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Groomswoman Attire

Knottie96703888Knottie96703888 member
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in Wedding Party
Hi,

My fiance will have a groomswoman on his side and I'm wondering what she should wear. Should she be in the same dress as the bridesmaids or should her dress match the groomsmen? The guys will be wearing navy suit jackets with khakis and the ladies will have on a slighty lighter/brighter shade of navy. Also, should she have a bouquet? Thanks for any and all suggestions! 

-Sarah
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Re: Groomswoman Attire

  • AddieCakeAddieCake member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    We asked our groomswoman what she preferred. She wanted to wear a skirt suit that matched the groom. Same for the flowers. I asked what she preferred, and she wanted a bout. 
    What did you think would happen if you walked up to a group of internet strangers and told them to get shoehorned by their lady doc?~StageManager14
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  • OliveOilsMomOliveOilsMom member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its

    Ditto Addie.  Ask for her preference first.  She could wear the same dress as BMs, just in the color the GM are wearing.  Or just ask her to get a navy dress that will match the rest of the GM.

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  • ashley8918ashley8918 member
    First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
    She can wear whatever she wants.
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  • KahlylaKahlyla member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    edited February 2015
    I was a groomswoman in my best friend's wedding, and their colour scheme was a mix of metallics. In their case they mixed it up a little - most of the bridesmaids wore gold, and the maid of honour wore silver. I also wore silver, on the groom's side. Similarly, most of the groomsmen had gold vests and ties, whereas the best man, and (I think?) the one bridesman had silver vests and ties. So it all worked together but we looked a bit different.

    All the women, myself included, were wearing infinity wrap dresses so they looked largely the same but were all wrapped somewhat differently. I did carry a bouquet and in our case they were jewelry bouquets that we each made, so again, somewhat different.
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  • allispainallispain member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    DH had a groomswoman. I asked her what she wanted to wear and she said a dress the same length, fabric, and designer as my BMs (they each picked their own style) but in the color of the guys' suits. She found one on ebay that was her size, so it was pretty simple. She decided on a bout instead of flowers.
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  • novella1186novella1186 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    FI has a groomswoman and I have a bridesman (or whatever you call it). All the BMs got to pick their own dresses in a certain color palette, and the girl on FI's side liked the color so she went with that. The guys get to pick their own suits in any shade of gray and my guy wanted to wear a suit like the others. No one will be wearing the same exact thing anyway so it didn't matter much to me, but that's what they were most comfortable with. 
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  • southernbelle0915southernbelle0915 mod
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    I think either the BM dress or any LBD if the GMs are in black suits or tuxes. If are GMs are in grey, she could get a grey dress, or whatever color they're wearing.
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  • bethsmilesbethsmiles member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its

    I think it makes more sense for her to match the groomsmen. So maybe ask her if she would like to wear a blue dress or a blue blazer and khakis (skirt or pants) could be super cute as well. Don't over think it.

    As for the flowers, personally I'd give her the same as what the groomsmen are getting.



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  • thisismynickname2thisismynickname2 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    We had a groomswoman and since the bridesmaids were wearing black dresses of their choosing, the groomswoman did the same.

    The bridesmaids had bouquets, but we gave the groomswoman a pin-on corsage. 
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  • doeydodoeydo member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited February 2015
    I would have her match/go with what the groomsmen are wearing more than the BMs.  Examples if she wants to wear a skirt:

    Examples if she wants a dress:

    Examples if she wants to wear a pants:
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  • Bubblegum5586Bubblegum5586 member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    I also like the look of the dress a similar color to the groomsmen but maybe similar cut to the BMs. I think asking her would be a good place to start with some of these examples in mind.
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  • auriannaaurianna member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    edited February 2015
    As there are no hardset rules on this, I'd narrow down what you'd like to a few options, then ask her preference.

