Time to style your entourage! How you want your group to look will depend on the formality of your wedding to a great extent, as well as your overall theme and colors. Just remember that as long as everyone feels great, they’ll look great… and that will make you look all the better on the big day and in your pictures. So suit them up in style, and get their feedback as to what’s comfortable for them, too.
It’s up to you to decide how you want your gals to look while backing you up on your wedding day. In general, you’ll want their style to complement that of your dress and overall theme, but you’ve got a lot of options. These days, the emphasis is less on everyone looking identical and more on how they work together as a group.
Color and Style
Once the big order for the all-important wedding gown is placed, you’re ready to start thinking about how to dress your entourage. When thinking about dress styles, consider a look that will coordinate well with your gown and echo the formality of your wedding. Color will be a matter of preference, and should be chosen to match your theme. Most bridesmaid dresses are simple in design and often in a solid color, but there’s a wide selection of looks to choose from.
Should your bridesmaids wear the same style and color dress? This is often the case, but you don’t have to make them completely identical. You may want to give your girls a bit more freedom in customizing their look—especially if age, body type, and skin tone vary widely in your group. We’ll go over some tips on balancing the variation if you decide to allow it. Most brides also set their maid of honor apart in some way, whether it’s a slight difference in the dress (modified style or color shade) or a different bouquet that signifies their special status.
Length
Bridesmaids’ dresses come in a variety of lengths, and it’s your choice as to how much you want your girls to show. As a general rule, the length of their dresses should match well with your gown. If you’re wearing a floor-length gown, for instance, your girls shouldn’t be wearing semi formal weddings, their dresses shouldn’t be any shorter than tea length.
Floor – The hem completely skims the floor.
Ballerina – This dress style is extra full, with the hem falling to just above the ankle.
Tea – the hen falls to mid-calf.
Intermission or Hi/Lo – The hem falls diagonally: high on one side, low on another. Or, it falls just below the knees in the front and to the ankles in the back.
Knee – The hem just reaches the knees.
Street – The hem just covers the knees.
Mini – The hem falls above the knee.
Different Styles?
Keep in mind that some dress styles are better designed for a specific body type than others. The A-line style, for example, flatters a taller, more slender build. A shorter bridesmaid might find that she needs to do a lot of alteration in order to be comfortable, while a sheath silhouette would likely flatter her form a lot more. You may want to consider choosing dresses that are the same color and of the same fabric, but in different styles to best compliment each of your bridesmaids’ figures. You can select two or three style options, for example, and let each of your bridesmaids choose the one she feels most comfortable with.
Different Colors?
Just as certain dress styles compliment specific body types, certain color shades compliment specific skin tones and may not flatter others as well. Think about selecting a dress available in a few varying shades of your wedding color (like purple, lavender, and periwinkle), and then allowing your bridesmaids to choose the shade they feel goes with their skin.
Finding the Right Dress
Six months or so before your wedding is a good time to start thinking about settling on your bridesmaids’ look. You should probably plan on at least one group shopping trip if possible, to get your girls involved in the decision and obtain their input on the dresses that you’re leaning towards.
Try narrowing down the decision on your own at first, either online or at dress salons (you can bring your maid of honor along to help). While you’re considering color, style, designer, and so forth, don’t forget about cost, too. Bridesmaids are traditionally responsible for purchasing their own attire, so you don’t want to put an inconvenient financial burden on them. We’ll be giving you some e-secrets to help ease their costs (check out the Online Dress Bargains later on in this section).
Dress Designers’ Websites
If you find a dress or style you like, consider checking out the designer’s website for other models that might be up your alley. Bill Levkoft’s website (www.billlevkoff.com) for example, sports a slick Flash interface that lets you change the dress colors on the pictured models to get an idea of how each style would look in your color.
Most designers websites will have a store locator so that you can search for stores in your area that carry their products.
Dress Shops
Hit Bridal salons, bridal warehouses, and formalwear stores to actually see the dresses and feel the fabric. Go armed with information you’ve gleaned off the web, including styles you like—make a list of style numbers—and designers. Visit the online resources ahead of time to find which shops to go to that carry the designs you’re looking for. A good idea is to bring your maid of honor or another bridesmaid along to try on dresses you’re considering.
Ordering and Fitting
Your bridesmaids will all need to be fitted for the dress you select, in order to obtain the right size and make any necessary alterations. Consider getting everyone together and going in to your dress shop for a group fitting, at which time you can see how everyone will look in the dress you’ve selected and place all the orders at once (your bridesmaids traditionally pay for their own attire). If there are a few different dresses that you’re considering, you can all decide together which one to go with. This will also make them feel like they have more of a say as to what they’ll be wearing.
If your girls live in different parts of the country, you’ll need to take steps to make sure they can all be properly fitted. One option is to use a dress designer whose line is available from a national chain, so that your bridesmaids can find a shop local to them to get fitted and have any alterations done conveniently on their own. Alternatively, have your remote maids send in their measurements and buy all dresses from the same shop (this will ensure your dresses are all from the same dye lot). The shop you purchase the dresses from will ship them to your bridesmaids so that they can have their alterations taken care of by a local tailor or seamstress.
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by: Crystal and Jason Melendez, authors of e-Plan Your Wedding:
How to Save Time and Money with Today’s Best Online Resources.
For more information, please visit http://www.eplanyourwedding.com
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