Bridesmaid Dresses, Revisted

Dessy Twist Wrap Dress
Image via Dessy.com

Remember my previous post on bridesmaid dress post? The one where I played the part of the gracious bride who left the dress decisions up to the girls? Well, I kind of went back on that a teeny bit. OK, maybe more than a teeny bit, but I'm still being flexible!

I thought once I gave my ladies the freedom to go ahead and choose their own dresses the decision would be out of my hand. But BMs Coco and Gemini (made up names for sure) still wanted further instructions. "What kind of dresses? What fabric, what colors?" I soon realized that the cut and style of the dress was probably more important to the girls than the fabric or color. So much to my delight, I introduced the Dessy Twist Wrap Dress into the discussion. Oh, how I love this dress. It can be wrapped to form a multitude of styles from strapless to sleeves. Dessy has even added a helpful "How to Wear" section on their website which details how to make the different styles. Um, yes!

 Style Examples
Image via Bridesmaids.com

Since all of the ladies have different body types and heights, I thought this would be the best option for everyone. However, I wasn't too sure about the fabric: Jersey Matte. In my experience Jersey fabric has come across as cheap looking and not really appropriate for formal events. So I called up a few stores to see if they had the dress in stock. I had the hardest time tracking this elusive dress down. I literally called over ten stores and everyone said they didn't have it, but could order it for me at a price and I could sell it back if I didn't like it. I wasn't too keen on this idea so I started looking around for different options. But, as luck would have it I found a store that had the dress in stock, just around the corner from my office! Was this Fate? I'd like to think so! So BM Coco and I went to check it out. I was so happy that they even had it in our color! Here are the photos from her fabulous photo shoot:

All photos are personal unless noted otherwise

We had a ton of fun learning how to wrap the dress. I think with no knowledge going into it, we did a decent job. But we'll definitely need to look at a few videos before the big day. Coco's favorite style was the second one pictured above. The saleslady who helped us informed us that the dresses tend to run big. She was right, the dress BM Coco is wearing is a small and she still had plenty of room. We only tried a few of the styles before we both agreed that this was the dress. With the Twist Wrap dress everyone can still look unique, but look uniform with the same shade of red and fabric. So there you have it!

Did anyone else have a change of heart regarding bridesmaid dresses?

Bridesmaids Daze

I picked out the bridesmaid dresses! Ha, just kidding ladies!

Image via Thecinemasource.com

Lately I've been getting a bit ahead of myself. There's tons of stuff I need to take care of like registering, lighting, flowers and, um MY dress - but this week I've been stuck on bridesmaids dresses. And when I say stuck, just know that I mean obsessing.

Shortly after getting engaged my sister asked me (for the hundredth time) what my wedding colors were. She then scrunched up her nose and asked, "Red and gold?" I asked what's wrong with red and gold. She said, "Too bright." I was immediately on the defensive and grabbed the nearest laptop to prove her wrong. "No no no no no...see? These are the shades I want. That's not too bright, right!? Its more of a deep red and subtle gold. Subtle!"

After I'd gotten her approval (and my mother's) I put away the computer and relaxed. But my dear sister asked this one little question: "Can I pick out my own dress?"

To be honest, I was fine with the idea of my BMs picking their own dresses. In fact, I liked the idea that it would take some of the stress away from me. As long as they were the same color and fabric, I didn't mind if the girls wore different styles to compliment their figure.

I WAS fine with it until later that night when I fully came into my bridal fever. "Different dresses?! What if I don't like the dresses they pick? Can I ask them to choose a different one? Is that going back on my word?"

After that night I became dress crazy. The next day I broke my rule about dress shopping. You remember when I said I wouldn't step foot in a bridal salon until Summer? Well, I visited Alfredo Angelo to get a look at what kind of dresses they had to offer. I wish I hadn't because I didn't see any dresses that I liked which further discouraged me. And I caved and wandered over to the bridal gown section, but more on that later :)

Online I fell in love with these beauties:

Image via Morilee

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Image via J. Crew

Image via Mrs. Jellyfish / Photo by Cliff Brunk Photography

I am seriously coveting the J. Crew dress and a few similar ones in the same shade. The problem is I'm trying really really hard to keep all of the dresses under $100 and all of those dresses are over the limit. Bummer. For a moment I was sad that I wouldn't be happy with the girls' dresses and pout about in later when looking at my wedding album. But then I saw pictures like these:

Image via Something Blue

This photo was taken at our venue!

Image via Style Me Pretty / Photo by Drew B Photography

And I thought I could be OK with different shades and different styles. My BMs are paying for their own dresses so they should be able to wear what they want to wear. It limits everybody stress across the board and eases my guilt over making them buy dresses. Phew! Letting all of that out feels good! I feel like going for a run. Or eating way too much Korean BBQ. Wonder which one I'll choose...

How do you feel about mismatched bridesmaid dresses?