I love this look of mixed grey shades, and all very wearable dresses after the big day!
Last summer with all the wedding madness I really got a good insiders look at the role of a bridesmaid. It is a lot more than wearing a colour coordinating dress and helping the bride make a paper plate hat out of ribbons at her shower. You are her right hand man, er...woman and the role should not be taken lightly. A must-read for all bridesmaids, as it has a humorous spin on the situation is Bad Bridesmaid by Siri Agrell (http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Bad-Bridesmaid-Bachelorette-Brawls-Taffeta-Siri-Agrell/9780002008471-item.html?ref=Search+Books%3a+%2527bad+bridesmaid%2527).
Stacey and the girls in a silvery purple cocktail number.
Depending on the length of engagement, being a bridesmaid can be a year long (or more) commitment to dress fitting, wine pairings, engagement parties, and constant errand running. For someone like me, who thinks little details are what makes an event, errand running, dress fittings and wine pairings (especially those!) are why I am in this industry. But I do understand those that don't take all the little things oh so seriously. When requested with the honor of being a bridesmaid, before jumping up and down, shedding a tear and exploding with a resounding "YES!" as if you are the one that was just proposed to, give it some thought, preferably BEFORE the bride asks you, so you have an answer. If you think you can with hold being at the beck and call of a potential bridezilla, then please repeat the above steps to show your enthusiasm, but if you think this will be a duty you cannot commit to, with a smile on your face, please have a gracious rejection in your back pocket.
Danielle let the girls choose different styles in the same raspberry satin fabric.
Weddings have gone to the extreme, and with that, so have bridal parties. One good thing about this is the dresses. Bridesmaid dresses have been the punchline to many jokes about awful party attire, but there have been leaps and bounds made in the world of dresses. They no longer have to be the exact same dress. Some people are choosing to use the same fabric, but let the bridesmaids choose the length and neckline. Other brides are going into any old RW & Co. or Le Chateau and picking a style. This way, the dress may be deemed as more appropriate to wear to another event in the future. No longer are groans heard when the bridal party attire is revealed.
Yikes! Out with the old and in with the new chic bridesmaid look please!
Other tasks, such as showers and stagettes have also been altered and geared towards the super bride and her super bridesmaids (and friends and family of course). No longer are rolls of ham on buns with pickles and black forest cake the thing to do for showers. Very commonly there is a theme to the party, and this coincides with the gift giving. I have heard such things as a stock the bar shower, where bottles of wine and spirits are brought, or stock the pantry, where everyone brings something for the kitchen, and then there is the common theme of lingerie. Stagettes have also taken on themes. I have been to a few, Moulin Rouge and Sex and the City being really fun ones that the girls could be very creative with.
My dad and his wife Sue had all of us daughters dress in different shades, fabrics and styles of blue, perfect for the background of an ocean.
As much as being a bridesmaid seems like a part time (or even sometimes a full time!) volunteer position without pay, remember that there was a reason that you have been chosen to be right there with the bride on the biggest day of her life. She loves you and trusts you and wants you to be in her wedding memories and photo's for all eternity, so please do a favor to your friend, sister, cousin or likewise and take this as an honor and not something to complain about, for one day, you might just be the bride!
These bridesmaids look like they are happy the big day has finally arrived and they can celebrate! Photo courtesy of http://1stclasswedding.wordpress.com
