Bridesmaid Dress Shopping & Tips



5 Realistic Tips to make Bridesmaid Dress Shopping Easier

Every decision that a bride has to make can be overwhelming. The stress of every little detail can really get under your skin and seem much more important than it really is. I've been in several weddings, photographed many, and have gone through the process on my own and I want to let all brides know that you. are. O.K. The day always ends up coming together in a magical way and every bride can realize at the end that she didn't need to stress over the details.

I've seen it several times now when the point in the planning timeline has come to picking and choosing the bridesmaids dresses and the bride goes into shut-down mode. She wants to please all of her bridesmaids by choosing a dress that she will wear again, one that is affordable, goes with her theme, and a dress that she likes too. I think brides start to melt down at this point because so many decisions have already been made and there is still a lot to do so each task becomes a bit more daunting.

(Photo by Ike & Tash Photography- That's me on the couch... back in those blondie days)

These are my realistic tips for all brides when it comes time to go bridesmaid dress shopping.

1.) Guests don't remember what the bridesmaids wore.
Remember that the guests don't think about/talk about/ worry about/ remember what the bridesmaids look like. They remember the overall colors of the wedding and how beautiful you, (the bride) look.

2.) Be budget realistic when asking your bridesmaids to purchase a dress. Remember that your bridesmaids put in a lot of money, and time with the pre-wedding shopping trips, bridal shower, bachelorette party, lingerie party, invitation licking, pre-wedding shenanigans- more than the bride actually realizes. Example each bridesmaid's cost of dress, travel, accessories, wedding gifts, party décor, luncheons can total on average about $1695. It might not be realistic to ask them to fork out  $200+ dollars for a dress.

(Photo by Melissa Shaw Photography - That's me next to the bridey on the left!)

3.) Psst... It's O.K. if your bridesmaids don't ever wear the dress again.
For my wedding I chose burnt orange and olive green dresses... I KNOW- that sounds awful but it was actually gorgeous for my fall themed wedding (Picture below for proof). I didn't really expect my bridesmaids to wear them again so I eventually stopped saying it. I chose those colors and those dresses because it's what I wanted and they were under $100.

4.) If your goal is to pick a dress that your bridesmaids will wear again be realistic about which dress you choose. Let's be honest... Nobody is going to wear a floor length satin pink mermaid gown with a black sash again. Enough said?

5.) Don't over-involve your bridesmaids. Every bride needs some input from her bridesmaids when trying to narrow down the best dress selection. But once it's down to the final few the bride should ultimately choose which one she likes best. It's far too easy to get overwhelmed with so many different opinions. And bridesmaids... remove your opinions a little bit and realize that this isn't your day. Wear whatever she tells you to wear and the whole party will laugh about what hideous dresses they were later... but never in front of the bride.