Mix-n-Match bridesmaids dresses...

spanglerwedding2012

One last question and I'm taking a vacation from planning.

Bridesmaids dresses. It's a semi-formal wedding but w/ a Catholic ceremony and evening reception. My girls are ALL different shapes and sizes so I'm either going to alternate these J.Crew dresses:








OR have each girl in a different dress that's most figure flattering (Sorry for the links, wouldn't let me save the pic.) What do you think?

http://www.dessy.com/dresses/bridesmaid/d496/?color=quarry&colorid=1025

http://www.dessy.com/dresses/bridesmaid/D472/?color=quarry&colorid=1025

http://www.dessy.com/dresses/bridesmaid/D480/?color=quarry&colorid=1025

http://www.dessy.com/dresses/bridesmaid/D508/?color=quarry&colorid=1025

http://www.dessy.com/dresses/bridesmaid/d458/?color=quarry&colorid=1025

http://www.dessy.com/dresses/bridesmaid/d447/?color=quarry&colorid=1025

spanglerwedding2012

PS - The J.Crew dresses are same color - just looks diff in the pic.

paprika28

My opinion is to let them wear whatever they feel comfortable in (in the color/fabric/etc). I have 4 girls- between sizes 0-18. They're all picking their own dresses in the same color. One has strapless, one wants straps, one wants off the shoulder, and one wants a halter.

I love the jcrew dresses though. Actually, all of them are wearable again.

spanglerwedding2012

paprika - I'm kind of on the same page as you. fell in love with the j.crew dresses but i have such a range in body shapes I'm thinking letting them choose may be the better option.

RecoveringActor

That's exactly what I'm doing.  I mean, my FMIL is making my bridesmaids dresses, but I picked a pattern with 5 different styles of dress.  Each dress is being made out of the same fabric, but all of my BMs picked which dress they wanted. 

I'm still a little annoyed at the fabric store because they insisted that this one fabric was taffeta, even though it's brushed satin, but whatever.

Bean32

I would email your girls and see what they want. Originally, I was just going to go with a fabric and color and let the girls choose whatever dress they wanted, but they revolted. They wanted more guidance than that. Then, when I narrowed down the list, they all chose the same one. Some will add straps to the strapless dress, but otherwise they are all the same.

[Deleted User]

My girls choose their own dresses after we agreed on a designer and length.  

I love the way it looks when they are in different dresses.  

Here are three of the BM out of four.  

spanglerwedding2012

Bean - that's a good point.

I originally wanted strapless but had a few girls come to may and say they feel uncomfortable without straps, which is when I thought about each doing a different one. I'll reach out and see what they all think. I do love the look of the different dresses though. Or if they prefer similar styles, maybe I could add different accessories or something fun.

RecoveringActor

Spangler, can I just say how similar our styles are?  I really wanted garden shabby chic, and my FI didn't get it either.  If I didn't have a seamstress in the family, I'd probably have my girls pick dresses from J Crew because I love their styles.  Now our wedding is purple, silver, and damask.  Not so garden chic... lol.

And actually.... my bridesmaids dresses are almost the exact same style as you posted, except in an incredibly bold purple.

ashleylovesmark

I did the same thing - I have one girl who is 5'9 and a size 22 and one girl who is 5' size 2... I wanted them all to feel their best so I picked a color and fabric and they picked what they liked best.  I also feel like this way the have more of a chance of actually wearing it again.

I love the JCrew dressses particularly - so pretty!

spanglerwedding2012

RA - Haha. I love it! The purple, silver, and damask sounds gorgeous. If I didn't do a  garden style, I was going to do green and damask. WEIRD.

I know, aren't the J.Crew ones adorable? They're my favorite but only go to size 16. My friend is a 16....BUT J.Crew tends to run small so I may have to do the other option.

Do you guys like the "flowy" look over the cocktail look? My theme's garden chic - but it's at the Knowlton Mansion, which is like victorian-vintage. I can't decide what vibe to stick with.

mana8503

Spangler, I think you have your answer with the size problem.  I wear 12/14 jeans, and my bridesmaid dress for the wedding i'm in this fall was an 18!!!  I would have been horrified if the biggest size they had didn't fit me, and the bride having to rethink everything...

spanglerwedding2012

Mana - That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid. I want everyone to feel comfortable with the dresses.

I found another brand that makes dresses similar to the "flowy" J. Crew style...so looks like I'll decide from there. Thanks all!

rachelk456

I only have 3 BM's and their body shapes are similar so we just all did the same but I do like the idea of them being different.

Of the dresses you posted, the first one is my BM dress but in lavender. The second one was actually my top choice but the fit on it is super weird. Definitely buy it well in advance to try it out. The seam under the bust is in a really weird spot and the bust was just way too big on all the girls and they all have decent racks! I really loved a dress they used to have, "Sophia" but they discontinued it.

Of the Dessy dresses, I like the style a lot but not so much the fabric. I think Dessy also has dresses in chiffon though.

My wedding seems kinda similar to your ideas. We're having a lot of grey and a second color and I considered this grey dress but ultimately wanted lavender - http://www.bhldn.com/the-shop_dresses/beribboned-dress-pewter

kristinrotondo

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-philadelphia_mix-n-match-bridesmaids-dresses?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:105Discussion:b7db6138-1f15-4138-8d19-de92db8d498fPost:0d677b62-f57b-4111-9e36-6b0c043ba909">Re: Mix-n-Match bridesmaids dresses...</a>:
[QUOTE]I would email your girls and see what they want. Originally, I was just going to go with a fabric and color and let the girls choose whatever dress they wanted, but they revolted. They wanted more guidance than that. Then, when I narrowed down the list, they all chose the same one. Some will add straps to the strapless dress, but otherwise they are all the same.
Posted by Bean32[/QUOTE]

<div>Haha! This is EXACTLY what happened to me!</div>

spanglerwedding2012

Rachel - I absolutely LOVE that dress you linked. Hmm. I may have to re-think this. I also think the lavender would be pretty. I kind of felt like I needed a color too since gray is so neutral. I'm having cream & apple green flowers and using the green as my accent color. And I think on my tables, I'm going to have vintage vases/bottles for wildflowers and may use some of the lighter teal for another accent? We'll see.

Lauren0409

Spangler and RA- I'm also a shabby chic/garden/J. Crew girl!!

Spangler-  I actually just got home from picking my bridesmaid dresses.  I of course wanted J. Crew, but I knew some of the girls would prefer long dresses and one bridesmaid is over a size 16.  So, I ended up picking Dessy dresses in charcoal gray chiffon.  There are 6 styles in chiffon and I'm letting each girl pick what they feel best in.  The quality of the Dessy chiffon was excellent.  I liked Amsale as well, but they were a little pricey.  I hope this helps!! 

soon to be mrs pham

i love the second set of dresses

brennashae

I had a great experience with jcrew and I LOVE their dresses. I only had 2 bridesmaids and I just let them pick whatever they wanted, they ended up picking similar dresses anyway.  Jcrew does not come in really big sizes though if that's an issue, but for a regular retailer, their customer service is awesome.  My sister ordered her dress really really early and then lost a ton of weight.  She called them and they said that they would let her exchange the dress for a smaller size even though she had it for like 8 months (obviously she had never worn it).  I thought that was really pretty awesome.

rhinopotaphant

I was planning on having mix and match dresses, but all of my girls decided they liked the same dress. It's a good idea!