Coordinating, but different dresses

southernredandwhite85

I'd like for my 10 bridesmaids to wear a short navy dress and I'd love to give them the option of buying their own dress in whatever style they prefer. However, I want to make sure the dresses are consistent and coordinated in color and fabric. I want to give enough guidance so that they don't feel stressed out looking for a dress that meshes & flows with everyone else.

Would it be helpful to give them a swatch of the color and/or fabric to take with them shopping?
Should I take my maid & matron of honor dress shopping & let them pick out what they like and ask the other girls to shop based on those?
Provide a way to upload photos of their dresses onto Google Docs so that they can get a sense of what everyone else's looks like?
Is there anything else I can do to make it as stress-free & easy as possible for the girls?

manateehugger

I'm planning on just picking a designer, color, and fabric and letting my girls chose from among the options within those criteria. The designer's dresses all have similar feels, so the girls will still look relatively coordianted, but they will be able to pick a cut and style that they feel comfortable in.

southernredandwhite85

Should have added: I want to steer clear of traditional bridesmaid dresses so choosing a designer is something I'd like to avoid.

manateehugger

The just do what Liatris said.

Though I will say I've been pleasantly surprised that designers are branching out beyond the satin strapless monstrosity.

QueerFemme

I think if you are steering clear of a specific designer, you will have some variations in color. Not enough to make someone gasp, but there will be slight differences, swatch or not.

If you are worried about fabric matching and the shade of navy, you really should pick a designer.  David's Bridal has a ton of dress styles and can accomodate lots of different sizes and body types.

 

itzMS

Don't ask them to share the dresses they purchased with the other bridesmaids. For example, I wouldn't want other bridesmaids to know I got mine at Walmart when they bought theirs from Saks.

If you want a super-consistent color, just pick black. Navy is different depending on the designer.

[Deleted User]

I agree with other pp that pick a color & designer or do David's Bridal which has lots of options to fit all prices & tastes. If you give DB a list of your girls names, they might be able to make it possible when one girl comes in, she can ask, has anyone ordered their dress already & if so, which dress did they get.