Tips For An Easy Bridesmaids Shopping Experience

Im actually really excited for this blog post because we truly want to help those who don’t know what they don’t know! We wrote this blog post just to give some advice when it comes to choosing bridesmaids colors, time frames, and working with them and not against them. SOOOO lets do this.

FUN FACT: What a lot of people don’t know is that, I (Maria) have worked at Davids Bridal for over 3 years as a stylist who specifically works with the bridal party side of the wedding day! Meaning, bridesmaids, flower girl, mother of bride and groom, etc!

*****FIRST and FOREMOST, I want to advice that whenever you go into a shop to look for bridesmaids dresses, ASK FOR HELP. SAVE YOURSELF the time.Explain to the consultant that you are simply looking to get an idea and they should ease up and help you instead of trying to make a sale. Explain what you are looking for before you go around the store looking at gorgeous things that won’t come in the color or fabric you are envisioning. *******

THE SEASON: So many times I hear people say things like, “ugh, I love this color so much but its not a fall color,” or “it doesn’t go with the season.” Now this is a very personal opinion but I tend to tell my customers that although I understand not wanting to choose a strange color for the wedding, 20 years from now, even 5 years or less, no one is going to be looking at what season the wedding was taken in. They will be looking at the PHOTOS and how well it all coordinated together, the love between the the family and friends, not the season. So if its fall but you love a light pink, or mint green, GIRL DO ITT!! You’ll feel much happier choosing a color you love instead of a color everyone was telling you to get for the “season”.

THE SHADES: I completely understand coming into a bridal shop or starting the wedding planning process with an inspiration picture of the EXACT color you want the bridesmaids dresses to be. BUT, I’ll be real with you guys, the reality of the situation is that 8/10 that inspiration picture you chose from Pinterest is based off of the PHOTOGRAPHER’S editing style. There is dark and moody, light and airy, vibrant and bold forms of editing that ALL affect how the color of the bridesmaids dresses come out to be.

Soooo many times I’ve have brides come in with the one picture from Pinterest that they NEEDED the color to be, and again while I understand, in the end it does come down to the way your photographer edits. This and the lighting of the venue in which you are in. While a good photographer should have consistent edits across various forms of lighting, the lighting even from where you are shopping could differ from the venues lighting thus changing the color you see.

FABRIC!!!! Fabric affects the shades/tones of a dress even if its the same company! In our store for example we have one color for burgundy that shows up different across chiffon, satin, mesh, tulle, crepe despite it being the same brand. This then goes even further when you mix and match different brands.

THE BRANDS: As just stated, the brands usually have each their own unique fabric choices which affect the color. More often than not, the colors dont carry on from brand to brand. Vera Wang may have her own colors that you can not find in the stores brand. CHECK WHAT COLORS COME IN EACH BRAND before you fall in love with a dress that you come to find out does not come in the color you were eyeing. Always ask before hand!

TIME FRAMES: A hugeeee misconception when it comes to picking out your bridesmaids dress is that they have every single size, every single dress in every single color in the store. Some store carry 50+ styles and the reality is there isn’t going to be the 50+ styles ALL in size 0-30 in every single color imaginable. Its just not going to happen. Most of the time a store will carry the styles themselves in various colors where you try on THE STYLE itself to see if you like it and you order it in the color you want, IF AVAILABLE.

Enter with an open mentality to look at styles and have a color in mind but may not be possible to see both style and color in the store when you go in.

In terms of time frames MOST COLORS take an average of 1 month to order, and that tends to be the more in demand, popular colors that are used all year round.

• New colors advertised by the company tend to take the longest amount of time to come because of the very fact that they are NEW.

• Bright unique colors such as fuchsia, sunflower yellow, coral colors can take up to 4 MONTHS to get. So if you already know your color is a bit different, go in ASAP to assure you can get your dress on time.

SIZES: I cant speak for all stores, but definitely shop around for sizing. I know companies such as David’s Bridal does a good job at having a wide range of sizing for your bridesmaids 0-30. AGAIN there may not be every single size in every dress at the store, but for this I suggest to go to a larger store as they would carry more inventory than a smaller one would. Meaning your chances are better.

Most dresses can be altered up to 2 sizes down NOT UP. A dress only has so much give to loosen up a dress so although I understand weight loss goals, it is ALWAYS best to order for the size you are currently and not the size you plan on being. WHY?

• If you are on a time crunch and need to order the dress ASAP but order it too small, by the time it comes in, iffffff it doesn’t fit there may be nothing that can be done to order a new one and you’re stuck without the dress you actually wanted.

• Getting the size you are now ALLOWS for any alterations to be done if you do loose the weight. 2 sizes is a considerable amount and can be fixed to fit whatever you end up being.

Moral of this story, order with time and in the size you are at the time of ordering.

MIXING + MATCHING: Again this is a personal opinion and there really isn’t a right or wrong answer.

• If you choose to mix and match with your bridesmaids: I personally suggest that you remain with the same color and/or color palate for all the girls. Meaning if every bridesmaid has the option to choose their dress, stick with the same color or SHADE. This makes it still look coordinating while allowing the bridesmaids to choose what they feel most comfortable in!

  • if you dont personally care about shades, open it up even more to allow them to choose any fabric.

  • if you need it to be the same shade to coordinate, allow the bridesmaids to choose any dress as long as they are all the same FABRIC.

• If you choose to have everyone in the same dress: You could either do same colors for everyone or mix it up! Alternate colors, do ombre colors, jewel tones whatever! You are already coordinating by matching the dress style, the colors are then just for the sake of what they feel more comfortable in for their skin stone.

THE MAID/MATRON OF HONOR: Some people want their maid/matron of honor to stand out from the other bridesmaids without making it look drastically different so here’s the advice:

• If you chose mix and matching: Since everyone is already in a different dress and even possibly different shades, best suggestion would be to:

  • add different jewelry for the maid/matron of honor

  • different color/larger bouquet

  • have 2 styles picked: Have maid/matron wear a specific dress while all the other bridesmaid wear the other style.

• If same dress across the board:

  • have maid/matron wear a different color (like your accent color) from the rest of bridesmaids

  • different jewelry/bouquet also applies here

So those are all of the tips I recommend from working with bridesmaids for many years on how to have a good experience when shopping for your girls. But I do want to put this out there for anyone who needs encouragement and as A REMINDER for all the bridesmaids reading this blog.

THE REAL TRUTH: HERE IT IS

THIS IS THE BRIDE’S DAY. Im going to be REAL HONEST. Too many times I see, a very opinionated bridesmaid or maid/matron of honor who hates the color the bride chose, the dress, the fit, the price point, whatever and it stresses the bride out. A wedding day and its planning can, yes, be very stressful but it also can be alleviated with the support of bridesmaids, it shouldn’t be made worse because the girls hate how they look.

This is the one day, you as the bride, get to be picky. I highly encourage you, if something doesn’t feel right with what the girls have chosen, be honest. Tell them. And if you don’t feel comfortable telling them straight up, talk to your consultant, or a manager to help explain the benefits. If it becomes a problem where they are making it worse rather than better, THEY DONT NEED TO BE IN IT. Plain and simple. I am not trying to be rude but this is about you. Don’t dim your light just because someone else cant stand the brightness. You are so worth having everything you want. Have it your way.