Sometimes the best laid plans just don’t work out.
I have a really amazing and diverse group of bridesmaids. Lindsey, my MOH and a mother of two, is my oldest friend and has an extreme love for high-heeled shoes but often pulls off the tomboy look. Brielle, one of my best friends from high school, is the master of matching the most incredible and loud pink zebra-striped outfits but refuses to wear heels. My sister, Bobbie Jo, also has two kids and has never been one to dress in whatever is “trendy” at the moment, but has always had a great sense of style. And Amber, my brother’s wife and mother of two baby girls, is the work-out queen leans more toward the sporty, tomboy, athletic style.
I’ve always loved the mismatched bridesmaid dress look. Basically, the idea is to choose a color, length, and fabric for a dress, and let your bridesmaids choose their own style/price range that would suit them. With the economy and six kids between my four bridesmaids, I wanted to make sure the girls could choose a dress they would at least have a chance of wearing again and would really love — and what better way than with a little black dress? I’ve been a bridesmaid in weddings that have cost me nearly $1000, and I couldn’t imagine doing that to my girls.
We found a website that would allow the girls to choose from 30ish dresses that fit the satin, knee-length requirements we had chosen, and all were under $100! I was so excited to see how it would work together, and figured it wouldn’t be a problem.
Attempt #1: Oddly enough, they ALL chose strapless dresses that were only slightly different. I was afraid it would look more like we had *tried* to match but weren’t successful, so I asked them to look again.
Attempt #2: Same problem.
Attempt #3: Everyone throws in the towel and agrees that I should just pick the dresses for them. They’re very sweet about it, but it’s easy to tell we’re all frustrated.
Attempt #4: Bridesmaids have a meeting in Grand Junction. They all find different dresses and order them. I haven’t seen them, but hope for the best (my MOH had a really good understanding of what I was looking for…).
The BAD news: The dresses are all in, and NONE of them fit. To make it worse, I don’t think any of the venders they got them from will accept returns.
The GOOD news: We have dresses, and I’ve given up on trying to make a cohesive look. Honestly, I just don’t care anymore.
The other GOOD news: One bridesmaid’s grandmother is an amazing seamstress. Fingers crossed.
If I could do it all again, I would have been REALLY specific about what I wanted and wouldn’t have let any other opinions sway me. I would have asked that the girls make three different choices that they would be ok with, then select the one dress for each of them that would work for the overall look. Last, I would have made ABSOLUTELY sure that we could have return and exchange dresses that wouldn’t fit.
I’m sure it will all turn out alright in the end and that the wedding will be perfect, I just feel badly that the girls are all in dresses that make them uncomfortable when the whole point was to find dresses that did the exact opposite. Let’s all hope for the best!
