Weddings naturally tend to focus on the bride and her chosen dress for this momentous day, however it is so important to not underestimate the integral part played by a girl’s best friend(s) – and we are not talking about diamonds here – we mean her actual best friends, her bridesmaids!
Every bride wants her girlfriends to be as happy as she is on the big day, feeling their best, super comfortable and of course a VIP on her day-to-remember. At Something Borrowed HQ we absolutely understand this, but also know that pleasing everyone, can add some pressure to an already stretched bride. So we thought it might be useful to impart some of our experience and advice on how best to get ‘bridesmaid dresses’ ticked off that list, in a way that ensures your girls are smiling, and you are left feeling pretty pleased with yourself.
Tip One: Consider your party – a successful journey to bridesmaid dress heaven begins with having a good think about the girls you have within your bridal party. What kind of body shape do they have? How can their personality shine through whilst keeping a consistent look? Are they hoping to lose or gain weight, be pregnant, want to wear heels or stick to flats? Each of these factors will impact on finding the right dress so it is a good idea to lay out a plan of what everyone will need before beginning your search. This also makes for the perfect opportunity to start having conversations with the girls about what is going to work well for them, leading to them feeling involved and considered right from the get go.
Tip Two: Focus on your theme – you may have a strong theme running throughout your wedding or you may just want to consider how the bridesmaids look will work harmoniously with the flowers and the grooms men’s outfits. Either way, having an informed idea around colour and style will help you to begin your search and keep it focussed as to what is going to work well on a bigger picture scale. As a caveat to this, we always recommend being flexible and perhaps having a couple of colourways you want to explore and a few style options that you think will work, to ensure you can find something that fits within your brief but also works for your besties. We recommend doing some research on bridesmaid dresses that compliment your chosen theme and have a few images to hand to inspire you.
Tip Three: Set a budget – depending on how you are approaching paying for the dresses – perhaps covering this within your own budget, or asking the girls to cover the cost of their own dress – you need to have some discussions around what is going to be viable. If you are asking for a contribution or full coverage of the cost, it is important to know that talking money can sometimes make for a uncomfortable chat. You should approach this topic with honesty, understanding and sensitivity to ensure that whoever needs to be involved in the conversation, feels heard and respected. Bridesmaid dress rental offers an affordable option that can work for everyone, so whatever the budget we are confident we will have the right dress for your bridesmaids.
Tip Four: Be open to compromise – this is a key message for yourself and your besties, particularly if you have a larger group of bridesmaids. Finding a dress that works for each person, or perhaps a combination of dresses tailored to your girls style, may require some compromise on everyone’s part. Equally, you may start out on this journey having a very fixed idea of what you would like, but throughout the process, you may find, that something else might be the better option (we would say that this can often go for your wedding dress too!). This is why we offer our try on service, it allows you to see the dresses in real life and get your girls to try them before you decide on the perfect outfit to compliment your dress. As always, we offer as much flexibility as possible so if there are concerns about what the best size will be (perhaps one of your ladies changes dress size before the big day) or if you find that an alteration is necessary, our team are more than happy to have a discussion with you around what will work best and how we can accommodate your needs.
Finding the perfect dresses for your bridal party should be a fun, enjoyable experience - we really believe this at Something Borrowed and will work our magic to support you throughout the journey. With our carefully curated bridesmaid dress collection, you can choose from the latest additions to ethical brand Rewritten who offer classic styles in a select range of complimenting colours, a multiway dress that offers flexibility like no other meaning your girls can style this in their own unique way or a selection of perfectly tonal garments that offer a solution for a variety of shapes and sizes. Check out all our bridesmaid rental dresses and please get in touch so we can find the perfect dresses for your very best of friends.