Bridesmaid Rewind

Did you know that I initially didn't want red bridesmaids' dresses? Very early in my blogging, I posted about a soft gold or dark champagne coloured dress.

Here's what I wrote:


So I really, really wanted the colour theme to be gold. And I still do! But it's really hard to find nice, subtle shades of gold in bridesmaids dresses. So many shades of gold remind me of New Year's Eve! Given the month and year of my wedding (June in the 21st century), I don't think it'll work!

Reasons I may not have gold bridesmaid dresses:
1) Bridesmaid's Skin Colours:
Most of my bridesmaids are relatively pale, making the shade of gold so very important. Too pale (like a champagne), and they'll look washed out!
2) Available Shades of Gold:
Some of the gold dresses belonged in a documentary about Studio 54, or some other equally blindingly bright costume from the '70s. Not exactly flattering for anyone!
3) Availability of Dresses:
I've found a couple potential dresses, but they are either (a) from a designer not based anywhere near here, (b) only available on-line - yeah, like I'd ask my bridesmaids to order such important (to me) dresses on-line, or (c) far too expensive to ask my bridesmaids to pay.
4) My Dress Colour:
My dress is an "ivory" colour, though to be honest, it looks white. The "white" dresses almost had a touch of blue to them! I'm fairly pale, so the blue-white would make me look like I'm ill! So I wanted a shade of gold that would not look dull beside my dress.

For these reasons, and with the gracious consent of my bridesmaids, who are willing to wear whatever I ask (and have all told me as much), we may switch the colour to red.

Advantages of Red:
1) There are so many shades of red (from rust to crimson to burgundy).
2) Many, many dresses come in so many of those shades of red!
3) The colour (and my bridesmaids) will "pop" even more against my dress, creating a striking contrast.

I am disappointed that the dresses may not be available in gold. But, I'm sure my bridesmaids will look lovely regardless! I may be able to decorate with subtle gold accents, to incorporate the gold colour theme, such as in the invitations or programs.


Note: I will have red dresses, but everything else will be ivory/cream and gold/champagne. Since gold/champagne don't occur naturally, the bridesmaids will carry yellow-orange flowers. So I have my punch of colour in the red, but the rest of the decor will (hopefully) be soft.

The original post is here.

How did you choose your colour scheme?

I wish I'd found this website a couple months ago

Look at these amazing dresses!

You can customize bridesmaid dresses:


Or order "celebrity inspired" dresses such as this dress inspired by a dress worn by Debra Messing:

And there's this dress inspired by a dress worn by Emmy Rossum:

Where did I find these dresses? Coco Myles, which was brought to my attention by The Professional Bridesmaid.

Update: Dresses (Final)

I didn't see the bottom dress, and besides that, I should just go with the decision I made and not second guess myself. As Brunhilda pointed out, there are a million things to choose from. And it's quite difficult to choose when there are too many choices!

MOH Joce chose the same dress as BMs Emily, Kristy & Crystal. I was surprised because it does show a bit more cleavage, but for her it came down to the fact that she liked the corset-style back so much more than the more modest top with the zip-up back. It's her choice. :)

See, the frustrating thing (for me) is that I don't care that much, but there are so many choices that I'm just worried whatever I do pick, I'll regret it later. Or worse, my bridesmaids won't like it.

But, it's done. The deposits have been made - a 50% deposit.

So that's that - no point in second guessing myself!

Dresses

I'm going to order 3 of these:

tomorrow, plus one more dress (undecided which one it'll be). All 3 bridesmaids are getting this dress, but MOH Joce has not decided whether she wants the above dress or this dress. After work, I'm picking her up to try them on again.

Unless, of course, I change my mind and get this:

in royal blue.

Why can't I decide on anything?!

What do you think?

I forgot to mention: I gave each of my bridesmaids the choice between the 2 dresses. So they will pick what they like best. I told them 2 weeks ago they could choose, gave them a list of nearby stores that carry this line, and told them to let me know by this Satuday.

What do you think of that idea?

Bridesmaid Dresses: the final 2

This dress, which we will call "Dress #1", looks less "sweetheart" in person:

"Dress #2", on which the rouching covers the belly nicely, has a corset-back:

The only concern I have is that the sweetheart neck on the second dress does dip low, and shows off "the girls" on women with an ample bosom. It's very flattering on women whose cups are not "over-flowing".

Update: What I meant to say is that it's flattering on smaller "girls", but shows off the girls in an unflattering manner on larger "girls". I just wanted to clarify what I was trying to say.

