Different Body Types

RailWayWife · October 2012

Good Morning,

I have 3 BM. They range from size 5, 16, and plus size, and ranging in height from 6 feet to 5 feet. We are going dress shopping Nov. 3rd. I am not sure what style of dress to suggest as I am unsure what would look good on all the girls. Should I just wait and see what the consultants suggest? I am sure they can find something that looks good on all body types.

This is one of the dresses I really liked but now I am unsure if I should suggest it or just wait and see what the consultants suggest to us.

brittany634 · October 2012

IMHO- That dress would not look good on a plus size or 16 girl. I'm a solid 10-12 and I feel like that dress wouldn't even look good on me.

I would just wait until they try on some dresses and go from there

cnh31 · October 2012

I was in the same boat. I have 7 girls ranging from a 4 to an 18 and about 5'1 to 5'9! I agree that that dress will not look good on a bigger girl. One of my smaller girls suggested some similar dresses and the I know the bigger girls were not happy! Two of them really wanted longer dresses, I was leaning towards short but I made sure to find something that hits right below the knee so there is still some coverage! It is hard to please everyone! Bridesmaid dresses have actually been my biggest challenge so far!

RailWayWife · October 2012

Thats what I thought, I think I will just go with the flow and see what happens when we actually go shopping. Thanks ladies

brittany634 · October 2012

It's also really early to go dress shopping- normally you wouldn't order those until 4-6 months out depending on the shop-Alot can change in 10 months so keep that in mind.

tonyadombrowski · October 2012

I have a few girls in my wedding party who are plus size and also bigger chested. My plan is to have them all in long dresses the same color but just different styles and I will have them pick out what makes them feel most comfortable. I figured the bigger chested might like halters, and maybe the plus size might like thicker straps.. I'd just wait to see the dresses on them and ask them how they feel, i know its your day, but you also want them to be comfortable and feel good about themselves.

RailWayWife · October 2012

Yes, I realize it is early but one of my girls is pregnant and would like to go dress shopping before she gets her baby belly. Plus I was adivsed by the shops here that they close for a month in January so there goes a month and 3 of the 4 of us are students so trying to work around everyones schedule is a bit of a hassle. We figured we have a day that works for all of us lets just go shopping now and try find something.

[Deleted User] · October 2012

I wouldn't bring that up. I'm a size 6/8 but have a bit of a hip/butt surplus. That dress would make me look so much like a pear that it's not even funny. If you're going shopping with them, just see what they like and what works on them. If you bring up this dress ahead of time, they'll feel pressured to say they like it even if it makes them feel terrible.

cwaggoner07 · October 2012

With that big of a range, I would let them all pick their own style within one color. A lot of designers do this (Davids Bridal, Alfred Angelo, JCrew).
I was lucky that all of my girls were within sizes 4-8, and height of 5'3 to 5'7, so getting the same dress was not a big deal. That will be a lot harder for you guys.

RailWayWife · October 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_different-body-types?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:37Discussion:d2cb2343-5639-4394-b69c-e2197c7bf65bPost:c885e6d2-d597-4ca6-b27b-75f7f2e90c3c">Re: Different Body Types</a>:
[QUOTE]With that big of a range, I would let them all pick their own style within one color. A lot of designers do this (Davids Bridal, Alfred Angelo, JCrew). I was lucky that all of my girls were within sizes 4-8, and height of 5'3 to 5'7, so getting the same dress was not a big deal. That will be a lot harder for you guys.
Posted by cwaggoner07[/QUOTE]

I like the idea of different styles but all the same color. That way we can find something each girl will like and feel comftable in. Thanks! :)

Peledreamsofrain · October 2012

I totally had the same issue with my bridal party and I decided I wasnt going to make my life unecessarily hard. Let them pick their own dress in the length and color of your choice. Each of my girls picked a dress that flattered them, and my pictures came out beeeeautifully! I got lots of compliments from the guests on how great their dresses were. No one dress fits all women, why fight reality?

jlunger · October 2012

If your looking for the same dress my girls range is size from 0 to 22 and we found a dress that looks good on everybody and they all felt comfortable.

RailWayWife · October 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_different-body-types?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:37Discussion:d2cb2343-5639-4394-b69c-e2197c7bf65bPost:48ba80b2-3366-462b-ad41-6c30e66ee0c6">Re:Different Body Types</a>:
[QUOTE]I totally had the same issue with my bridal party and I decided I wasnt going to make my life unecessarily hard. Let them pick their own dress in the length and color of your choice. Each of my girls picked a dress that flattered them, and my pictures came out beeeeautifully! I got lots of compliments from the guests on how great their dresses were. No one dress fits all women, why fight reality? :p
Posted by Peledreamsofrain[/QUOTE]

I agree 100% with this. I just let the girls know they were each able to get the style they wanted as long it was the same color and length. They were all thrilled.

bridalmarch · October 2012

I have 7 girls of various body types and we did manage to find something everyone likes. It's a Pretty Maids A-line with a chiffon sleeve and cowl neck. The one at the store was "short" length and that was too short on some of the taller girls so everyone ordered it in tea length and is hemming to a length they feel comfortable in. Some girls are also removing the sleeve, while a few are grateful that their arms are covered.

