Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Dressin' the Ladies

For some reason, when I read the title of this post, I can't help but say it (in my mind... and maybe out loud) in the voice of the Rob Schneider's Copy Guy from SNL. If you don't know what I'm talking about, Google it. Having worked in an office setting for 8+ years, I heard this guy mimicked quite a bit...
Source 
Makin' the copies....

Ahem... sorry about that... I just had to.

What will my ladies be wearing? Well, thanks for asking. It was kind of a tough choice. I had visions of beautiful bridal parties like these:
Source
 I love how each bridesmaid's personality showed through their choice of dress. I adore the mis-matched look!

As we browsed for dresses, I wanted to make sure I was conscious of a few things:
  • Budget - I have been in countless weddings where I've shelled out some big $$s for a dress. I didn't want to make my girls suffer when it came to their pocketbooks. Anything over $200 was out of the question, and I really wanted to stay around $150 if possible.
  • Comfort - Our wedding is August 20, in Michigan. AKA, the 20th of Humid and Heat. I knew that long dresses were going to make me unpopular with my 'maids. I prefer short dresses anyway, so this wasn't a biggie to me. I wanted a fabric that would be breathable and looser fitting, so no European satin or taffeta. Also, I wanted a designer who had multiple styles in the same fabric, so my girls could choose what style they wanted. I've worn countless strapless dresses, and I hate them. I didn't want to do that to my girls.
  • Versatility - And OK, I know every bride says this, but it was important that my 'maids be able to wear these dresses again, or at least have the option. That meant I was going for a re-wearable color, cut, and fabric.
Keeping the budget in mind, we set up an appointment at David's Bridal. I had the lovely Ashley and Lindsey accompanying me as models, and Josh's mom Adeline for encouragement and another perspective. At David's Bridal, we found their cotton collection, which boasts affordable prices and lots of bright colors.

Definitely contemplating the dress-with-socks look. Pretty fashionable, no? ;)


The colors were great, but not exactly what we were looking for. But the POCKETS! Ahhhh I desperately wanted my girls to have a dress with pockets! We liked the styles of these dresses, especially the red and green dresses you see in the third picture. The major drawback to these dresses was the fabric. While light and airy, the cotton material wrinkled like crazy! I didn't want anyone feeling like they couldn't sit down once they got their dress on for fear of a wrinkled behind, so we scrapped the David's Bridal dresses.

Our next stop was a bridal shop that carried one of the dresses Lindsey tried on the day after Josh and I got engaged. She was in love with it, and we wanted feedback from a few other sets of eyes.
This is an Alfred Angelo in silk charmeuse. Don't fret - it comes in solid colors, too. The fabric is amazingly light and breezy, and the shade of green was just right. Picture a mossy green that gets lighter or darker depending on how the light hits it... I would show you the color swatch on Alfred Angelo's website, but it's all wrong. It makes the dress look, well, dull.

Although Lindsey and Ashley tried on other dresses, our talk always came back to this one.

As an added bonus, it has a sister:
Alfred Angelo via Wedding Shoppe Inc
This sassy one shouldered number provided another option for my girls to wear, if they so desired.

My mind was made up: I would offer either Alfred Angelo dress as options for my girls, and they could pick the dress that suited them the best. I was excited to see how my version of mis-matched girls would come together!

Stay tuned for the breakdown of exactly how mis-matched my wedding party would be, and whether I feel I kept my concerns in mind...

How was the hunt for your bridesmaids' dresses? What was important to you as you searched? Do you have a bridesmaid dress horror story (we all LOVE to hear them!) that influenced your decision?

No comments:

Post a Comment