bridesmaid dress help!

[mimzy]

since i am laid up on the couch with a cocktail of vicodin and anti-inflammatorys on a friday nite, i thought i''d enlist some help of others that are staying in too.

so i was originally going to let my bridesmaids pick their own dress as long as it was a bari jay dress in the red/black taffeta. the list was extended to include a dress from belsoie that was really similar in color and texture. well two liked one and the other two preferred the other. in addition, my sister (MOH) said that she would prefer to wear a black dress instead of the red. (let me include that she wasn''t demanding about it, i had asked which she would rather wear). she found a black dress that she really loved that sort of echoed my dress in a really lovely way, that was taffeta from another line (bonnie). so my question is......
which bridemaid dress scenerio sounds the best?

a) have all the girls wear the same dress, with my sister in the same dress in black
b) have two girls wear the same red dress, the other two wear the other
c) have each girl choose a different red dress, and let my sister wear the black one she wants (would this look too random?)
d) keep looking (any suggestions?)

my girls are all really laid back and accommodating, but i also want them to be happy

. i want there to be some individuality between the girls, and would prefer them to not be so matchy matchy...but i also dont'' want to stick them with one dress because someone else picked the one they liked the most.

here''s a picture of the dresses that are in the running. there are two more bari jay dresses that would work but they haven''t been tried on yet and none of the girls seemed all that thrilled about them. the top left one is my favorite and is the color i want, and the corally colored one is the dress my sister prefers (but in black)

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I would have them all in the same color or have your MOH in the other color. If you could get them all to wear the same type of fabric like taffeta, it would probably help. I''m with you about the top left one being the prettiest.

 

[mimzy]

thanks for replying hussy - all the girls would definitely be in the red color (I just couldn''t save the other dresses as red) with the possible exception of my sister, and all the dresses would be taffeta for sure.

given that, you don''t think it would be too random if they were all in a different dress AND my sister was in a different color?

 

[ladyciel]

I think if they're all in different styles of the red and your sister in the black, you could still tie them all together with their jewelry and flowers. The days of matchy-matchy-or-else bridesmaids are over. Do what makes YOU happy, and if that means letting them each pick their own dress so be it.

My girls will all be in midnight blue tea length chiffon, but each of them is picking the style they want to wear. For shoes I'm going to suggest they stick to a certain color (probably silver), and beyond that it's all up to them. I want them comfy and happy and for their personalities to shine through.

 

[mimzy]

i think you are right ladyciel. i sent an email out to them all this morning letting them know that they can all pick their own dress out of /-----/ these options (there were like eight or nine of them), and then my sister is going to choose her own dress in black taffeta. they aren''t going to carry flowers (just laterns) and i was going to have them pick their own (black) jewelry (mostly because i want them to wear something they like and i don''t want to have to pay for them!) but maybe if i can find a necklace or something that everyone likes thats cheap then we can do that to make it more cohesive. thanks for your input!