Experienced brides...

bheartsb

Did anyone allow their bm's to completely choose their own dresses???

I am giving my wp the freedom to pick their own dress...2 conditions...it must be floor length, and it must be black (can have beading/jewelery, just no other color)

So I'm wondering if anyone here has done this? Thoughts? Pictures? Regrets?

Meagan78

I'm doing the same thing/same color.  Thought it was fine but now, 85 days away, I'm getting a bit nervous.  I want them all to purchase already and I am hoping they won't clash.  Kind of wish I'd just picked something and called it a day.

pandasquishy

Yes, I told them to pick something in Marine from David's Bridal and it must be floor length.  They each choose something they liked.  It looked great in the pictures because they weren't all clones.

Knats_Manushak

I'm doint the same thing. I picked the color of fabirc and told them to go at it. It has to be green and have some sort of beading. the rest is up to them. length, straps or no straps, shoe colors. hair styles...i dont care. I want them to be comfy and happy with what they are wearing. So far it has turned out nicely. Each girl loves their dress and its a relfection of their personalities.

bheartsb

thanks ladies.  Much like Meagan...I began having the same worries.  But staying hopeful that it will all work out.  3 of them are wearing bm dresses that they wore in someone else's wedding...lol, how hysterical is THAT?  (I told them they should call their friends and say...Hey!  Guess what?  I actualy AM goign to wear the bm dress you pciked...AGAIN!!!) lol

cutypie953

I was a BM in a wedding where we did this, they had to be black and floor length and the only thing the bride mentioned that she would have changed was that the black's didn't all match....either she wished they were all satin or all chiffon.  You may not even notice that though, just wanted to throw that out there.....

Crissyo

My bm went shopping with me...they picked different dresses but they were all satin, royal blue and bill levkoff

Michelleymydear

I asked my bridesmaids to pick out black, knee length dresses. They all found really cute one's from Deb and they were all around $40. They weren't the same material or design but they all looked really great because each girl got to pick a dress that fit her body type. Everything looked just fine and very gorgeous in the photos too!

impslave

I told my MOH she could wear whatever dress made her comfortable, my only request was that it would be dark green.  She found a great dress that she loved on Ebay for less than $40.

bheartsb

Cost was a factor in letting them pick what they want, but also location...I have 1 bm in houston, 1 in chicago, 3 scattered in Jersey and 1 in NY.  Just thought it would make life easier.

As for the different shades of black...(and I might get flack for this), I LOVE b&w photos, when we take our b&w's I'll be sure to stand out from the crowd and the difference in the shades won't be so sharp.  Self-centered...I know.  ::hangs head in shame::

Lenore2010

I am hitting this thread late, but honestly if I had it to do over I would have chosen the color and fabric and let them pick the style. I had a free for all get whatever you like, with something like five possible colors. I was trying to be wild and different and as a result one of them in particular looked sort of odd in the outfit she chose. Oh well, at least their colors blended nicely.

cstt21251723

I gave my BM's options but we did a couple of group try outs so If they didnt like how they looked in what I chose or I wasnt happy with their choices we could work from there. I only had one requirment and that was the color. My BM's actually ended up all loving the same dress, so thats what we went with. Hair, and assesories I left up to them as well.  It can get stressful, but if you are really nervous come up with a date for the ones you can get together to try on as a group. It may help ease your mind knowing that they will have things together by a certain date.  
Love this pick of us,we stayed on the dance floor...lol

bheartsb

unfortunately getting more than 2 together would be a miracle!  Especially since 2 of the 6 live out of state (Chicago + Houston).  3 (the 3 that are actually relatively local) already have dresses-all 3 have a dress worn as a bm from a previous wedding.  I've seen them, really elegant.  They still have a 'bm' looks since they actually WERE bm dresses, but that's fine.  The 2 out of state will have to wing it, and then that leaves my SIL who JUST had a baby, so she kinda' wants to wait + see how much baby weight she loses before she goes shopping.

Considering the biggest disaster was the fabrics not matching, I think I can live with that. 

cstt21251723

Oh, I see. Yeah 2 of mine lived out of state as well and they had diffrent dresses then the others. The 2 that live out of state had long satin dresses and the other BM's had short cotton dresses. I thought it might look weird, but they all looked great and it fit. I saw them as a group a week before the wedding. I personally like diffrent better. Good luck, and try not to stress about the things you cant control ; - )

felkels

I sent my girls to davids bridal with a color and requesting knee to tea length...2 girls came out with floor lengh dresses, but it turned out okay after I got over the initial AAAAHHHH of it all!  I had a time of initial shock and panic because my dress was tea length, but they all turned out beautifully!  And believe it or not, the one in the tank top dress didn't even come from davids bridal...my MOH actually had that one in her posession anyway, and the color just happened to match PERFECTLY. 
Here is one of the better views to see everyone's dresses. 

http://www.cameraartphoto.com/mp_client/pictures.asp?pagenum=74&action=viewphotos&size=fullsize&id=4290726&imagename=WED_Billeter_Felkel_2010_0068t.jpg

Credendo Vides

I did this with my girls and they looked fantastic! I gave them a piece of ribbon and asked them to stay within that shade or one or two lighter; I also asked for knee length and two straps, one on each shoulder (I had to specify, cause I told my sister two straps and she immediately began designing a dress with both straps on the same shoulder. She's special like that). My MOH was also in a different colour, she was in robin's egg blue while the other girls were in dark purple. All of them looked gorgeous, both alone and together. They were nice an uniform all together; yet they each loved their dress and it showed. I would highly recommend letting them choose, especially if you have several girls. I don't know how it would work with just two or three, but with 7 it was beautiful.

P.S. My MOH made her dress, and it wasn't done until two days before the wedding. It stressed me out at first, but I just decided that being in my wedding clearly mattered a lot to her, so she would make sure it got done. I figured if any of the WP didn't have their outfits in time we would make do without them standing up front. Not everyone has an even WP anymore anyway.

AwkOcto

I did something somewhat similar. I just asked them to get a red version of Victoria's Secret convertible dress and told them they could do whatever they liked with it. All my bridesmaids did something different with the dress (strapless, shoulders, sleeves, one shoulder, etc.) and they all looked amazing. They were very happy with their dresses as well because they could use them for other occasions.

thealphabride

I just have my two sisters as bridesmaids. I told them to find a dress they liked in their style, color (they knew the scheme) and price range. They actually went all bridesmaid on me and chose the same dress - same color. I told them to wear their hair how they like, and choose their own jewelry and shoes to personalize the outfit. The dress is gorgeous and they are both going to cut it of and wear it again. That really cut a lot of the stress out of the process for me.

Ihaveapanda

All my BM's had matching skirts from Victoria's Secret (knee length brown summer skirts) and they all got to wear whatever shade/style of turquoise top they wanted. It looked great! I wouldn't have changed a thing about it.  I think everyone liked that they could fit their outfit to their style of something they would wear again and their budget.  I'm a broke grad student and it can be difficult having to shell out $100-$200 for a dress plus alterations some times.