Kimberly Petre

Wedding season is fast approaching and finding the right dress (even for those who are not the bride) can be incredibly stressful.  In planning my wedding for the fall of 2014, I decided to keep my bridal party small—really small, as in just my sister as my maid of honor.  I did this for two reasons:

  1. Some bridesmaids resent the bride for the cost and responsibilities that come with being in a wedding.  For me, I want all of my friends and family to thoroughly enjoy themselves at my wedding and wear whatever the heck they want!
  2. I want my sister, the maid of honor, to wear whatever fabulous dress she wants irrespective of anyone else’s preference or budget.  Having her as the only person in the bridal party allows her the flexibility to look however she wants and pay what best fits her budget. 

4.19.TW

Even if you have a larger bridal party, it’s a growing trend for a bride to select a color or style for her bridesmaids and then leave it up to the individual to choose a dress.  As I have gone through this process, I have realized that going the non-bridesmaid-dress route is easier in theory than in practice.  Finding a wedding-appropriate gown for a reasonable price is actually quite challenging. 

Here are some fashion trends for unconventional bridesmaid dresses that are beautiful and accommodate most budgets.

Wear the same color as the bride

If the bride is comfortable, she may be willing to have her MOH wear white.  This fashion trend is inspired by Kate and Pippa Middleton, whose wedding day style took everyone’s breath away.  Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to introduce another color, especially if there isn’t going to be enough of it in your wedding party or decor.  My advice is to ditch the idea of wearing sashes in a bright color to identify the bridesmaids.  All white is a classic look and it will really step up the level of fashion at your wedding.  Here are my suggestions for MOH dresses that are stunning, but clearly not bridal:

4.19 Dresses.1.jpg

Wear the same color as the groomsmen

If you have your men wearing blue or black tuxes or suits, it’s easy to tell your bridesmaids to go out and find a dark blue or black dress.  You need to be willing to embrace the variation of colors and textures that your bridesmaids will inevitably come back with.  If done correctly, this fashion trend can make for beautiful bridal party pictures that look more organic.  To make it a little more uniform, you can dictate a length for your bridesmaids to stick to. I love the below dresses for the MOH.  Tell everyone else to wear solid blue and these dresses will coordinate but still allow her to stand out:

4.19 Dresses.2.jpg

Wear the same designer

This fashion trend requires a little bit more coordination on the bride’s part to make sure the dresses will still have some common thread between them.   If you decide on a designer and then choose dresses all from the same season, the similarities should be easy to see since they are all from one collection.  I pulled from Alice & Olivia here and the combinations are endless:

4.19 Dresses.3.jpg

Comments (0)

There are no comments posted here yet

Leave your comments

Posting comment as a guest. Sign up or login to your account.
Attachments (0 / 3)
Share Your Location