How many girls did you bring to look for bridesmaid dresses?

kd1986 · September 2011

This weekend I'm going out to begin looking for bridesmaid dresses. I have 7 bridesmaids total, and ideally would like them all to be involved, but it does seem a bit much to walk in with 7 girls in tow, to try on a bunch of dresses. What do you girls think? How many of your bridesmaids did you bring along?

crhein26 · September 2011

I took 2 with me. And I let them try on the dresses they liked. They ended up picking 3 dresses and I sent the link to them to the other bridesmaids. I was going to let them all choose a different one if they wanted, but they all ended up liking the same one.

LOTON01 · September 2011

I am taking 2 girls with me. My MOH and a cousin. Two Bridesmaids live out of state so it would be way to hard for them to come.

Allycat11 · September 2011

I only have 3 bridesmaids, and they all came with me. My mom, FMIL and birthmother were all there as well.
We had a great time and everything went well. We pulled tons of dresses into the fitting rooms and put a few in each room. Each girl would come out with a different dress on and we would select our favorite of the 3. By process of elimination, it was super easy.
I think our biggest issue was that my mom wanted me to pick a lightweight material hat did not coordinate with my dress, or the formality or the season, but she's been opinionated since the second we told her we were engaged. No major conflicts with us, but I had each girl's budget before we went and they all had the attitude that I could pick whatever I wanted and they'd wear it. I picked a dress that looks phenomenal on all of them.

With you having 7, I would limit the number to closer to 3. I would also take people who are honest (so they will tell you if something doesn't look good) but not people who are overly opinionated.

Meegles4 · September 2011

I have 7 bridesmaids and I only took my MOH. We both tried dresses on to get a feel for what they'd look like on different body types, but that was it. 4 of my BMs live out of town/state and the only other 2 locals besides the MOH are my FSILs. After I found a dress I liked, I invited the FSILs to try it on, but we never got around to it. Then, I decided I didn't like that dress after all and went to a new place with my MOH and found something else.

I'll admit, I wasn't the most inclusive bride. I didn't ask people's budgets (I've never been asked what mine was), so I just tried to keep it under $200, preferably under $150. I did send links to a few bridesmaids who asked, but I never ended up choosing the dresses I would send for a variety of reasons. In the end, my MOH and I decided on the dress and I got it all set up for ordering and sent the information to the girls on how to order. Because I made the final decision quickly, they didn't see the final dress until then -- but they knew the style I was going for (short).

That being said, I'd still limit it to 2 or 3 if you're wanting to be inclusive. 7 is a lot.

drewmw · September 2011

I took 2 of my 3 bridesmaids, because the other one lives out of state. I just sent her the link to the ones that the other girls liked best.

I was one of 7 BMs in a wedding last month. When it came time to look for dresses, she took all of us. We made a day out of it, and it worked out very well.

Milsey32 · September 2011

I first looked at David's Bridal's website -- originally I thought each girl would wear a different dress but I wanted them to somewhat match (same length, same material, same color) so I searched their site and came up with like 12-15 dresses I liked. Then I took all but one of my girls to DB and gave them a list of style #s I had in mind. One girl tried on one of the dresses and the other two girls thought she looked amazing so they tried it on too and fell in love... so they all ended up having the same dress, haha

LOTON01 · September 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_many-girls-did-bring-look-bridesmaid-dresses?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:88Discussion:b945f229-3e66-4fc7-9113-8e1897c042acPost:dabb7a65-c003-4121-bc64-c7104f30abea">Re: How many girls did you bring to look for bridesmaid dresses?</a>:
[QUOTE]I have 7 bridesmaids and I only took my MOH. We both tried dresses on to get a feel for what they'd look like on different body types, but that was it. 4 of my BMs live out of town/state and the only other 2 locals besides the MOH are my FSILs. After I found a dress I liked, I invited the FSILs to try it on, but we never got around to it. Then, I decided I didn't like that dress after all and went to a new place with my MOH and found something else.<strong> I'll admit, I wasn't the most inclusive bride. I didn't ask people's budgets (I've never been asked what mine was), so I just tried to keep it under $200, preferably under $150.</strong>I did send links to a few bridesmaids who asked, but I never ended up choosing the dresses I would send for a variety of reasons. In the end, my MOH and I decided on the dress and I got it all set up for ordering and sent the information to the girls on how to order. Because I made the final decision quickly, they didn't see the final dress until then -- but they knew the style I was going for (short). That being said, I'd still limit it to 2 or 3 if you're wanting to be inclusive. 7 is a lot.
Posted by Meegles4[/QUOTE]

I never really been asked what my budget was before either. I think if you stay under$200 you should be fine. Unless you know of someone in your bridal party that has financial trouble.

vk2204 · September 2011

Have you searched online yet? Maybe you could narrow it down a little by length, fabric, straps etc.

I have been in 2 weddings. For the first, I was the out of towner, so the bride just told me the style and I went in and bought it.

For the second, we all went together and she picked out 4 dresses and we had to choose from that (each girl must have a diff one). It worked out okay but 2 girls wanted the same dress, which the bride did not want, and one of them had to go with the leftover. If you give girls an option make sure you have enough choices for THEM to pick... not just get stuck with something.

zulamay · September 2011

I let the girls pick their own dresses and went with them individually. It worked out well, but I did order from David's Bridal and their collection is meant to look good together. I just said the dress should be satin and gave them the color #, and it worked.

MMRoberts11 · September 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_many-girls-did-bring-look-bridesmaid-dresses?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:88Discussion:b945f229-3e66-4fc7-9113-8e1897c042acPost:2abf314b-5668-438c-bcab-e4da9b8774a6">Re: How many girls did you bring to look for bridesmaid dresses?</a>:
[QUOTE]I let the girls pick their own dresses and went with them individually. It worked out well, but I did order from David's Bridal and their collection is meant to look good together. I just said the dress should be satin and gave them the color #, and it worked.
Posted by zulamay[/QUOTE]

I'm doing this too but didn't give them a designer since my BMs will have black dresses (and I'm getting their sashes in our wedding colors). One of my BMs is out of state but she said she'll do pics so I can "be there" too when she goes shopping.

andrearobertson701 · September 2011

I have 6 Bridesmaids. I went with my mom first and narrowed it down to two. Then I went with my MOH and another bridesmaid and they helped me pick the dress. Then I made sure that all of my bridesmaids could make it and they all went on the same day to get measured and order their dress.

You don't have to go this many times, but I didn't want 6+ opinions when I went to pick out a dress

kd1986 · September 2011

I planned to bring 3, and then was doubting myself thinking I should just bring all 7...but after all these comments I'm definitely just going to stick with the 3 girls!!

bamross · September 2011

I didn't go to a store to look for BM dresses. I did online research and narrowed down the options to a few different designers and emailed all the girls. They all loved my top pick, so I chose all the designer's short dress options that come in my color and the same fabric, and emailed them all to the girls and asked for their top choices. They loved it, and they had enough choices that everyone got their top choice. I told them they can order online through netbride.com where the dresses were cheapest or go to a brick and mortar store to order them if they feel uncomfortable buying online. My FSIL did this too, and it worked beautifully! It was too hard for me to coordinate different schedules with the girls, and one lives out of state, and I wanted all the girls to see the options before making a decision. HTH

How many girls did you bring to look for bridesmaid dresses?

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