Bm dress help

woots

I'm having a relatively formal wedding (cocktail or black tie optional) on a fri night in mid october in dc. My bridesmaids are all around 5'2" with one being 5'4" so I originally thought I had to do short dresses since they will most likely be more flattering. My dress is pretty formal (Lazaro 3051) and considering our venue I'm starting to think that long dresses may be more appropriate. What do you think? Since its on a Friday we really want it to have that fun atmosphere so in that sense short would work too, right? I guess I'm most nervous about what would look best and making sure my bm's are comfortable. Does anyone ever wear long dresses a second time?

danz9

I like long dresses best, it keeps the formality of a wedding in tact. To keep it fun maybe use the brighter spectrum of colors or fun hair accessories and jewelry.

And no, as a bridesmaid in a few weddings I would never ever wear the dresses again. Unless you buy it at a regular ol store, sundress style its not worth taking it back to the tailors to have it redone into a party dress.

vannymuse

Woah, you're wedding dress is amazing! I think long dresses would match the formality of the dress better than short ones would.

FWIW, I've never worn a long bridesmaid dress again.

aerinpegadrak

Pretty much the only way anyone ever rewears a bridesmaid dress is if they get to pick it themselves, particularly if it's of the little black dress variety.

ADTonk

Wow. Agreed.. your dress is AMAZING.  Why don't you ask your BM's what they prefer?

lindenheart

I think you should throw the whole "you can wear the dress again" idea out the window. I have never worn a BM dress - short or long - a second time. Ask your BMs if they would like to wear short or long dresses. It's October so they may prefer long dresses since it's chillier and using fun colors will keep the atmosphere fun and lively

jerseydevil

Just ask your BMs what they prefer. I originally wanted long dresses, but they found tea length that they really loved!

woots

you guys are so kind!  i love my dress, but stress that it's too trendy since there are so many beautiful simple dresses, so it's great to hear some impartial feedback.

they seem to like short more, but are fine with long as well.  i want them to have the same dress in a dark purple which is kind of hard to find a ton of options in, so the only short options i've really seen are pretty plain strapless dresses. i think if i go long i at least have some more options with strap style etc. because i think short dresses that aren't strapless wouldn't really go. my friend said to either go with the same neckline or length when picking out dresses which seems like some good advice.

can you wear tea length if you're on the shorter side and is this considered more formal? i'm 5'6", so dont have much knowledge in that area.

GJMLucky

once they try on the long, I bet they would like them. I had a short wedding party, and all the girls wore heels with their long dresses and they looked fantastic. I think long dresses would complement your dress better

AutumnFair

Basically as long as you ask for their budgets before looking for dresses, you can choose whatever length you want (be it long, short, or T-length). I actually think any length would do if you can find a BM dresses with the texture of your dress. 

mandi921vh

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_moms-maids_bm-dress-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:357Discussion:9390d9f6-afd5-4d53-8dca-c6c06aec49a8Post:a2983665-8818-4b86-b069-f332d3bea3ba">Re: Bm dress help</a>:
[QUOTE]Basically as long as you ask for their budgets before looking for dresses, you can choose whatever length you want (be it long, short, or T-length). I actually think any length would do if you can find a BM dresses with the texture of your dress. 
Posted by AutumnFair[/QUOTE]

<div>I agree with this. </div>

jerseydevil

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_moms-maids_bm-dress-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:357Discussion:9390d9f6-afd5-4d53-8dca-c6c06aec49a8Post:533cfd3c-c91f-4202-a1c1-cc5213098049">Re: Bm dress help</a>:
[QUOTE]you guys are so kind!  i love my dress, but stress that it's too trendy since there are so many beautiful simple dresses, so it's great to hear some impartial feedback. :) they seem to like short more, but are fine with long as well.  i want them to have the same dress in a dark purple which is kind of hard to find a ton of options in, so the only short options i've really seen are pretty plain strapless dresses. i think if i go long i at least have some more options with strap style etc. because i think short dresses that aren't strapless wouldn't really go. my friend said to either go with the same neckline or length when picking out dresses which seems like some good advice. <strong>can you wear tea length if you're on the shorter side and is this considered more formal?</strong> i'm 5'6", so dont have much knowledge in that area.
Posted by woots[/QUOTE]


Height doesn't really matter, both of my BMs are under/around 5'4 it just depends on their particular body type and the cut of the dress, too regarding what will look best. I think tea length looks slightly more formal than short, but floor length gowns are the most formal of any cut.

saric83

I'm 5'1" and have been a bridesmaid 10+ times with a wide variety of dresses.  Longer dresses in no way make me look shorter.  : ) I look much shorter if I wear anything in between floor length and just above the knee, so while the tea-length ones were cute, they definitely weren't more flattering than a floor-lenth dress.  If you like long, go with that, especially for that time of year.  Maybe you could pick a color from a designer (Alredo Angelo's darkest purple: http://www.alfredangelo.com/Collections/displayCollection.aspx?CategoryId=772f03c9-de43-4942-bfa0-da77e21ebd65 or David's Bridal purples http://www.davidsbridal.com/Browse_Bridal-Party-Bridesmaids-Shop-By-Color?&colorName=Plum) and have them pick any dress within that color.  Good luck!

saric83

Another thing to consider is if your ladies have short legs or short torsos, which makes a HUGE difference in how the dress fits.  I've had multiple dresses where my seamstress literally had to cut the dress in half across the middle, cut out a few inches and sew it back together because I have a short torso, and where the dress would hit a normal person : ) on waist was literally half-way down my hips.  

My other short friends and I have realized that the best dresses are those with  sweetheart neckline (it gives the illusion of a longer body with more skin showing on top without it necessarily being more cleavage-y) that is fitted around the whole ribcage and then flows out into an a-line before hitting the hips.  Not sure if that helps, but I figured I'd throw it out there. : )