Bridesmaid dress help and wedding colors- LONG sorry!

gymchick05

I have no idea how to even begin finding a bridesmaid dress the girls in my wedding party will like. I also cant decide on a wedding color.
Here are my issues- I have 5 girls who range from very petite and slim to plus sized. I also have girls w/ no chest to girls with large chests. I myself have no chest so I dont know what to look at to know what the girls w/ large chests would be comfortable in.

I also have 2 redheads- so my colors cannot clash w/ their hair (their request haha)

I was also told at the bridal salon where I picked my dress that since I ordered mine in diamond white, pastels would clash w/ this. Since the wedding will be in June I either wanted black w/ a pastel color sash/tie or a lighter color

I also dont want to have to ask my girls to pay too much for a dress. I know there are some places that offer dresses that coordinate but arent the same, but I have only been able to find this as Davids Bridal, and I dont love the material they come in. I personally hate material that is super shiny or thick, especially in the summer, so I would rather not subject my poor BMs to that either

Oh, one last problem w/ picking wedding colors- our uplighting. My FI would only agree to uplighting if we stick with a sudle, non-tacky color (which according to him is anything except for the amber uplighting). So if I go w/ a purple, etc I dont know if this would make the uplighting look weird since I cant have it be purple as well.

I have no clue when it comes to color and coordinating, etc so any help would be great. Im trying to keep our look more modern since our venue and church are that way.
Thank you all SOOO much!

Butterstick

Check Aria Dresses.  I don't know how their prices are though. 
http://www.ariadress.com/

Also, I just put the information in for my BM dresses, and the Mori Lee catalog looks like that have option where you can get the different styles in the same colors. 

DandT1206

look online at the Dessy Groups dresses... they have tons of colors and dress styles to give you an idea. 
http://www.dessy.com/

If you don't want a heavy satin dress, try chiffon or nu-georgette
I dont see a problem with black BM dresses w/ a pastel colored sash either.  That will go with any dress you wear.
 And don't worry about anyone's breast sizes, even if the dress is strapless, many come with spaghetti straps.

smw42

I think you're totally overthinking this. Just pick colors that you LIKE! Don't stress over every element coordinating with color. Alfred Angelo has mix and match that might work for your girls. Having your BMs feel comfortable and like what they're wearing is so so much more important than having the color of their dress coordinate with the lighting of your ballroom. And I disagree with the pastel/diamond white clashing. I say if you wanted to do black with pastel sashes- go for it!

kwilkinson14

I also have 5 BM all with various fashion sense, comfort levels, and body types. To make it easier on everyone, I just picked a color and fabric and they choose the dress. I decided to go with Alfred Angelo. They have a variety of dresses in a lot of different colors. They are reasonable priced at less than $150 for what my BMs selected. There is also another line called Dessy that has a wide variety with different colors.
 
I don't think if you are going to have black dresses with a hint of color it will clash with your dress. It's just there for a pop of color. I wouldn't worry about the uplighting either. The dresses may look darker but I don't think your guests are going to really notice something like that. The only time guests are going to be looking at the BM attire is when they are walking down the aisle during your ceremony IMO.

reese511

These dresses are awesome:
http://www.twobirdsbridesmaid.com/main.html

they are a bit more pricey - but each girl can wear them how they are comfortable.  you can even purchase items to go under the dress for more coverage.  my friend wore these in a wedding and LOVED them.  they kept changing the way they were wearing them in the bathroom at the reception!  i also went to a wedding in october and one of the guests was actually wearing this dress.  so its totally re-wearable....which i think makes it worth the $$.  send it to your girls and see what they think. 

i personally love the slate color...it looks good on everyone and it would make your flowers POP.

HTH!!

Danes983

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_bridesmaid-dress-wedding-colors-long-sorry?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:4446bf8e-9fe8-48c4-9802-71238bf04f37Post:3f59d2ac-548e-4609-b5e5-f69ccc16316b">Re: Bridesmaid dress help and wedding colors- LONG sorry!</a>:
[QUOTE]I also have 5 BM all with various fashion sense, comfort levels, and body types. To make it easier on everyone, I just picked a color and fabric and they choose the dress. I decided to go with Alfred Angelo. They have a variety of dresses in a lot of different colors. They are reasonable priced at less than $150 for what my BMs selected. [QUOTE]

This is exactly what I did. I have size 2 to size 22. It worked well and everyone was happy.

melissa82

Just pick a designer, fabric and color and let the girls pick the style of their dresses. It's SO much easier and you don't have to worry about if they don't like their dresses, finding one fit to flatter different body types, etc. You can do this with any designer. I picked Jasmine (B2/Belsoie). They will also let you change the fabric on most of their dresses for $25 (I think). So some of my girls did that--picked a satin dress and had it changed to chiffon.

I had purple dresses and pink/purple uplighting and it looked totally fine (I think anyway). Probably not the best photo but:




Don't overthink it--your girls don't need to coordinate with the room! And really, things don't need to be the same exact shade to look put together.

I really doubt that diamond white is going to "clash" with pastels...or really any color. Maybe champagne or another shade of white or something.

mbcdefg

I have 5 girls who range from very petite and slim to plus sized. I also have girls w/ no chest to girls with large chests. I myself have no chest so I dont know what to look at to know what the girls w/ large chests would be comfortable in.
 
So pick a designer, plus a color and fabric and skirt length, and let them get whatever styles they want in those specifications. "Pick out any knee-length satin Alfred Angelo dress in the color Wine.'"

It's fine if you want them in matching dresses, but then you need to allow them to try things on and vote. It would also be very considerate to give them the option of adding straps, if majority votes for a strapless dress.