January Poll is Closed

23 people voted on what they would like to wear as a bridesmaid.

Only 22 people voted for the three bodice options, half of you picked a v-neck (11), whereas of the other 11 bodice votes, almost twice as many of you would rather wear sweetheart (7) than strapless (4). I'm wondering if that means one of you did not like any of the options? Anyway, MOH Joce inititally agreed with most of you, preferring v-neck so she could wear a proper and non-strapless bra. I made her try on a bunch of dresses, including a v-neck option, a sweetheart neckline and a strapless neckline, Joce was torn between the strapless and the sweetheart.

Again, only 22 of the 23 of you voted for the length options. Does that mean that 1 of you did not like any of the length options? Mini-skirt, maybe? :) Anyway, most of you (15) preferred tea-length dresses, over floor (5) and sweep (2) options.

For the cut or shape of the skirt, 3 of you like ballgowns, 14 prefer a-line, and 4 of you like trumpet (mermaid). I presume that means 3 of you didn't like any of the options? The problem with full ballgown skirts is they are cumbersome, and can become quite hot. The concern many of you have with trumpet style skirts is probably that only certain body-types look good in this style. A-line skirts are universally flattering.

I gave my bridesmaids between two dresses, one of which is the sweetheart-strapless, the other is a strapless bodice. When looking at all the dresses, Joce vetoed the v-neck dress. Both dress are floor-length and a-line. I really struggled between the floor length, which is timeless, and the tea-length, which is fun. Ultimately, there are more floor length options, which helped me to make the decision.

I am also wondering if those of you who didn't vote on some of the categories did not have a preference? Anyway, I'm glad I got so many votes, to gauge what you would like in a bridesmaid dress when you're the bridesmaid!

Tomorrow, I'll re-post the 2 dresses the girls are chosing between.

Thanks for the feedback!

I appreciate everyone's comments on yesterday's post.

To clarify a few things:

• MOH Joce helped me eliminate the search from about 15 dresses (which she tried on!) to those 3. We both had "veto" power. MOH eliminated two v-neck styles. (I comment on that because the majority of you have voted you yourselves would prefer a v-neck style.)
• Dress 3 comes with a built-in crinoline; hence the extra fullness.
• Only 2 of the 4 bridal party members have tried on those 3 dresses: MOH Joce and BM Emily. MOH Joce preferred to fullness of dress 3, but really liked all 3 of the dresses. BM Emily liked dresses 1 and 2 best, but she really looked amazing in dress 2.
• I was worried that dress 3 would look like too formal.
• I have emailed to all 4 ladies that they may choose between dresses 1 and 2. In the email, I sent a list of the closest stores they can contact to try them on. For BMs Emily & Kristy, they both had about 10 shops to choose from. For MOH Joce, there are 2 local shops. And BM Crystal has 1 shop, which is unfortunate, but I figure maybe I can convince her that means she needs to visit me soon to try on the dress here! :)

Oh, and I am still seriously thinking of what some have suggested (including a girl at the bridal shop) to let MOH Joce wear dress 3. I'm not sure; she'd look so different from the others. Maybe she could wear dress 1 or 2 with a crinoline for a little more fullness. What do you think?

Bridesmaid Dresses

BM Emily came up this week-end. We went to look at the bridesmaid dresses. I forgot my camera (oops) but got the model numbers so I could look them up.

Here are the 3 dresses:

All 3 dresses are Alfred Angelo styles.

Bridesmaid Dresses and Suits versus Tuxedos

I've almost got the bridesmaid dress problem sorted out. I think I've narrowed down my choices to 3 dresses, with the help of MOH. Since BM Emily is visiting from Toronto this week-end, I am going to put her to work to look at those 3 dresses and see what she thinks.

Arg! It's such a hard decision!

And tonight, Wade & I are going to start looking at suits/tuxedos. I'm sure we won't decide tonight, but we have to start somewhere! I'm still not sure what look I want (dark grey suit versus black tuxedo) because I like both so much. So we need to make Wade try on some suits & tuxedos for me! I think he's partial to tuxedos, based on what he's said, but even within the realm of tuxedos there are many options.

Updated To-Do Lists

Last night, Maid of Honour (MOH) Joce & I went to look at bridesmaid gowns. After seeing all the super-cute bridesmaid gowns that are just regular dresses that girls wear on the wedding day, I had been looking around at stores as the Christmas dresses were being cleared out. However, I was unable to find a dress that did not scream "Christmas" or "holidays" or "New Year's Eve". So, I went back to the only real bridal store in town to look at dresses again.