    The way I see it she could wear:
    Same dress as bridesmaids
    Same dress as bridesmaids but in the darker navy to match groomsmen
    Pants if she prefers; khaki pants and a tailored navy jacket like the groomsmen
    A navy skirt suit (though def get her budget. These can be pricy and may not be something she'd normally get on her own)
    A khaki skirt with a navy blazer
    A navy skirt with a khaki jacket
    A button down shirt that matches the groomsmen, no jacket, navy skirt
    A button down shirt that matches the groomsmen, no jacket, khaki skirt, maybe with a pretty navy scarf?
    etc etc

    I'd say pick a few ideas you like and ask her what she'd prefer of those



    ETA:
    The flowers are your call totally.
    You could give her a bouquet that looks different than the bridesmaids. Or the same. Or a pin on corsage. Or a bout. Or a wrist corsage.

    Will she be processing down the aisle? If so, will she be escorted? If she'll be walking down the aisle, consider giving her something to hold if she won't have her arms linked with someone else.
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  • thisismynickname2thisismynickname2 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    Can I ask an honest question here?

    Some women prefer to wear pants over dresses anyway, so if they were a groomswoman and want to wear a suit too, cool. But it seems odd to me that if a woman who would prefer pants should be forced to wear a dress if she stands on the bride's side, and normally isn't given the option not to.  

    Why do we think that a female standing up for a male can even be asked to wear clothes more similar to the males than the females if she'd ordinarily like wearing a dress for a fancy occasion and ergo would be perfectly happy wearing what a bridesmaid would wear in the first place?

    Point being, dresses on the brides' side and suits on the groom's side seems pointless, and women ideally would be given a choice of attire- dress or pants- no matter what side she stands on. You can say the reverse for a man; some like wearing dresses. 

    I just seriously think the whole "woman on the man's side can wear a suit too" idea is so weird. Anyone should be able to wear a suit, or a dress. Ok I'm talking in circles.  
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  • auriannaaurianna member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    thisismynickname said:

    Can I ask an honest question here?


    Some women prefer to wear pants over dresses anyway, so if they were a groomswoman and want to wear a suit too, cool. But it seems odd to me that if a woman who would prefer pants should be forced to wear a dress if she stands on the bride's side, and normally isn't given the option not to.  

    Why do we think that a female standing up for a male can even be asked to wear clothes more similar to the males than the females if she'd ordinarily like wearing a dress for a fancy occasion and ergo would be perfectly happy wearing what a bridesmaid would wear in the first place?

    Point being, dresses on the brides' side and suits on the groom's side seems pointless, and women ideally would be given a choice of attire- dress or pants- no matter what side she stands on. You can say the reverse for a man; some like wearing dresses. 

    I just seriously think the whole "woman on the man's side can wear a suit too" idea is so weird. Anyone should be able to wear a suit, or a dress. Ok I'm talking in circles.  
    Well, I would hope if you have someone on the woman's side that is truly uncomfortable in a dress that she'd be given the option for pants too.

    I suppose they don't need to give her a choice. Assuming it's in budget, OP can say "wear this" (or rather have groom say that), if she wants. I could just see this being an instance where groomswoman could feel weird/uncomfortable depending on the situation.
    Groomswoman is obviously close to the groom. Maybe she'd feel weird wearing exactly what the bridesmaids are wearing?
    Or maybe if asked to wear pants and a jacket, if she's normally a skirt person, maybe she'd feel like you're trying to make her look like a man and/or she'd feel under-dressed compared to the female members of the bridal party.
    Or maybe if she was given a different dress to wear, she'd feel uncomfortable being the ONLY member of the bridal party dressed like that.

    I mean... when you accept the position in a bridal party, you accept that you'll wear the attire assuming it is in budget and causes no moral objections... but I just feel like in a case like this, where she is the only woman on the man's side, asking for a preference could alleviate some awkwardness.
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  • novella1186novella1186 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    thisismynickname said:

    Can I ask an honest question here?


    Some women prefer to wear pants over dresses anyway, so if they were a groomswoman and want to wear a suit too, cool. But it seems odd to me that if a woman who would prefer pants should be forced to wear a dress if she stands on the bride's side, and normally isn't given the option not to.  

    Why do we think that a female standing up for a male can even be asked to wear clothes more similar to the males than the females if she'd ordinarily like wearing a dress for a fancy occasion and ergo would be perfectly happy wearing what a bridesmaid would wear in the first place?

