BM dress vs. cocktail dress?

[larussel03]

Hi All,

So, my original vision for my BM''s was that I wanted them in black cocktail dresses of knee to below knee length. My mom thinks that they should all be in the same BM dresses...do you think it''d look bad/wierd if they all wore different cocktail dresses (as long as none were satin, and all around the same length, I was thinking this would be fine), or do you think I should go the more traditional way and pick out the dresses? I''m on the fence on this, because on one hand, I liked the idea of them all being different and individual, but on the other hand I dont want it to look "bad", so I''m trying to get a consensus on what may be best. I have 5 BM''s and the MOH. What do you think?

 

[Tybee]

I''m not sure if it looked bad or not, but this is (sort of) what I did. My wedding was super casual, though, and so I felt like we had a little more wiggle room. My bridesmaids were just asked to pick out any dress that they liked in any shade of blue. I wanted them to like their dresses and be able to wear them again, also, because I was asking them to buy a plane ticket to my island wedding, I didn''t want to stress them out.
At one point, 2 of my 4 bridesmaids got lighter blue, and one got a darker blue dress. At that point I asked the remaining BM to try to find a darker blue dress to keep it sort of even.

 

[Tybee]

oh, and a pic.
Again, it was a bit more casual looking... but that was what I was going for.

 

[larussel03]

Yeah, we are having an evening wedding, so it''s not super casual, but I figured that black cocktail dresses always look nice and dressy at evening events...

 

[larussel03]

Date: 7/31/2006 12:12:31 PM
Author: Tybee
oh, and a pic.

Again, it was a bit more casual looking... but that was what I was going for.

Thanks for the pic! I think they look great--it looked ok with them walking down the aisle with different dresses?

 

[SoonIHope]

Here''s a picture from a random girl''s blog (vacant.cc) who did this in her wedding! I thought it looked really nice. The rest of her wedding photos are here if you want to check them out.

 

[Tybee]

Lol,

I''m not sure if it looked okay or not. I guess I should ask my guests!

I did go to a wedding where each BM wore a very different dress of her own choosing. In my opinion it looked GREAT.
Each BM chose a very different dress-- and they were all LOVELY. I originally thought about doing this, but then got really nervous-- so I went with blue.

I think they looked beautiful (my girls,) but I had such happy-blissful bride eyes through the whole thing. Someone else may have seen it through very different eyes.

It''s really a matter of opinion. Our wedding ceremony was very nontraditional, and everything was very US. So I didn''t really worry as much about what looked "right" or weddingy. We wanted to find things that made our wedding stand out from others.

Good luck darling.

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Tough question... In the end, only you can really decide if it''s going to look "OK" or not.

Personally, I think all eyes will be on you! Who''s really going to notice that the dresses don''t match??

 

[Scintillating]

I really like the idea (and pictures I've seen) of women in different dresses.
That's what I'm going to do.
I think 5 women wearing the same dress looks a little odd - robotic and old fashioned.

Black cocktail dresses sounds REALLy nice to me. (That pic looks great to me.)
I like individuality and I like the idea of each woman picking a dress they are comfortable in and they feel looks good on them, I think they'd do a better job than I ever could.

My SIL did it with burgundy dresses and it worked really well.

Tybee- I liked the blue dresses - it made me think of the different blues of the ocean - and the dresses were happy and festive.

Scintillating...

 

[ladykemma]

it would please me greatly to be able to buy a dress that could be worn again.

 

[appletini]

I had everyone wear a black knee length cocktail dress of their choosing and I think it looked really good.

 

[larussel03]

Date: 7/31/2006 9:18:50 PM
Author: appletini
I had everyone wear a black knee length cocktail dress of their choosing and I think it looked really good.

OMG, that looks so great--that is the exact look I was going for, I just really needed to see it in person!!! Thank you! I think my decision has been made

 

[Tybee]

Hurray Sweetpea!
Glad you found what you needed!
and SanDiegoLady and Scintillating=== thanks for your super sweet comments, I really love you guys!

 

[diamondfan]

I think it is nice if you keep it simple, and as long as you have veto power, let them pick their own. I had black dresses almost 16 years ago, and went to Neiman''s and found one style cocktail dress that happened to look good on all the girls even thought they varied greatly in height, weight and figure type. As long as the dress conforms overall to what you want, I think the girls will appreciate being able to spend money on a dress that they will likely wear again. It is not a small expenditure to buy a dress for a wedding that you will not wear ever again, and not that that is or should be your main concern, I still think it is nice if you can aim for each girl chosing what is best on them. If you hate it, that is one thing, make sure they shop somewhere where it can be returned if need be, but I think it looks very modern to do this! Good luck!

 

[appletini]

Date: 7/31/2006 9:31:13 PM
Author: *~Sweetpea~*

Date: 7/31/2006 9:18:50 PM
Author: appletini
I had everyone wear a black knee length cocktail dress of their choosing and I think it looked really good.

OMG, that looks so great--that is the exact look I was going for, I just really needed to see it in person!!! Thank you! I think my decision has been made

I''m glad you like it. Also most of the girls bought new dresses anyway, but they didn''t mind because they each chose a dress they liked, looked flattering on them, and knew they would wear again. My MOH just got engaged, and I''m hoping she borrows my idea, because I want this dress from Neiman''s really bad...I saw it the day before my rehearsal dinner, and at that time wished I was a BM in my own wedding...