There are so many different styles, fabric choices and designs of bridesmaid dresses, how do you sort through it all and find your perfect fit? Start with the colour you love and then enlist the help of your bride tribe. We’ve got 5 gorgeous colours to get you started.
Image / Pinterest
Image / AliExpress
Now that you’ve been proposed to (or did the proposing), it’s time for you to get down on one knee for yet another proposal, this time for your bridesmaids! Make asking your friends to be part of your bridal party a bit more fun by giving them a proposal of their own. Whether you want to be simple and sentimental and are looking for something more fun, a bridesmaid’s proposal is a memory you can both cherish after you’ve tied the knot.
Put a Ring on It
Photo courtesy of PetalandPaperie/Etsy
Propose to your bridesmaids with a ring of their own. This personalized card comes with a ring charm necklace that is simple, elegant, and would make a great addition to any bridesmaid’s dress.
DIY Lunchbox
Photo courtesy of Something Turquoise
A fun DIY project, you can personalize each lunchbox (or any other box you want to use) to each of your bridesmaids. Fill it with items you know they will love, like their favourite nail polish or lipstick shade, a piece of jewelry, their favourite candy, or even an item that holds a special memory for both of you. You can even decorate the outside of the box to match the colour scheme of your wedding, or just with a few fun bits and bobs.
A Simple Card
Photo courtesy of PheasantPress/Etsy
Sometimes it’s nice to just go back to basics. Propose to your bridesmaids with a card that says it all. The one pictured above is blank on the inside, so you can write your own, personalized message to each of your bridesmaids. The card is also available for junior bridesmaids, as well as maid and matrons of honour.
Bridesmaid Survival Kit
Photo Courtesy of Style Me Pretty
Get a little cheeky with your proposal and provide your bridesmaids with a survival kit. This is especially useful for the brides that know they can be a bit on the demanding side (it is your day, after all!), and know they’ll be getting the “bridezilla” tag. Fill it with items you know the bridesmaids will need, which can be anything from painkillers and water, to a mini bottle of champagne, a sewing kit and makeup wipes.
– Rosemina Nazarali, Editor
We may all think that more than five bridesmaids is a little too much to handle. More girls just means more opinions, feelings, looks, and ideas for the brides and/or wedding planner to consider during the entire process of planning the wedding. It only takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch, but your odds of not having a bad apple are pretty good when you have a low total of bridesmaids, right? Now, imagine being Sri Lankan couple Nisansala and Nalin, who had a whopping total of 126 bridesmaids!
Yup, you read that right: 126 bridesmaids. They officially set the Guinness World Record, beating out the former title-holders who had 96 bridesmaids. Interestingly enough, both weddings were held in Thailand.
According to reports, Champi Siriwardana, one of Sri Lanka’s leading wedding planners and dress designers (who also happens to be Nisansala’s sister-in-law), came up with the idea to try to break the world record. Can you imagine planning a wedding around that many bridesmaids? Wouldn’t the day become much more about the bridesmaids than the bride (and groom)? We certainly think that it would—and it has.
Were there also 126 groomsmen? The answer is: Not even close. We all know how hard it can be to get men involved in weddings, so that is understandable. (haha!) The groomsmen totaled 25, in addition to 20 page boys, and 23 flower girls. The even brought out First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa to the wedding and put the couple on the world map, but we wonder if the couple thinks it was worth all the stress.
What’s the maximum number of bridesmaids that you would have at your wedding? Comment on our Facebook page and let us know!
Lauren Chan is the Editor of the Bridal Guide.
Your bridesmaids are likely some of your best friends and family that are thrilled at the prospect of making you happy on your wedding day and in the stages of planning. They plan your showers, your bachelorette parties, and more. The one thing that these women deserve in favour of all their efforts is a dress that they don’t hate. We all know the running jokes about terrible bridesmaid dresses, so do you really want to make your bridesmaids feel terrible? Try to collaborate with all of your bridesmaids to find a dress that they will wear again and again after your wedding. Here are our suggestions.
What’s on Trend
[Photo courtesy of Shopbop]
ONE by Contrarian Maxi Dress $459
Sure, trends come and go, but if you pick something simple and on trend, your bridesmaid can wear the dress again for a few more times that season. Some trends will allow the bridesmaid to wear the dress for years! For this idea, we suggest a maxi dress. We doubt it will end up being a dress that anyone looks back on with a quiver and regrets wearing. Unlike puffy shoulder pads, this dress is simple and true to a woman’s silhouette.
Little Black Dress
[Photo courtesy of Shopbop]
Velvet Stretch Lace Dress $182
All girls can use a few little black dresses. The LBD can be worn to almost any event: to a cocktail party, holiday dinner, birthday shenanigan, etc. They can be dressed up or dressed down, and as long as they are moderately priced, we doubt any of your bridesmaids will be complaining about this versatile staple. If you can’t decide on a trendy dress to outfit your bridesmaids in, we definitely suggest using a little black dress.
Body Flattering
[Photo courtesy of Shopbop]
Zimmerman Strapless Dress $372
If your bridesmaids are all different shapes and sizes and have a hard time deciding on a flattering cut, fear not! There are certain elements of a dress that are universally flattering. Here, we see a moderate length, but the hem line can be adjusted. A sweetheart neckline will help enhance the chest of girls with a small bra size and it will help balance out women with a bigger chest. The rouching of the waistline draws the eye in and away from any unsightly lumps and bumps. The flowing skirt flares out to create a bodacious hourglass figure. What’s not to love?!
Be sure to openly discuss and concerns that your bridesmaids may have with their dresses. After all, be sure to remember all they have done or will do to help you on your big day.
