Wedding Party

Choosing BM dress color with navy GM

I am having a fall wedding, and my fiance really loves the look of navy tuxes for the GM and I'm fully on-board with the idea. Next is the BM dress color (I'm just going to give them a color and have them choose their own dress based on their body type/budget). We haven't chosen a color scheme or selected flowers, because I wanted to choose their dresses first to guide the rest of it. Ideally, I'd like to choose a color that is flattering for a variety of skin tones/hair colors since they are all so different. My primary goal is for them to feel great that day! Have you seen any weddings with navy groomsman that had a unique and flattering color for the BMs? I think a garnet/wine color is pretty but I'm not completely sold yet. Thanks!

Re: Choosing BM dress color with navy GM

  • We got married in September, and had navy GM tuxes. My bridesmaids were in coral and it looked great. One is fair skinned, one was pretty tan from the summer, and one is Puerto Rican with darker skin. The color looked great on all of them, and went really well with the navy blue.

    I will say though, coral decorations and flowers are extremely hard to find. 
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  • You could always go with another neutral, like grey or black, and have the flowers they carry and the bouts bring in your colors. The great thing about navy is that it is considered a neutral, so really any color you select should look fine.
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  • Garnet/wine would definitely look really pretty. Will it be evening, and how formal? I feel like those kinds of dark, saturated colors would look very good for an evening wedding, but coral, as @anrforanr suggested, would be much better for an outdoor afternoon wedding, as they would look prettier against the changing foliage.
  • I didn't have any trouble finding coral stuff for our champagne and coral color scheme.
    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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  • Garnet/wine would certainly look beautiful with navy.  Coral would also look beautiful if the wedding is outdoors in the afternoon.
  • We are having an evening wedding at a museum, so I think a darker or more neutral color would be more appropriate-- although I do agree that coral and navy are beautiful. Thank you all for the ideas. 
  • edited November 2015
    Garnet/wine with navy would be beautiful. 
    If you want a lighter color - lavender or sage would be pretty. 
                       
  • We did navy for the GMs as well for our October wedding this year.  The BMs wore a greyish lavender (not springy/easter egg lavender) and the flowers were rich/deep berry tones.  I love the garnet/wine colors with navy!  Grey is another good option for a neutral.  I love a champagne color with navy too but it can be a hard color to pull off depending on skin tone/hair color.


  • Navy is a great neutral. We are playing off of neutrals for our WP outfits, white, grey/silver , and navy.  We are using our flowers and decorations to add color.

    I think anything in a jewel tone would be beautiful and easy for everyone (garnets, wines, emerald, pine, blues), but neutrals are great for evenings too. 
  • I was thinking purples. But also think grays would look good. Then flowers can be whatever you're feeling at the time. Yellow flowers would look great with gray and navy, and purple for that matter.
  • I think a garnet would be awesome.

    We did navy suits and navy dresses - I was worried it would be too much, but our pictures are stunning.
  • A friend got married in the fall this year. The guys wore navy and the bridesmaids wore burgandy / wine / garnet. It'll look great.
  • I'd stick to jewel tones over the neutrals. They tend to be more universally flattering than neutrals, especially across varying skin tones (I'm olive and look awful in neutrals/pastels).
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  • I'd stick to jewel tones over the neutrals. They tend to be more universally flattering than neutrals, especially across varying skin tones (I'm olive and look awful in neutrals/pastels).

    ^^^ This.
    I have light hair and medium skin with pink undertones. I was once in a wedding where I had to wear a lavender bridesmaid gown - even with a slight tan I looked like one of the un-dead.
  • I'd stick to jewel tones over the neutrals. They tend to be more universally flattering than neutrals, especially across varying skin tones (I'm olive and look awful in neutrals/pastels).
    ^^^ This. I have light hair and medium skin with pink undertones. I was once in a wedding where I had to wear a lavender bridesmaid gown - even with a slight tan I looked like one of the un-dead.

    I agree with that. I think jewel tones or black will be our best/most flattering option. Depending upon the shade of navy, I am leaning towards black (the navy will be lighter in this case, where there won't be a clash) since most people generally feel confident in a black gown. Just don't want to upset any of the BMs or make it difficult for them  :|
  • Purples and magentas would look great.
  • What about a mint color? They usually look great on a lot of different skin tones.


  • I love the garnet/wine. We're having a winter wedding, the guys are in navy and the girls in gold/blush with some sparkle. It looks really great, and they are having fun with it. Jewel tones would have been amazing, and are so fall. Also, to add some variety, this would also look pretty: (I'm just so obsessed with sparkles right now, ignore me!)


  • I love the idea of garnet/wine. My other thought is magenta!
  • If you go with garnet/wine/burgundy I would suggest picking a specific color number or a designer/store/line and then letting them choose. I was in a wedding with these colors and the quality of the color seemed to vary a lot (more than other colors) and some shades just ended up looking maroon and not flattering on different skin tones. The bride eventually just picked a store and color so they'd be the same.

    I think with the right shade this would look beautiful, but in this instance I think it's harder to match than other colors. I also love the black or gray ideas.
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