bridesmaid dresses

jayhawk55

i have a bridesmaid who is about 5'2 and wears a size 10, one that is about 5'5 (on a good day) who will wear about a 6 by the wedding (she just had a baby), and one who is 6'1 or 6'2 who wears like a 4 and has legs up to her neck!  the long dresses make my shorties look super short and stumpy.  my tall bridesmaid's butt is hanging out of the shorter ones.  ahh!  i really want them to all wear the same dress.  any suggestions?

RosenB

Just give them guidelines and have them pick their own dress. Let them be comfortable. You have a wide variety of ladies and don't you want more than anything for THEM to feel and look amazing in their own skin? Put aside your thoughts of having the same dress and put yourself in their shoes. I'm sure they would appreciate it more than being forced to wear something that looks good on one person and not the other. 

Licia&Wayne

You should be able to order extra length on bridesmaids dresses for a fee. Just ask the place you're buying them from.

It may be better to let them find their own dresses though, if that breaks the bank or you can't find a dress that everyone can agree on. Be aware of your bridesmaids' comfort and preferences.

Robyn5298

What about tea length?

Or - you could rethink the idea of having them all wear the same dress.  I know you are after a certain look, but if you can't find anything they all look good in (and that sounds like a real tough job!) you could just choose a color and let them pick what they feel comfortable in. 

That's what I did for my girls  and since they were all wearing the same color and designer they definitely still looked "uniform".  They looked great, felt beautiful, and were smiling all day.  That's really all I could ask for!

bablingbrooke

Save yourself the headache and let them get different dresses in the same color.  If you specify a color and length, and they all pick a neckline that flatters them, you'll be happier than if they all wore the same thing because they'll look beautiful and happy in what they're wearing.  Remember that when you look at pictures of your WP, you're not looking at pretty dresses with girls in them--you're looking at your nearest and dearest.  You obviously want them to look their best, and it sounds like mix-and-match will be the best way to do that.

jayhawk55

i'm pretty set on them having the same dress.  i guess i'll just keep looking.  everybody keeps telling me to just give them different ones but that's really not what i want.  i guess if i get too stressed out, then i'll figure something out, but right now, i still want them in the same dress.

mbcdefg

You absolutely have the right to ask them to wear the same dress. I think most people here are just suggesting to not completely rule out the idea of slightly different dresses ... like you said, you can use it as a Final Option sort of thing if you just can't find anything that will work for all of them.

Have you only tried salon dresses so far? If not, where else have you looked?

bablingbrooke

See how they look in different dresses before you rule it out.  When I was in your shoes I *knew* what dresses I wanted my BMs to wear, but it looked awful on them, and they wound up in a completely different style and color than I had planned, but it looked so much better on them.  Had I ruled it out before they tried it, it would have looked even worse.  Being flexible on BM dresses is one of the best decisions you can make--what you think you want is often very different from what you realize you want.

gottahavashorti

Ditto PPs that it might be easiest to let them choose their own dress from certain criteria.  Or choose 3-5 coordinating dresses and let them choose.  They could have similar necklines, but waists that hit in different spots and such.  I think either Mori Lee or Wtoo tends to have dresses that are very similar but with different fits to suit different body types.

Some dresses do come in both long and short lengths.  If you choose one of those dresses, the tall BM could order the longer length and hem it to knee length.

ev4149

A-line looks good on just about everyone.   And the tea length idea is a good suggestion as well.

AJG456

I don't know if this will help or not, but I had 5 bridesmaids ranging in height from 4'9" to about 5'8" and we ordered the same dress (they helped me choose it though) and every one of them had to have it hemmed!  We all knew the shorter girls would need to, and they're used to it, but we never thought the taller girls would have to. So, just saying that what you see of the dress on the model or even what you try on in the store might not be accurate. Again, that may be completely unhelpful, but maybe not!

marissa_claire

I just wanted to say Rock Chalk!

Just because lots of people let their girls choose their own dress doesn't mean you have to.  I would go with something that is knee-length (flattering on everyone, lots of floor-length are not) with a more sheer fabric like chiffon that drapes rather than clings.  Fabrics like satin and organza will highlight every flaw.  Mine look a lot like below (in black)

http://www.mybridaldress.com/yellow-halter-top-sleeveless-tea-length-chiffon-bridesmaid-dress.html?___store=default&___store=default

gottahavashorti

Tea length probably will not work.  So many people look stumpy in tea length.  I look stumpy in anything below knee length that's not the entire way to floor length, and I'm pretty petite.

yulin236

Order dresses by their own wont make sense. It's better you can find a style that you like from some place, then ask them to order that dress from there by their own sizes. But you determine the color. This could be working from tailors as they provide custom service, so fitting issue is acutally not an issue. Some sites also work. Good luck!

yulin236

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_bridesmaid-dresses-8?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:37Discussion:38c56455-d355-4697-899f-6c49621b2defPost:14222115-b5db-4ca4-827b-fa39116e7f71">Re: bridesmaid dresses</a>:
[QUOTE]I just wanted to say Rock Chalk! Just because lots of people let their girls choose their own dress doesn't mean you have to.  I would go with something that is knee-length (flattering on everyone, lots of floor-length are not) with a more sheer fabric like chiffon that drapes rather than clings.  Fabrics like satin and organza will highlight every flaw.  Mine look a lot like below (in black) <a href="http://www.mybridaldress.com/yellow-halter-top-sleeveless-tea-length-chiffon-bridesmaid-dress.html?___store=default&___store=default" rel="nofollow">http://www.mybridaldress.com/yellow-halter-top-sleeveless-tea-length-chiffon-bridesmaid-dress.html?___store=default&___store=default</a>
Posted by marissa_claire[/QUOTE]
I should say this dress is gorgeous, especially the color<img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-cool.gif" border="0" alt="Cool" title="Cool" />

andamu

TwoBirds dresses come in two lengths, long(er) and short(er).  And you can style them differently so they fit everyone well.

http://www.twobirdsbridesmaid.com/main.html

That said, they're not in everyone's price range.  I think they have more wear-again potential, if they're in a cute color that flatters each girl, but they still aren't cheap.

jenn.daniel

We got this dress from Target.

http://www.target.com/Merona-Collection-Ingrid-Dress-Lush/dp/B003IDIK6W/ref=br_1_12?ie=UTF8&id=Merona%20Collection%20Ingrid%20Dress%20Lush&node=1104830&searchSize=30&searchView=grid5&searchPage=1&sr=1-12&qid=1286999145&rh=target_com_primary_color-bin%3AGreen%7Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%3ABlue%7Cprice%3A2500-4999&searchBinNameList=style_name%2Csleeve_type%2Ccollar_style-bin%2Clifestyle-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&searchRank=salesrank&frombrowse=1

It's to the knee on my tall girls, though my shortest BM will have to get hers hemmed.  Moral of the story, just over the knee should work for everyone, but some may need to hem it so it doesn't look tea-length on them.

jayhawk55

thanks girls!  it's so nice to know that there's others out there that understand!

my only hang up with those other dresses is that i'm doing david's bridal and men's warehouse because their colors match.  it's just so easy in that respect.  i am sure that they have at least 1 that will look good on my girls.  i need to find the right one. 

jayhawk55

oh and ROCK CHALK!