    Point being, dresses on the brides' side and suits on the groom's side seems pointless, and women ideally would be given a choice of attire- dress or pants- no matter what side she stands on. You can say the reverse for a man; some like wearing dresses. 

    I just seriously think the whole "woman on the man's side can wear a suit too" idea is so weird. Anyone should be able to wear a suit, or a dress. Ok I'm talking in circles.  
    Since you brought this up, I was a little confused with the idea that if a woman stands on the groom's side, she should have a bout. I have a guy standing on my side. Does he need to carry a bouquet? 
    (I know I know, the answer is "let them do what makes them comfortable") but it seems like SOMETIMES there's a natural inclination to make the female groomsman a bit more masculine so she fits in with the guys, but then there's not that same inclination to make a male bridesmaid feminine so he fits in with the ladies. Just a random observation. 
    image
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  • thisismynickname2thisismynickname2 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    novella1186 said:

    Can I ask an honest question here?

    Some women prefer to wear pants over dresses anyway, so if they were a groomswoman and want to wear a suit too, cool. But it seems odd to me that if a woman who would prefer pants should be forced to wear a dress if she stands on the bride's side, and normally isn't given the option not to.  

    Why do we think that a female standing up for a male can even be asked to wear clothes more similar to the males than the females if she'd ordinarily like wearing a dress for a fancy occasion and ergo would be perfectly happy wearing what a bridesmaid would wear in the first place?

    Point being, dresses on the brides' side and suits on the groom's side seems pointless, and women ideally would be given a choice of attire- dress or pants- no matter what side she stands on. You can say the reverse for a man; some like wearing dresses. 

    I just seriously think the whole "woman on the man's side can wear a suit too" idea is so weird. Anyone should be able to wear a suit, or a dress. Ok I'm talking in circles.  
    Since you brought this up, I was a little confused with the idea that if a woman stands on the groom's side, she should have a bout. I have a guy standing on my side. Does he need to carry a bouquet? 
    (I know I know, the answer is "let them do what makes them comfortable") but it seems like SOMETIMES there's a natural inclination to make the female groomsman a bit more masculine so she fits in with the guys, but then there's not that same inclination to make a male bridesmaid feminine so he fits in with the ladies. Just a random observation. 


    Exactly...
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  • Bubblegum5586Bubblegum5586 member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    thisismynickname said:

    novella1186 said:

    Can I ask an honest question here?

    Some women prefer to wear pants over dresses anyway, so if they were a groomswoman and want to wear a suit too, cool. But it seems odd to me that if a woman who would prefer pants should be forced to wear a dress if she stands on the bride's side, and normally isn't given the option not to.  

    Why do we think that a female standing up for a male can even be asked to wear clothes more similar to the males than the females if she'd ordinarily like wearing a dress for a fancy occasion and ergo would be perfectly happy wearing what a bridesmaid would wear in the first place?

    Point being, dresses on the brides' side and suits on the groom's side seems pointless, and women ideally would be given a choice of attire- dress or pants- no matter what side she stands on. You can say the reverse for a man; some like wearing dresses. 

    I just seriously think the whole "woman on the man's side can wear a suit too" idea is so weird. Anyone should be able to wear a suit, or a dress. Ok I'm talking in circles.  
    Since you brought this up, I was a little confused with the idea that if a woman stands on the groom's side, she should have a bout. I have a guy standing on my side. Does he need to carry a bouquet? 
    (I know I know, the answer is "let them do what makes them comfortable") but it seems like SOMETIMES there's a natural inclination to make the female groomsman a bit more masculine so she fits in with the guys, but then there's not that same inclination to make a male bridesmaid feminine so he fits in with the ladies. Just a random observation. 
    Exactly...

    I agree. I get that some women prefer pants so all the pants options we gave are an option for those women. But I would be so upset if I was a grooms-women and they tried to make me wear pants! I love dresses and would be very uncomfortable in a wedding party in pants! (I wear pants day to day and will wear a suit for work of course!)
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