Lauren Chan is the Editor of the Bridal Guide.
Just as weddings have gotten more and more extravagant, bachelorette parties are following on the same path. Bachelorette parties came into being as an answer to bachelor parties but what started out as a few friends getting together for a casual good time has evolved into a flourishing industry to guarantee that your last party as single girl is everything that you ever wanted.
Extravagant Holidays
[Photo Courtesy Tourist 2 Townie]
Some girls want it all: the big wedding, the romantic honeymoon and on top of that, the most lavish bachelorette party money could buy. A recent article on the New York Times website details the full-on vacations women are taking to celebrate their last days of being single. These destination hen holidays include luxurious accommodations, dinners at fancy hotels, pampering spa days, extravagant shopping trips and nightclub parties at night. The price tag? $4000! But that’s not even the most expensive – travel companies that plan bachelorette getaways have devised itineraries to Paris that cost a whopping five digits and that doesn’t even include the money you might spend there.
Some brides are now having two bachelorette parties to accommodate different groups of friends, a trend these days as you make friends who live or move to all over the country or world. Having an expensive and lavish bachelorette party (or two) may seem very different from how things were before but it’s increasingly more common as women focus on establishing themselves in their careers and becoming financially independent before getting married. Another factor that might be driving this trend is competition. As one bride from the article put it, “When [my fiancé] decided that he was going to have two, I had to even the score.”
[Photo Courtesy of Toronto Day Spa]
We want to hear from you! How did you spend your bachelorette party? Or if you haven’t had yours yet, what do you want to do? Comment on our Facebook page with your stories and ideas!
Dawn Lo is a contributor to the Bridal Guide.
One of the best parts of wedding season is seeing what’s new and trending in the world of brides. In our social media-crazed society it’s no surprise that one of the most popular new trends involves a photo shoot. By now most brides are familiar with the idea of a boudoir shoot, sexy and tasteful photos of the bride in lingerie often given to the groom as a gift. But have you heard of a bridesmaid boudoir photo shoot?
Recently some bridesmaids have been asked to strip down to almost nothing and have their photos professionally taken with the bride-to-be. So long to the days of simply wearing matching gowns and pitching in for the bridal shower! Though with a carefully chosen group of bridesmaids who are comfortable and up for the challenge, this can be one more way to get your girls psyched for the big day.
[Photo courtesy of shine.yahoo.com]
Beautiful hair and make up, a few glasses of champagne, and some girl power music can set the scene for a good time. This is a great opportunity for bonding, sharing and producing beautiful photo keepsakes for the bride.
[Photo courtesy of groupthink.jezebel.com]
There are a few things to be considered by any brides entertaining this idea: Who pays for this? Professional photographers, hair and make up stylists can get pricey. Who will be provided with copies of the pictures? The bridesmaids may not be comfortable with your groom being in possession of photos in which they are mostly naked. Have the bridesmaids been told about this before they agree to be in the bridal party? Some girls may not be willing participants or may not have figured the cost into their budgets.
Even though this new tradition may be a bit unorthodox, it can certainly be a bonding experience for a group of fun and fearless females. It can serve as a trial run for the wedding day because unlike a bridal shower, a group photo shoot like this one allows a bride to witness how her bridesmaids will come together in her honor and celebration of her nuptials.
Jaclyn Novak is a contributing writer to the Bridal Guide.
Photo Courtesy of Pretty Lady Society
Do you feel like stepping out of the proverbial fashion box for your wedding? Do you already have your wedding dress in mind? If this is the situation you’re in, consider mismatching your bridesmaids dresses for a change! This can eliminate the common problem of fitting multiple girls into the same dress and getting everyone to agree on one look. Your bridesmaids will appreciate the idea, be more willing to spend their money, and your wedding party will be unique and impressive. Here’s how to mismatch your bridesmaids dresses—successfully.
Photo Courtesy of Angel in the North
Keep all of the bridesmaids’ dresses the same length. Whether you want your girls to don long gowns or short cocktail frocks, keeping the dresses the same length will keep some congruency between the looks. Keep in mind: Though you are creating difference with the array of styles—and possibly colours—some things need to stay similar.
Choose dresses with a lot of shape, features, or texture. Since the whole point of mismatching bridesmaid dresses is for your bridesmaids to look different, make them look different! Dresses with an architectural or textural theme will stand out from one another in a good way.
If your wedding theme and colour scheme are fairly traditional, keep all of the dresses in the same colour family. You will be surprised at how many shades of the same colour you will be able to find. You will be more surprised at all the colours that fit into one colour family. The possibilities will be endless!
If your wedding theme is vibrant and modern, feel inspired to have very different coloured bridesmaid dresses—but make sure they stick with your theme. In the picture below, al of the brightly coloured bridesmaid dresses match the fun pinwheel theme.
Photo Courtesy of Whicdn.com
Now that you have read some pointers on diverse bridesmaid dresses, start searching for the perfect mismatches. This can be a very fun and inspiring fashion adventure for you and your bridesmaids. The ladies will appreciate being able to flex their own opinions, ideas, and preferences with the dresses. Hopefully, they will feel accommodated with sizing, fit, and price; and in the end, your wedding will be more stand out. It’s a win-win!
Lauren Chan is a contributing writer to The Bridal Guide.
When you are asked to be a bridesmaid in a friend or family member’s wedding, it is an honour. However, when you joyfully agree to stand by the bride for their special day, there is a lot to consider when committing to the biggest day of your friends life. (more…)
Halloween may be over but there still is a type of monster lurking about. She has been seen wearing too much make-up and barking orders at her unsuspecting bridesmaids. Yes, bridezilla lives and she is not going anywhere! (more…)
