Heinous dresses.
I’m back in town from my first weekend away from Richie since the engagement. Missed him! I spent time with my family; Richie had the “work” assignment of covering Ronnie Mund’s appearance at a strip club in Indy. Tough day at the office, eh?
While I was home, I finally had the face-to-face chance to sit down with my sisters annnnnnnnd ask them to be my bridesmaids! 🙂 I don’t want a big crazy wedding party- just my two sisters & one of my childhood best friends, Cyndi.
It’s got me thinking dresses & I thought I’d bring the debate to you guys because you’re awesome at this stuff. Generally I despise bridesmaid dresses (no offense, Cyn- I loved* the dress I wore as your Maid of Honor and am going to wear** it all the time).
Here are the priorities:
-I want the three of them to look and feel beautiful & elegant.
-I want the dress to be appropriate for different ages, my sisters are (mumblecough) years older than me (I was a flower girl in one sister’s wedding & a 10 yr old bridesmaid in the others) and I don’t want them to feel like their wearing something out of the juniors section that they’re uncomfortable in.
-I want colors that complement some of the design elements. One thing we’re dealing with is a unique shade of blue in the wall behind us and some centerpieces we’re looking at that are made of old amber/brown glass. So maybe in the neutral/blush colors?
-I don’t want them to spend a boatload of money.
What do you guys think about using three related colors for dresses rather than them matching? Like different shades of the same basic color. What about doing that AND using three different style dresses so each person looks their best? But then how do you tie them together? Use the same material maybe? And how do you coordinate it with the groomsmen? I feel like the whole matching cummerbund thing is very prom-esque.
I’m prepared for your genius thoughts on all things bridesmaid dressy. Go.
Use these for some quick inspiration:
The dresses are awful enough to have distracted me from the shotgun the first 3 times I looked at this pic.
Where the "bridesmaid dress/ curtain" comparitive originated.
Perhaps camo IS the best option. At least no one can see you.
*read: theoretically appreciated
**read: remember it fondly
Posted on June 20, 2011, in Uncategorized and tagged bridesmaids, Dress, dresses, howard stern, prom, Rachel Fine, Richie Wilson, Ronnie the Limo Driver, Stern Show, wedding. Bookmark the permalink. 12 Comments.
Fine, change. 
When I was gigging a lot, we played a TON of weddings and I saw my share of awful dresses. One wedding that stuck out, though, was one where the bride obviously just gave the bridesmaids fabric and told them to find a pattern that they liked. The fabric was a very neutral blush/taupe satin-y fabric and then each dress also had some sort of black lace with it – either an overlay on the skirt or a half-jacket or wrap or something like that. Each bridesmaid looked completely comfortable, totally unique and I would bet that they pulled out the dress for other formal occasions because none of the dresses looked like “bridesmaids” dresses.
I like the different dresses idea- I just want everyone to look great.
I like the different dresses/different colors idea. I saw a wedding where the bridesmaids were wearing the same color dress but were all wearing different dresses. But if you want both different color/dresses then… same jewelry?
Cool thought! Thanks!
It’s perfectly cool to have each in a dress of their own choosing (within a palate of colors). Guys in black tie/suit type combo that goes with anything. It’s not the 80’s/90’s where everything needs to be matchy-matchy…elegance is in individualism. You are nothing if not unique, Rachel, so why should you bow to an antiquated tradition? I wish I had been brave enough to not make everyone look the same.
Well written, Gina. Thanks 🙂 We’re definitely departing from tradition across the board.
I, for one, loved your dresses…that’s why I picked them!
Anyways, someone told me to check out J Crew for Bmaid dresses and they are SO CUTE!
I like:
http://www.jcrew.com/wedding/Wedding_Bridesmaid/dresses/silkchiffon/PRDOVR~97893/97893.jsp
and
http://www.jcrew.com/wedding/Wedding_Bridesmaid/dresses/silktaffeta/PRDOVR~11922/11922.jsp
Its always going to be hard to have someone pick a dress for you. We’ve all spent mumblecough years learning exactly how we like to dress our bodies. Even the cutest bridesmaid dress probably wouldn’t be something someone walks up to a rack & is compelled to buy, you know?
I’m excited to keep using “mumblecough” in my blog. I feel I’ve invented something genius here & I hope it catches fire.
Actually, I think all 3 of us lovely bridesmaids should watch “27 dresses” together, and pick from that selection!
We DO have to see that! Bring to Wisconsin!
Amsale has an incredible line of bridesmaids dresses and they also have wonderful color options! Also, they are fairly priced, elegant, comfortable, and age appropriate! Good luck and congratulations!