There's no magic dress that'll work on everyone, but I would personally start with an A-line dress and go from there. Trying things on is the only way to see what'll look good on them. Don't just pick something out and tell them to buy it. 

I was also told at the bridal salon where I picked my dress that since I ordered mine in diamond white, pastels would clash w/ this.

I don't think the salon knows what they're talking about. BMs have worn pastels with white wedding dresses before. What color did they suggest the bride be in in order for the BMs to wear pastels?

Plus, if they are in black with pastel sashes, then black is the main color and the pastel would just be an accent. Not that it matters anyway. Have them try on some different colors and see what you all like. When in doubt, use neutrals.

My BMs were in black dresses with spring green sashes, and I wore a diamond white dress, if you want to see my bio pics.

I also dont want to have to ask my girls to pay too much for a dress.

Call each BM and say, "What can you afford to spend on a dress?" Then take the lowest price quote and that's the price range you need to stay under. Don't just guess at what's "reasonable" for them. 

We did a poll here a while back, and many girls said they wouldn't mind paying more for a great dress if they had input on it and really liked it, but they WOULD be upset at being told what they had to pay without being asked beforehand what they could afford. So ask THEM what is "too much."

I know there are some places that offer dresses that coordinate but arent the same, but I have only been able to find this as Davids Bridal, and I dont love the material they come in. I personally hate material that is super shiny or thick, especially in the summer, so I would rather not subject my poor BMs to that either

Tons of designers do this - Alfred Angelo, Watters, Dessy, Aria, Bill Levkoff. I think pretty much any designer will have a variety of choices in the same color/fabric/skirt length, so go to some salons and look around.

My BMs wore Ann Taylor dresses. Both knee-length, both black silk taffetta, but they had a choice between three necklines (v-neck, scoop and strapless) within those specifications, so we had MOH in v-neck and BM in scoop-neck, and when I look at the photos I really can't see a difference.

Jcrew.com also has a variety of dresses in the same specifications, although that's not a great company for plus-sized or busty girls.  

Another option is to go a department store and look around. You aren't limited to "bridesmaids dresses" ... my BMs were technically in cocktail dresses. Any dress that fits the formality of your wedding will be fine.

SandDD

I might be going with Eden & letting my girls pick whichever short dress they like in color/fabric I like. They offer a ton of styles & the fabric swap option Melissa was talking about. 

http://www.edenbridals.com/

Denise91980

I think the pastels will definitley not clash...two of my sisters got married in the summer and one used taupe and one used lavender...both colors looked very nice on all shapes....also, I got my BM dresses from Russells in Linden...they were only 140 per dress and carry larger sizes.

allforyou

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_bridesmaid-dress-wedding-colors-long-sorry?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:4446bf8e-9fe8-48c4-9802-71238bf04f37Post:3615c35e-b34f-4080-a693-2b420a79166b">Re: Bridesmaid dress help and wedding colors- LONG sorry!</a>:
[QUOTE]These dresses are awesome: <a href="http://www.twobirdsbridesmaid.com/main.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.twobirdsbridesmaid.com/main.html</a> they are a bit more pricey - but each girl can wear them how they are comfortable.  you can even purchase items to go under the dress for more coverage.  my friend wore these in a wedding and LOVED them.  they kept changing the way they were wearing them in the bathroom at the reception!  i also went to a wedding in october and one of the guests was actually wearing this dress.  so its totally re-wearable....which i think makes it worth the $$.  send it to your girls and see what they think.  i personally love the slate color...it looks good on everyone and it would make your flowers POP. HTH!!
Posted by reese511[/QUOTE]

i second these dresses. my bridesmaids will be wearing them for our wedding in august. they are more expensive than most dresses, but all of the girls loved the idea of having a dress that they would actually use again. they also found it to be flattering. my bridesmaids range from a size 0 to a size 16 (and they all are wearing the same dress size- another reason i love this dress, no alterations and you can gain and lose weight and still wear it). my bridesmaid also range from blonde to black hair and from pale to dark olive complexsion and we were able to find a color that looked good on everyone.

for a similar dress and different color options try butter by nadia dresses.

good luck!

cvl105

I picked a designer and color and had each bridesmaid pick whichever dress they liked.  All 4 wore different dresses.  They wore Watters/Wtoo in Stone (satin material).  They had lots of options to choose from!  I think this sounds like a great option for you!

As for color...you could do brown dresses with light pink flowers (to lighten it up for spring).

Reilly626

I saw the dress in a magazine and loved it... Went to Russells Bridal in Linden and it was only $145, so I was sold.  I did this Alfred Angelo in green and blue, my colors-  http://www.alfredangelo.com/Collections/ProductDisplay.aspx?productID=707b85e7-8eb7-41ad-8b12-4e54980b26a2&categoryID=772f03c9-de43-4942-bfa0-da77e21ebd65&pg=0&colorId1=

I recommend Alfred Angelo for price and colors and quality, and also Russells in Linden, great people and prices.

NJMom050911

You can let them each pick a dress that they feel comfortable in but request that the color be the same, I think a darker blue with silver would be gorgeous for a January wedding.

kasabby

Don't over think it! Just pick the colors you like and go with it. 

carlaspeed

Here is what we pick, the sytle fit all, large/small chest/behind.tall/petit. Our color is latte from davids bridal $135 after $20 off, if you go to Wayne ask for Anna, she is great!

 Style: 81441

http://www.davidsbridal.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplayView?storeId=10052&catalogId=10051&categoryId=3001799&currentIdx=25&subCategory=-49998976%257c3001465%257c3001609%257c3001799&catentryId=6097485&sort=

oh and definitly do not get alterations there, go somewhere else, we have a great alterations person in glen ridge. But the majority of girls do not need alterations!

good luck