How to buy dresses for pregnant bridesmaids?

NadiaT1980

I am getting married (in NY) in a little over 9 months. I have two pregnant bridesmaids. My MOH is pregnant now (5 months) and another is due about 8 weeks before the wedding.

When should we order their dresses? I guess for the MOH we should be ok time wise to order in January for June, and if she losesa little more  weight we can alter. But what to do about the one due closer to wedding day? I want her to be happy with her dress, but it cuts it very close to wait til after she has the baby to order the dress and it'd leave us with little time to alter. If we buy it now at her true size (pre-baby bump) it may not fit right after.

The girl's financial capacity varies, I want to keep the bmaids' dresses under 200 (hopefully 150 or less) and I hope they won't have too spend to much extra, Lord knows I can't afford to chip in. And how much can alterarations cost (in MA)?

Ugh, I am so happy for the new mommies and honored they are staying in the WP. I just want them to feel beautiful on the wedding day and have dresses that fit!

Any advice?

AutumnFair

Depending on where you go dresses can get in between 3 weeks (Davids Bridal) to 6 months. So definitely don't look at dresses until that time area. Some people usually just find a maternity dress style or empire waste which makes it a lot easier for pregnant BMs and the sizes.

Before even looking for dresses, email, text, or call each BM and ASK what their budget is for a dress. This way, you will have a lesser chance of BMs not being able to afford a certain dress.

confusedbridesmaid11

It's nice that you are thinking of them.  Could you have them wear a maternity dress in the same color scheme as your other bridesmaids?  I am pregnant and in a wedding in October and the bride just asked me to find a black maternity dress. (lucky for me black is the color!) Buying a regular dress in their pre-pregnancy size probably won't work because you can gain weight all over when pregnant. And buying a dress two sizes too big can cost more in alterations than the actual dress. Maternity is all that will really fit a pregnant body.

Summer2011Bride

One of my BM's was 8 months pregnant at our wedding. When we ordered dresses, we obviously had no idea what size she would need months down the road. Since I did black dresses, I just had her buy a black maternity cocktail dress that she liked once it got closer. I wasn't worried about them matching. Is this an option for you? Are your dresses a color that would be easy to find at a regular stores or maternity stores? If so, that might be the best option.

If not, you may have to guess and order a couple sizes bigger with the intent that you could take it in if it is too big.

Misheyld

My MOH is due 2 months before my wedding.  She actually talked to the bridal salon and they were able to guide her.  I gave her the option of finding something different, but she didn't want to.  She wanted to wear the dress everyone else was wearing.  She bought the dress 2 sizes bigger than she would normally wear and will get it altered to fit her.   So I guess the advice is talk to them and see what they are comfortable with doing. 

Charmed59

With four months for the MOH, and almost two months for the bridesmaid they might lose the babyweight, but if they are breastfeeding they will have a much bigger bustline, so definitely order up a few sizes.  

I'd also consider dresses that are less form fitting, perhaps just come in at the waist or under the bust, so exact fit isn't such a big deal.

saric83

Two of my bridesmaids are pregnant, so we went with the option of just choosing a color at David's Bridal, and each girl picked her own dress and ordered it whenever worked for them. 

It made it much easier since the two cute preggos chose empire waists with more flexible fabric (which to be honest, if I had chosen one of those dresses and made all of the girls wear it, the non-pregnant ones would have looked like they had a baby bump since it's not the most flattering style on someone who isn't pregnant, so they were very happy to not get lumped into that style.) 

Also, we got a list of dresses that could come in within 4-8 weeks, so they were able to wait longer to get a better idea of how big they might need the dress to be. 

monique026

david's bridal has dresses that are "maternity friendly" but can also be for non-pregnant bridesmaids as well, there's a whole section on their website about it

xcateyes2301x

I have two pregnant girls in my wedding too. One is my matron of honor who will be 8 months preg and the other is a bridesmaid who will be seven months. They all got their dresses at Alfred Angelo and they got measured for their dresses in July and just ordered their dresses a size or two up. All my girls have different dresses in the same color, the two pregnant girls actually picked out maternity dresses and they fit them much better than a non-maternity dress would have, because of having room for a growing belly. My best advice to keep everyone's wallets happy, is allow all your BMs to pick a dress they like, in the color you choose. This way they are paying for a dress that they truely love. All my girls are different shapes and sizes, so they loved being able to pick a dress that flattered their figure. 

As for alterations - I actually had my first fitting today and my one BM and my mom came to get their dresses altered as well - mine cost $300 because I needed a lot taken in, but my BM and my mom's dress only cost $25 to get it hemmed shorter. We went for alterations at a privately owned company, not at Alfred Angelo where we all bought our dresses.

I didn't know this happened so often where you end up having more than one pregnant girl in your wedding. They found out after I asked them to be in their wedding and it was about 2 weeks apart, when they told me, I couldn't believe it! I was so excited for them, the pictures from my wedding are going to look so great with their beautiful baby bellies! 

Good luck with all your planning!! Remember to take time to enjoy being engaged!!

seniah_05

I"m in my brother's wedding three weeks after my baby is due.  We ordered dresses in July (about 3.5 months prior to wedding).  The bride picked empire waist dresses with an a-line skirt - since I knew roughly about how big I'd be post-baby (this is my second) I ordered what fit me then. 

Your bridesmaid that is due 8 weeks prior to your wedding can go at about 5 months pregnant to try on dresses (if you aren't set on one style at least narrow it down to the top 3 so she can try each on and know what size for each) to see what works - that way there is a little leeway in dress size should the baby weight not melt off but not so much that alterations should cost a fortune. 

For the bridesmaid due in 4 months, you can wait to order until after she has the baby - if you are going through David's Bridal.  All weddings I've been in have gone through them and we've always had the dresses within a few weeks.  For this most recent wedding we ordered in mid-July and mine was in by the beginning of August.  For my wedding my wedding dress came in within 3 weeks, the bridesmaids in 2.