This store carries After Six, Alred Angelo, and others. We looked at a couple Alfred Angelo dresses. In retrospect, maybe we should have looked at a couple After Six dresses; their dresses are so nice and flowy. But there were 3 Alfred Angelo dresses we liked - I let MOH have veto power, too. Honestly, I was trying to canvas my bridesmaids as much as possible about the different styles they would prefer to wear. It may be my wedding, but if they're shelling out $200 (egad! I'm asking my friends to pay that much for me?!) then I should at least make sure they'll like what they're wearing.

I've never been a bridesmaid. I can't wait to be one - to have that honour, to plan my friend's bridal shower, to have fun planning the games, to plan and go on her bachelorette party, and to wear a fun, matching dress. I love bridesmaids' dresses. I love taffeta, silk, organza, and I do enjoy pouffy, over-the-top silhouettes. And I look forward to wearing one. But I'm asking my bridesmaids to get their feedback, so they can wear something they like.

Here are some of the things my bridesmaids like / dislike:
-MOH Joce does not like much ornamentation, but she does like detailing (pick-ups, ruching, etc.).
-BM Emily does not like bows or sparkles on the front of dresses.
-BM Emily didn't like bows in the back of the dress, either.
-BM Kristy does not like low-cut ... well, none of the girls particularly like low-cut tops, but Kristy (ahem) really doesn't appreciate it!
-BM Kristy & Emily don't like low backs.
-No one seems to have a huge preference between floor length and tea length
-All 4 ladies have told me whatever I decide is fine (well, that may be, but I want them to be happy!)

Hence why my January poll (I seem to put up a poll every other month) is about dresses. Readers, tell me what you would like to wear as a bridesmaid!

Bridal Party

In my blog-stalking (and I do a lot!), I have come across other brides (and occassionally grooms) who are confused by the idea of the bridal party. Not the idea of having bridesmaids and groomsmen, but rather the idea of forcing people to wear (sometimes expensive) matching outfits, pay a lot of money (through hosting bridal showers, throwing bachelor / bachelorette parties), and just generally run errands for the bride & groom.

I respect that some people do not want to ask friends to make such a commitment. And frankly, that is not what I would ask my friends to do.

I view the bridal party as unofficial cheerleaders.

Of course, I don't expect the bridesmaids to wear cheerleader skirts. And neither Wade nor I expects the groomsmen to wear any skirts! I mean cheerleaders in that the bridesmaids are there to support me (and the groomsmen to support Wade) on our wedding day.

Here's why I want a bridal party:
1. They may help me plan / do little diy craft projects
2. They will calm me down if I get upset, emotional, or irrational*
3. They will get ready with me
4. They will hopefully have fun getting ready with me
5. They will officially stand up with me when I get married

Though I know everyone who will attend our wedding is there to support Wade and me on our wedding day, the bridesmaids are just a little extra emotional support for me!

According to the etiquette books I've read, many "traditional" duties of bridesmaids are not actually requirements: it is not a requirement of bridesmaids to throw a bridal shower; it most certainly is not a requirement for bridesmaids to throw a bachelorette party; bridesmaids are not expected to be literal maids on the wedding day. I don't want my bridesmaids to feel obligated to do anything (duty or not) that they are uncomfortable or unable (financially or geographically) to undertake.

I have 4 lovely ladies standing up for me: Jocelyn, Emily, Kristy and Crystal. And I am so thrilled and honoured that they have accepted to be my bridesmaids! That is part of the reason I am struggling so much to find a great bridesmaid dress: I want something they will look and feel great wearing for a day.

P.S.1 I'm so excited to have them as bridesmaids, I've already started their gifts. I started about 3 months ago! I'm nuts, I know, but I have already had a lot of fun picking out ideas!
P.S.2 I do expect them to book the day of June 6th off work, but I'm sure they already knew that! :)
*I am not talking bride-zilla upset, but rather if I have a panic attack or overreact to something silly, my friends help me put things into perspective!

Bridesmaid Dresses

I have posted on this topic all-ready. I thought I had a bridesmaid style picked out. I was thinking a-line, with ruching. Something like this:
Source: Alfred Angelo (available here in Kingston)

I was looking a styles that fit that style. I dragged two bridesmaid across Toronto to look at 3 stores that carried the entire Watters line. We got there, and even though all 3 stores indicated on-line that they carry the full line, none actually carried the full line. I looked at some Watters dresses, some Alfred Angelo dresses, and some Mori Lee dresses.

