Oh, the bridesmaid dress dilemma. Should each lady wear the same dress, shoes, and jewelry? Do you choose a color and let your girls pick the dress? Today, we welcome Leigh Ann, one of the most knowledgeable (and friendly!) bridal consultants in D.C. Leigh Ann is one of the lovely ladies at Hitched, one of our favorite bridal salons. She’s here to offer her insight and advice on finding the perfect bridesmaid dress. Welcome, Leigh Ann!
We were so excited when our good friend, Devon, asked us to guest blog about bridesmaid dresses! Picking out frocks for your bridesmaids can seem like a bit of a daunting task. Luckily, gone are the trends of poufy sleeves and frilly lace collars! Nowadays, there are tons of chic, fashion-friendly options out there that will compliment the personalities of you and your best gals, as well as your overall wedding vision.
Dresses: Simple Silhouettes; Dresses available at Hitched
One of the first things that you should consider is whether or not all of your girls will be wearing matching dresses, or if there will be a variety of styles or colors among them. Keeping the dresses consistent between your maids may be the simplest option (and a great option if you’re in a time crunch!), but these days many companies make it easy to maintain a cohesive look while giving the girls different style choices. At Hitched, we love the idea of having a little bit of variation between the dresses that each bridesmaid will wear on your big day!
Dresses: AE Clarissa silhouettes: Anna Elyse dresses; Collection available to purchase at Hitched
If you decide to head in that direction, you’ll still need to do a little bit of decision making on the front end. A good place to start is to focus in on a company that carries styles and fabrics that you like. Once you’ve chosen a color (or range of colors), decide how free you’re going to let your ladies be with their choices. For instance, are there only certain styles that you want to allow the girls to choose from? Sometimes it’s helpful to narrow it down to 2 or 3 options that you find pretty (and figure flattering), just so that your girls don’t feel overwhelmed.
Dresses: Lela Rose; Available at Hitched
Keep in mind that if you’re letting your girls choose their dresses with little or no guidance from you, you’ll need to be a bit open minded about the end result. For instance, if 5 of your 6 girls choose to wear strapless, will it bother you that the 6th gal will stand out from the bunch? If not, great! Letting each girl’s personality shine through will ensure that she’s happy and comfortable. But don’t forget– these gals are your bridesmaids for a reason, and they truly want you to be happy with the end result. So, if the idea of such asymmetry makes your head spin, then let your girls know that ahead of time and help steer them towards the styles that you think compliment each other best.
Dresses: Thread; Available to order at Hitched for a limited time
Nervous about ordering dresses for girls who are not at all centrally located? Don’t stress! Since many DC brides have bridesmaids all over the country, most of our orders at Hitched include gals who never end up coming into the store. The main reason that it’s important to order all of the dresses in one place is because it ensures that all of the dresses will be cut from the same dye lot of fabric. It’s also comforting to know that all of your dresses will be coming to the same location, making it easier for you to keep track of your order status. At Hitched, it’s pretty simple– we email you forms and size charts for your non-local ladies to use (giving them the option to have the dress shipped to them directly), and then they fax everything back into us. It’s often helpful to give your girls a deadline for ordering, but other than that, the work is pretty much out of your hands at this point!
Just remember that selecting your bridesmaid dresses should be as fun and stress-free as possible. Happy shopping!
Hitched is located at 1523 Wisconsin Ave. NW in historic Georgetown. For information on our bridal or bridesmaid designers, please visit our website at www.hitchedsalon.com. To make an appointment, please contact us at 202-333-6162 or info@hitchedsalon.com.
Thanks, Leigh Ann! She is so fabulous…and very popular! On Monday, Leigh Ann shared her bridal gown shopping tips on Ritzy Bee! For more of Leigh Ann’s oh-so-helpful advice, check out her guest blog on Ritzy Bee!
