the wedding edit: how to choose your bridesmaid dresses

       choosing your bridesmaids can be tough. you don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings or have anyone feel left out, but the decision has to be made. once that decision is made, you have the fun task of choosing the dress for your bridesmaids. for some, this may see daunting. for others, it’s a blast! i used three simple steps to help ease my decision process and ultimately found the perfect dress.

my husband and i both looked at our lives and felt beyond blessed to be surrounded by such incredible people. if it were up to us, everyone we loved would have been by our sides as we said “i do.” of course, that’s not how it actually goes.. but i guess on your wedding day you really can do whatever you please :).

 my biggest deciding factor was, “who do i trust to call when i need advice or just need to vent?” once i asked myself that question, the answer was clear as day. i chose my best friends, the girls i enjoy spending time with [this is very important as you will be spending lots of time with them], and the girls that know me best. i wrote down a dream list if you will, to compare numbers with my husband’s groomsmen dream list [fiancé at the time]. when we both showed our lists, our numbers were identical. my dream list consisted of 12 girls, and his dream list consisted of 12 men. it turned out being one of the easiest wedding decision we had to make.

once numbers were decided, the next big decision was, “what do they wear?” i wanted an all white wedding with touches or natural greenery and gold. i wanted the bridesmaid dresses to go with the theme. i spent countless hours searching for gold dresses and sequined dresses [it was a NYE wedding!] but nothing screamed out my name. i even considered adding a touch of maroon and pink to the mix [still think that color palette is just breathtaking] but all white, gold and natural greenery was still my number 1 choice. my back up plan, which i was trying to avoid, was to have the girls where white dress – which i’m not opposed to, but  h e l l o, it was my wedding day. all white would have been beautiful, but there is something special about standing out for your new husband on your special day.

instead, i started looking at more neutral palettes. i searched for quite sometime until i stumbled upon the dress. it was perfect. it was whimsical and dreamy, flirty but classy and exactly what i had been looking for. i had an idea of what i wanted when i started my search. i wanted it to be fairytale-like and flowly. i was cautious about complimenting every different body-type, i wanted the dresses to be fun but leave some to the imagination if you know what i mean… there were multiple dresses that would fit the bill, but i knew this was the one.

just to rain on my parade, the dress was being discontinued and had only a few sizes left. i had 12 bridesmaids. 12. i knew by the time i had them all order the dress on their own, the dress would have been sold out. which would have meant i was back to square one. so, i naturally did what any crazed and sleep-deprived bride-to-be would do. i ordered 27 dresses. i wanted to make sure everyone had the size that made them most comfortable, so i stayed up all night guessing what size would fit who best, buying 2, sometimes 3 dresses just to make sure at least one of them would fit. totally normal, right?

in end the end, the dresses could not have been more perfect. everyone had a dress that fit them perfectly and each one of the girls looked absolutely stunning as they confidently walked down the aisle and stood by my side.

my 3 biggest determining factors were

1) ask yourself, “is this dress something i would wear?”

if it is, then that tells you the dress is your style. as the bride, you are the one that decided on your theme, your dress, your decor, your venue, your everything… because it was all a part of your style. so trust your judgement. if it passes step one, then you are more than likely right on target.

2) ask yourself, “is this dress something i would buy?”

not because of its style, we cleared that up with step one. step two is based solely on cost. weddings add up fast for both the bride and the wedding party. if you are asking your bridesmaids to purchase a dress [which is completely normal and very common– to all you brides who purchase your bridesmaids dresses for your girls, you go girl!] would you spend the amount of money on the dress that you are asking your bridesmaids to spend? i recommend setting a maximum amount prior to even beginning your search. most online stores will allow you to categorize by price. make this a priority. your girl squad will appreciate it so much.

3) does this dress have the potential for any “oopsies”

one thing to keep in mind is that everyone has a different body-type. for me, having 12 bridesmaids, i had to make sure the dress was okay for girls of all letters of the alphabet… you catch my drift? i also wanted to make sure that it was a comfortable dress that made everyone feel as radiant as they looked. i didn’t want anyone having any restrictions or hesitations breaking it down on the dance floor, all the while avoiding any “oopsie” janet jackson moments. the one shoulder was perfect for what i was looking for. it added a little extra support without taking away the flirty and fun look of the dress.

if you need any help finding the perfect dress, shoot me an e-mail. i would love to help!! [email protected]

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x o | j a s m i n e

photography by: chelseaqwhite