That dress wouldn't flatter all. I'm an 8/10, but hippy. That would be way too short for me and make me look even bigger around my hips.

s-aries8990 · October 2012

I suggest that you decide on one designer, one color and one length to order, and then give them some freedom.

manjermj · October 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_different-body-types?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:37Discussion:d2cb2343-5639-4394-b69c-e2197c7bf65bPost:5bb65734-bee3-489a-8589-ec91ca9d8fb9">Re: Different Body Types</a>:
[QUOTE]I suggest that you decide on one designer, one color and one length to order, and then give them some freedom.
Posted by sydaries[/QUOTE]

<div>^^This is what we did and my girls loved the idea!</div>

Peledreamsofrain · October 2012

Yes, I forgot to mention that part. My bridal party was sooooo grateful that I gave them a color and length, then trusted them. No embarrasing budget talks, nobody resenting their dress because it makes them selfconcious, and they all ended up looking gorgeous. The best part was that one girl had a last minute dress emergency that would have been disasterous if everything was matchy matchy, but since they weren't it was a minor issue. SO much less stress, best decision i've made in the wedding. Well, besides my FI

.

jen2013 · October 2012

Definately think you should give them a specific color, fabric, and maybe length? and let them pick the style from there. that's what I am doing. I am also only letting them pick from the same designer because it will just guarantee that the colors match.

[Deleted User] · October 2012

I went with my girls and told them you can get any dress you want as long as it's this length & this color. The odd thing is, they all ended up falling in love with the same dress. But one thing that you may want to have your one friend who is prego do is pick out a dress but don't buy it until last possible moment this way if she doesn't get back to pre-baby body in time she doesn't have a dress that she can't wear.

bucky2012 · October 2012

I had a similar issue. My BM range from size 2 to 18 and all have very different tastes and style. I ended up telling them what length and color I wanted and let them pick out their own dresses. Im so glad I did this! Each BM picked out a dress that looks great on them and they all feel good about what they are going to wear to the wedding. The dresses they picked are all very different but I think they look great together.

SKPM · October 2012

Another vote for "pick a color, length, and fabric". My 4 BMs and I went to David's and they tried on several each. As it turned out, 2 liked one style and 2 liked another, but I was surprised at who had similar tastes: we ended up ordering two of one style in size 8, and a 2 and a 12 in the other style. I never would have guessed.

KellyBrian2013 · October 2012

After privately asking the budget of all of my girls, I surfed DB's website and peeked when I was looking for my dress at what was in-store. I picked a fabric (cotton sateen), a length (cocktail/knee length), and color (black). My MOH had the same parameters, but in teal ("Malibu").

They LOVED getting to pick out their own dresses. So much, in fact, that when my MOH got engaged after me, that's what she did, too for her BMs (I was her MOH).

Then I added coordinating sashes (malibu for the BMs, black for the MOH) and I loved how they all looked on my wedding day. There's no way the same dress would have flattered all 5 of them, and I'm thrilled they all looked great and felt comfortable.

stantokm · October 2012

I'm also doing the same length, color, and fabric. I think that the fabric matching is important because a cotton dress is going to look kind of weird next to a satin dress...especially if everyone else is in satin. I attended a wedding where it was hard to keep my eyes from the bridesmaids. The girls were apparently told to get shortish purple dresses: two had the same color in satin, another girl had the same color but different fabric, another girl had a different shade in satin, and the three others were varying shades and fabrics. Some girls looked like they were attending a formal occasion and some others looked like they were going to a cookout. It just looked messy instead of coordinated, especially since the groomsmen looked identical.

I felt bad for judging them, especially because the bride was perfectly happy (and that's what mattered most) and the girls all looked lovely individually. Everything else about the wedding was beautiful.

Giaspo · October 2012

I really wanted the girls to wear the same gown, and they ranged in size from my size 0, 4'11" sister to my plus sized best friend. My other two BMs were basically the same size, but one was really tall and the other petite. I took my sister and BF shopping and we looked at less structured, a-line chiffon gowns. That shape looked good on both of them and, after trying on several, they narrowed it down to two. My other BMs (out of state) tried those on locally and we mutually agreed on the winner! Like PPs have said, you never know what the ladies will like or what looks good until you go shopping. Good luck!

random4180 · October 2012

I had five BMs of varying sizes, races, ages, and locations- I was not about to create a headache with the dresses so I basically told them when I asked them that they could wear whatever they wanted. After basically being told that some parameters would be nice, I told them all to get something jewel tone in color and about knee length. Everyone found a designer and a dress they liked and stuck to a budget they were comfortable with and they all looked beautiful. (My older nieces matched because they wanted too, lol.)

skantrowitz · October 2012

Another vote for same color/fabric/store but pick-your-own styles. My MOH and one BM picked strapless, and the other two picked Y-neck and one-shoulder. They all looked lovely, and liked how they look. Everyone likes to be able to pick something that works with their body type.

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