Then I started looking on-line again. And I discovered the many virtues of non-bridesmaid dresses.

Source: Alfred Angelo (okay, this is a bridesmaid dress, but it does not have a traditional look).

Source: J. Crew (an American chain, but easy enough to drive to from here!)

Source: BCBG Max Azria (although hard to tell, this dress is actually silver, not white)

Ack! Why am I struggling more with the bridesmaid dresses than with my bridal gown!
(The bridesmaid dress will be a gold or red dress, not necessary the colours above)

Colour of Bridesmaid Dresses

So ... BLUE dresses won the bridesmaid's dress poll. But I don't always go with what's popular. You'll have to wait and see what I have!

Have you voted on the new poll? It's on favours. In this case, Wade & I really don't know what to do for the favours. The poll is in the left-hand column, so if you know what you like, let us know!

Bridesmaids' Guide

Too cute:

Source:
http://www.bridesmaidsguide.com/
http://www.dessy.com/

Favourite Bridesmaid Dresses

These are just some of the fun dresses I have found on-line!





I think these dresses are awesome (and I'm quite serious). As odd as the multi-coloured stripes are, the bridesmaids are beautiful and pull it off! The differences lengths does look a little off. But the backdrop is absolutely stunning, and all three look so happy to be there.














Is anyone else wanting to sing, "He was a one-eyed, one-horned, flying, purple, people-eater"? No? Well, I am.

This bride couldn't decide on a colour, so she chose three! After all, why choose?

My personal favourite. These hot pink numbers look like they're made of coloured saran wrap. I remember that stuff. Kind of a weird idea, coloured saran wrap.

Going by the sexy perm hairstyles, I would guess this wedding took place in the mid to late 1980s! So, really, these dresses would have been cutting-edge futuristic.

What great friends, though you can hardly see them through the glare.



Do you have any favourites of these dresses?

What do you think of these bridesmaid dresses?

Alfred Angelo

Shown in black taffeta (I'd go for biscuit/light gold)

Raylia Designs

Shown in turquoise satin (I'd go for red, deep red or burgundy)

Alfred Angelo

Shown in red satin

Other options:

Bill Levkoff

http://billlevkoff.com/main3.asp?p=1.1075

Watters

http://watters.com/product.php?coll=wtoo&showid=441

Any thoughts, preferences or comments? I think the Watters and the Raylia are my favourites, though I do like the other three; if I didn't, they wouldn't have been included!

All that glitters is not gold

So I really, really wanted the colour theme to be gold. And I still do! But it's really hard to find nice, subtle shades of gold in bridesmaids dresses. So many shades of gold remind me of New Year's Eve! Given the month and year of my wedding (June in the 21st century), I don't think it'll work!

Reasons I may not have gold bridesmaid dresses:
1) Bridesmaid's Skin Colours:
Most of my bridesmaids are relatively pale, making the shade of gold so very important. Too pale (like a champagne), and they'll look washed out!
2) Available Shades of Gold:
Some of the gold dresses belonged in a documentary about Studio 54, or some other equally blindingly bright costume from the '70s. Not exactly flattering for anyone!
3) Availability of Dresses:
I've found a couple potential dresses, but they are either (a) from a designer not based anywhere near here, (b) only available on-line - yeah, like I'd ask my bridesmaids to order such important (to me) dresses on-line, or (c) far too expensive to ask my bridesmaids to pay.
4) My Dress Colour:
My dress is an "ivory" colour, though to be honest, it looks white. The "white" dresses almost had a touch of blue to them! I'm fairly pale, so the blue-white would make me look like I'm ill! So I wanted a shade of gold that would not look dull beside my dress.

For these reasons, and with the gracious consent of my bridesmaids, who are willing to wear whatever I ask (and have all told me as much), we may switch the colour to red.

Advantages of Red:
1) There are so many shades of red (from rust to crimson to burgundy).
2) Many, many dresses come in so many of those shades of red!
3) The colour (and my bridesmaids) will "pop" even more against my dress, creating a striking contrast.

I am disappointed that the dresses may not be available in gold. But, I'm sure my bridesmaids will look lovely regardless! I may be able to decorate with subtle gold accents, to incorporate the gold colour theme, such as in the invitations or programs.