Pregnant Bridesmaid/Dress Recommendations

Hirsh123

We got some really great news this week - one of my bridesmaids is expecting! I'm super psyched for her and her husband (the best man), and we had talked before about this "what if" so it wasn't a total surprise. Anyway, she'll be about 8 months at the wedding. All the girls are wearing different dresses; they're just the same length and color. The other girls are wearing David's Bridal Apple color, but the only two maternity dresses they have are meh. Has anyone else had a similar situation? Any recommendations for dress brands/styles/hemming or fitting tricks?  Thank you for your help!

southernbelle0915

Have you asked her what she thinks of the DB maternity dresses? In other words, would it be more important for her to "match" the other BMs or get something totally different. 

manateehugger

Does she hate the DB ones?

Dessy has one maternity dress in "Flame" that's not too terrible (they've got another one too, but I personally think it's terrible lol).  http://www.dessy.com/dresses/bridesmaid/m423/#.U9KY-eNdWSo

Alfred Angelo has one in "Cherry."

http://www.alfredangelo.com/Collections/Bridesmaids/6471MA/?pg=1

Hirsh123

I did show her them, but she didn't seem too keen on the DB ones. Obviously I'd like a similar color, but I'm not one to freak out if it's a shade or two off or the length is off by a few inches. I mostly just want her to be comfortable! I do know someone who bought a traditional bridesmaid dress two sizes up from her usual size and just had the seams and lining altered when it got closer, but I don't want her breaking the bank doing crazy alterations, either. Has anyone else ever done that?

JCbride2015

Little Borrowed Dress looks like they would fit a pregnant BM:

http://www.littleborroweddress.com/dresses

ETA: they are not maternity dresses, but they show a pregnant model.  The empire waist looks like it would work.

BMoreBride6

I'll be 7 months pregnant at my best friends wedding in September.  It was easier because she did long dresses which are much easier to fit into (don't have to worry about the length become way too short in the front) but I bought a regular dress.  However by 7 months it needed to be much more than 2 sizes up from my original.  It is empire waist for the belly isn't the issue...it's honestly my boobs that have gone psycho!  I'd see how long you can possibly wait to order something because she really won't know what her body will be like or what she will be comfortable in for a while.  Also, I'm not going to lie, alterations for mine are expensive. 

lbuet348

Can you get a swatch and just take it to department stores, motherhood maternity, or wherever sells dresses and try and find a dress for her that is close to your color?

I'm kinda in the same boat except my BM will only be 4 months and already ordered her dress before she found out she was expecting...so that's my back up plan!

OliveOilsMom

Are there any empire waist dresses that she likes at DB? Also, did you want them to have long or short dresses? My friend was 6 months pregnant at my wedding. The BM dresses were empire waist and knee lenght, so she ordered hers in a few larger sizes and added extra lenght. When the dress arrived, she had the top fitted and waited until the last week to get the bottom hemmed, so that it would be even around. If there are any long dresses that your friend likes, perhaps she can buy one of those and then have it made into more knee lenght, which will allow the seamstress to accomodate the front and make the hem even all around.

doeydo

Bari Jay has lots of maternity dresses to choose from.  Maybe "Berry" or "Red" would work:

http://barijay.com/bridesmaids/silhouettes=2

Bill Levkoff "Cranberry" or "Euro Red":

http://www.billlevkoff.com/bridesmaid-dresses/silhouette-maternity/

"Oxblood" from ASOS:

http://us.asos.com/Women-Maternity/rsry2/?cid=5813&r=1&mk=VOID#state=Rf-200=1@Rf900=1465&parentID=Rf900&pge=0&pgeSize=36&sort=-1

"Crimson" or "Cranberry" from Nordstrom:

http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/maternity-dresses?origin=leftnav#category=b60151682&type=category&currency=CAD&page=1&defaultsize3=&size=&width=&color=red&price=&brand=&instoreavailability=false&lastfilter=color&sizeFinderId=2&resultsmode=&segmentId=0

mysticl

Hirsh123 said:

I did show her them, but she didn't seem too keen on the DB ones. Obviously I'd like a similar color, but I'm not one to freak out if it's a shade or two off or the length is off by a few inches. I mostly just want her to be comfortable! I do know someone who bought a traditional bridesmaid dress two sizes up from her usual size and just had the seams and lining altered when it got closer, but I don't want her breaking the bank doing crazy alterations, either. Has anyone else ever done that?

The only way that might possibly have worked for me was if it was an empire waist with a ton of fabric in the skirt, but it would have needed a massive hem put in it.  It's much easier to make a dress smaller than it is to make it bigger, there usually just isn't much of a seam allowance so you have to add fabric and that get complicated and expensive.  There is just no way to predict what her body is going to do or how she will carry.

Also, shoes. By eight months I was wearing one pair of shoes.  They were foam flip flops with my sorority letters on them that I got at a convention.  That was all that fit.  I highly suggest she wait until the last possible second to purchase her shoes.  

And have a chair for her, and water, just in case.  

Hirsh123

Thank you everyone for the suggestions! You are much better Googlers than me.

I have confirmed, yes, the girl I knew was wearing an empire waist. And she apparently stayed quite petite the entire 9 months (I didn't know her at the time). It sounds like the empire may be the best route to go anyway, though, if we can't find a suitable maternity style.

I've already told her she can wear whatever shoes she wants and I'm getting all the girls bridesmaid flip flops, so that's probably what she'll have on most of the night.

Thanks for the tip for the chair and water, though. I'll make sure there's one handy.