Looking for pictures of real bridesmaids in dresses

JessD1081 · October 2009

Hello all! I'm new on here, but am hoping one of you may be able to help me. I have 6 bridesmaids, 2 of which have fallen in love with the first bridesmaid dress I picked out. http://www.jlmcouture.com/Alvina-Valenta/Bridesmaid/Spring/2009/Style-9938I was hoping to win over the rest of my bridal party (ones that are definitely NOT heavy, but who have more curves than the models and even a a few of my own bridesmaids). Does anyone have pictures of a REAL wedding party in this dress? In any color? I can't seem to find anything online. I would LOVE to see them and pass them on to my girls. Thanks so much!!! Jessica

BelhurstBride · November 2009

Why not let those two BMs pick out a dress they're comfortable in?

banana468 · November 2009

Have they gone shopping yet? With your wedding almost a year away, you have PLENTY of time. Your best bet is really to first, find out what your BM's budget is for a dress and then, to go shopping with your BMs for dresses. If there are too many to make a trip then I'd settle on a designer and length that's in the budget and then ask them to find one that they love.Looking at dresses can help but since you're so far away, you may find that the dress that was out a year ago was no longer available.

bablingbrooke · November 2009

Many brides pick a BM dress a year in advance, have the BMs buy it, then six months later find something they like even better and come here asking how to ask their BMs to pay for a second dress. While I'm sure that won't happen to you, why risk it? It's just going to collect dust in their closets for a year. There's really no reason to pick a dress now. I'm going to assume you've already gotten their budgets and this is well within their range. And never, ever pick a BM dress unless all the BMs have tried it on--some dresses look great on the rack but horrible on the person. Trust me, you'll be happier w/ a dress that wasn't in your "vision" that makes the BMs look and feel great than you will with the perfect dress that makes the BMs look bad and feel bad.

JessD1081 · November 2009

Thanks for all the responses! I have a few backup choices should this one prove too hard to figure out, or the rest of the girls just don't like it. Since so few stores carry that line of BM dresses, I'm thinking of waiting awhile for a weekend when my out-of-town girls come up and they can try it on then. Budget should be fine, especially since the retailer is giving 20-25% off. Otherwise they would be more than what I'm willing to ask the girls to spend on a dress. I just found my own dress yesterday, and I think in the excitement of the moment, and seeing how beautiful these BM dresses looked with my own, it was hard to imagine anything else! If anyone does come across any real wedding photos of the BM dress, I'd still love to see it! Hope everyone had a nice Halloween.

banana468 · November 2009

When it comes to the budget, still ask. The retailers inflate their prices A LOT over what the normal cost would be so the 20 - 25% may be an inflated cost.

BelhurstBride · November 2009

Budget should be fine? You need to ask your BM what their budgets are.

bablingbrooke · November 2009

This isn't about your comfort level of asking them to spend a certain amount. You need to ask each one individually what they are willing to spend. Then make sure you find something in that price range that they are okay with wearing. It's not an arduous process. I sent each BM an email. Everyone said about $200 was their ideal price, and we found a dress for $160 that was COMPLETELY different from what I had envisioned (I had wanted short green dresses w/ a white sash, we wound up w/ long coral dresses) that looked amazing on everyone. Being flexible is key when BM dress shopping.

leeshab1982 · November 2009

That's a very pretty dress. I haven't come across anyone using that actual dress, so I have no pics for you. Sorry!I do suggest asking your BM about their budget. Your idea of what would be acceptable to ask them to pay might differ from their idea. In my experience, I have found Alvina Valenta dresses to be pretty pricey. That discount you mention would be great, but still you should ask your girls just to make sure they're okay with it. I know a lot of brides that have used netbride.com to order dresses from. They don't carry all designers, but they have a large selection to choose from and usually offer quite a significant discount from bridal shops. Just something to keep in mind as you look.The girls on here are right about remaining flexible while BM dress shopping. I am still 8 months out, so we're not ordering dresses quite yet, but we've narrowed it down to one or two that we'll most likely choose from. Neither of them are what I had originally pictured in my head. I let my girls try on tons of stuff and choose what they liked and felt comfortable in.Good luck with everything!

JessD1081 · November 2009

Thanks leeshab! Glad you think they are pretty! I also checked out the NetBride website and they have the alternate BM dresses we are considering, so that's good news!The girls have indicated their price points for me, so I am working w/in their indicated budgets. 4 of the 6 girls have tried on numerous dresses, so the alternates I have in mind are ones that at least most of the girls have tried on so far. I was going to just have them all pick whatever style they wanted, and keep the same color for them all, but as it turns out they are all in agreement that they'd like long dresses and are fine with them all being the same style. I probably have gotten a bit ahead of myself in terms of BM dresses this far out, but a lot of that is because I'm finishing up my last year or law school, and basically trying to get some of the major things accomplished as early as is feasible. That way, as my last semester approaches, and I have to begin studying for the Bar next summer, I won't have as many wedding related tasks on my plate. 2010 will be a busy year!

KJDOHERTY · November 2009

That's a beautiful dress, but I just wanted to reiterate what the other ladies have already said about letting them maybe pick between a few styles OR letting them try it on without you having already told them that you really love that particular style so they can give you an honest opinion (most BMs even if they hate the dress won't speak out against it if they know the bride loves it). My reason is that's a mermaid/trumpet style dress. Those dresses look good on tall skinny people but tend to look very unflattering and are uncomfortable on short or curvy girls. My good friend was in a wedding last year with long mermaid dresses and she was 100% miserable the whole day, and all of the BMs HATED the dress. They're difficult to walk in and they felt they looked bad on them.

aerinpegadrak · November 2009

I would never wear a dress without trying it on, no matter how many pictures I saw of people in the dress. People have their own little body quirks, and two people who may look very similar will have a completely different fit. I don't think you're going to convince your girls unless you get them into the dress.

JessD1081 · November 2009

They'll all be trying the dress on, I was just genuinely curious if there were any photos out there. Appointments for the rest of the girls have been scheduled, and if someone doesn't like this dress, they've picked 2 others that everyone has tried on. I guess I made it sound too much like I was forcing this dress on them, which, as was said before, I'd never want to do. If any of them feel ugly or fat in a dress, it would make me quite unhappy, too!

Looking for pictures of real bridesmaids in dresses

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