How did you pick flower girl and bridemaids dress styles?

chrissyb1113 · July 2012

I think I want my bridesmaids (only 2 of them) and flower girls (2) to pick their own dresses, but stay within "guidelines." For the bridesmaids I thought of picking a designer, color, length and fabric they had to stick to - but since I'm wearing a strapless dresss, should they be wearing strapless or atleast one shoulder - or does it even matter?

Same with the flower girls, should their dresses follow a certain style, should they match, should they atleast be the same shape and length? Should they silghtly mimic my dress?

These are the little things that drive brides crazy. On any other day, I'd say let them wear whatever they want, but now that I'm forced to make the decision it's turned into a bigger issue! Ugh!

gymbugmj2k · July 2012

A few tips for letting girls choose dresses within "guidelines"

- Neckline and style DONT have to match. example: my dress is strapless, the girls have a halter. mine is floor length, theirs is tea length. they look awesome together.

- DO match formality. my dress is fairly classic A-line style with chiffon and light satin detail. the girls dresses are cocktail-style A-line chiffon. an example of what NOT to do: your dress is a big poofy, formal satin ballgown, and your girls are in light cotton sundresses.

- colors CHANGE with fabric and designer. "cobalt" in Mori Lee might be different than "cobalt" in Alfred Angelo. Also "cobalt" in satin will most likely be different than 'cobalt' in chiffon.

A good example of guidelines would be: Mori Lee. "claret" color. Chiffon. the girls could then choose their own length, neckline, style of dress. you could send them 4 or 5 style numbers that you like and that coordinate well together to give them an idea of what you like/think. For flower girls, match formality, and maybe tie in a complementing color -- they dont have to MATCH, but they should coordinate at least colors (aka if you have a blue, grey and yellow wedding, BM in blue, FG in yellow with blue or grey sashes?)

FWIW i picked out Mori Lee 744, and let my 3 BM pick out 1 or 2 dresses to try on that they each liked. soooo they all tried on 4-6 dresses. All 3 ended up choosing the Mori Lee (they really did look stunning in it!). Rare, but it made it so easy for me for them all to agree!

chrissyb1113 · July 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_attire-accessories_how-did-you-pick-flower-girl-and-bridemaids-dress-styles?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:15Discussion:1db5a9de-9348-42d9-8010-8ca14bb3e2d5Post:6184262d-b190-4180-badd-182801268c59">Re: How did you pick flower girl and bridemaids dress styles?</a>:
[QUOTE]A few tips for letting girls choose dresses within "guidelines" - Neckline and style DONT have to match. example: my dress is strapless, the girls have a halter. mine is floor length, theirs is tea length. they look awesome together. - DO match formality. my dress is fairly classic A-line style with chiffon and light satin detail. the girls dresses are cocktail-style A-line chiffon. an example of what NOT to do: your dress is a big poofy, formal satin ballgown, and your girls are in light cotton sundresses. - colors CHANGE with fabric and designer. "cobalt" in Mori Lee might be different than "cobalt" in Alfred Angelo. Also "cobalt" in satin will most likely be different than 'cobalt' in chiffon. A good example of guidelines would be: Mori Lee. "claret" color. Chiffon. the girls could then choose their own length, neckline, style of dress. you could send them 4 or 5 style numbers that you like and that coordinate well together to give them an idea of what you like/think. For flower girls, match formality, and maybe tie in a complementing color -- they dont have to MATCH, but they should coordinate at least colors (aka if you have a blue, grey and yellow wedding, BM in blue, FG in yellow with blue or grey sashes?) FWIW i picked out Mori Lee 744, and let my 3 BM pick out 1 or 2 dresses to try on that they each liked. soooo they all tried on 4-6 dresses. All 3 ended up choosing the Mori Lee (they really did look stunning in it!). Rare, but it made it so easy for me for them all to agree! =)
Posted by gymbugmj2k[/QUOTE]

Thanks for those tips! I don't have too many people who are wedding-savvy around to help me out with this kind of stuff other than my mom - who is stuck in the 80's and is outraged that the majority of wedding gowns have no sleeves! (I'm getting married in June, there will be no sleeves, haha) Nice to get a different and modern perspective.

Sue-n-Kevin · July 2012

Our colors were black, white/cream & hints of silver. Our wedding was last August, and I just told our BM to get dresses in black that they were comfortable in. Each selected something lovely and comfortable.......they varied in age from my 16 y/o daughter/MOH to 2 friends in their 50's......different styles, heights, weights, but they all felt comfortable in what they chose.

Some colors are hard to match, but to be honest, I found giving up some control to work best for all of us.

whitney37354 · July 2012

I wanted a black bm dress, I wanted them rented, & I wanted them cheap. At the local dry cleaners there were two black options, both cheap, so I chose the one I liked best. They did end up with the same styling as my gown, but not on purpose.

expats14 · July 2012

I went in to try on wedding gowns and found the prettiest, sweetest, cutest flower girl dress ever. We'll be picking up the tab for that. Everything else is pretty laid back. Bridesmaids are little black dresses, with hemlines hitting around the knee. If I've learned anything in the past weddings I've been in, it's that the bridesmaid dress just isn't worth the however many hundred dollars you spend on it. ETA: my cousin's flower girls matched, but they were her identical twin daughters, so I don't know how much that's worth.