by White House Black Market (http://tinyurl.com/5uxkkgc).
And I’m glad I just posted this, because I found out it’s on sale! The ladies will be sooo happy.
You’re such a thoughtful and caring friend my girls are also being able to choose their style…but same color and material.
i loooooooove the mis-matched look. I plan to let my girls pick out their dresses as long as they are the same color (black) and similar material (silk or chiffon or something tha tlooks like that). I won’t be requiring them to buy them all from the same store or one that I pick out.
I was in a wedding where the bride let us bridesmaids pick out our dresses as long as they were the same color. It looked great and it made me feel beautiful because it was a dress that was my style! Even the pictures came out better, because everyone was happy!
I told my girls what to wear cause I’m mean But also because it was on super sale. I love the dress idea you posted!
@crazybabyinlove: I got mine at Pennies too for about $40 each and they are so nice! I am happy with it too, because one bridesmaid is pregnant, one is well endowed, one tall, and one short, and it looks good on them all!
For a wedding I was in this June, the lovely bride gave us similar guidelines: black, knee-ish length, some kind of strappage.
It was a dream - so easy for all of us, and I LOVE my dress that I bought for her wedding!
Once again, being a Ticket BM sounds awesome! I think you cannot go wrong with a knee-length black dress, and I’m sure your BMs are incredibly grateful to you. For a long time, I thought I was going to go with a black dress for my MOH, but I decided it was a little too dark for our more subtle color palette. I ended up choosing a soft gray color with purple undertones for my MOH. I love the versatility of the color and style of the knee-length dress, and my sister is already planning to re-wear her dress. She loved it and looked amazing in it!
I let my girls pick their own dresses. I knew the look I was going for (like you) and I honestly didn’t care what they picked, as long as they liked it. I went with them, but just to help them zip-up and to give that final call on yay or nay.
I also didn’t care if they matched, but they all wanted too (weird, I know, they all agreed! haha). I picked out a few dresses, they picked out a few, and then after 2 try on marathons, I had two I liked. The girls, though, fell in love with one and that’s what we went with.
My girls chose this one: http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Short-Pleated-Satin-Strapless-Dress-F14212_Bridal-Party-Bridesmaids-All-Bridesmaid-Dresses - in black.
It’s very flattering (one of my bridesmaids just had a baby and you’d never be able to tell in this dress), it can easily be worn again (one of my bridesmaids bought it already and already wore it to another wedding and plans on wearing it to her holiday office party) and it’s not shiny and wedding-y at all, so it can easily be that “little black dress”.
Good luck!
I forgot to mention 2 things:
1. My bridesmaid range in sizes from 00 to 24W. They all loved and rocked the dress!
2. I bought my dress at DB and they gave me a $20 discount on every BM dress, so the dress, the accessory they wanted, and the discount round it out to only $100.
Because I had so many darn bridesmaids, there was no way I was having that many dresses. They still picked their dress, just only one dress.
Yeaah, I wanted my girls to be sexy in their mismatched dresses. Comfortable and sexy. 
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Miss Ticket, Riverside, CA Age and Occupation: 25, Executive Assistant Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, HVAC Technician Engagement Date: November 14, 2010 Wedding Date: October 2011 Venue: Crestmore Manor About Me: I'm a lifelong So Cal gal, a chocoholic, a closet gamer, and a television enthusiast (love me some Vampire Diaries!) who adores playing in the kitchen and lives in flip flops. Mr. Ticket and I are best known for singing and dancing in the car, our World of Warcraft addiction, adoring food, crane game playing, and our general homebody ways. Oh, and GO STEELERS!
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