DRAMA = Bridesmaid dresses: How to make (and keep) all of your girlfriends happy

So you are engaged (Congratulations!!!) and you have already chosen your bridesmaids and maid-of-honor – Good job! But now, before you have even selected your color scheme and your venues you are starting to hear some feedback from your friends:
“I don’t like lavender”
“I hate my cankles so I want to wear a long gown”
“I want a cocktail dress that I can wear again”

You love your friends and family but are beginning to wonder why you needed bridesmaids to begin with and whose wedding is it anyway? Don’t worry – there are ways to remedy this dilemma.

First of all – remember what great friends you have and that they are just afraid of having to wear (and pay for) a monster of a dress or gown that might not be their color, fit their figure or just not look good on them.

Second – tell them not to worry…you love them and want them to look their beautiful. If you are afraid of them stealing your thunder – don’t be! You are the bride so you will, of course, look absolutely gorgeous and outshine everyone since it is your day. So why not be there for your girlfriends and help them to look their best as well?

How can you do this you ask?
My suggestion would be to select a range of gowns or dresses where you can pick the material and the color while the girls choose the dress or gown that they love most. I am a huge fan of offering bridesmaids a range of different styles to suit their body type but also selecting styles that don’t look so bridesmaidey so that your friends can wear the dress again and again with nobody knowing that it was part of a wedding party.

With regards to the color, if you have a color that you love go ahead and run it by your friends, maybe they will love it, maybe they won’t, but it might also help you to think of other color choices that you had not thought of. For example, my friend couldn’t bear to buy a 6th lavender bridesmaid dress and I had my heart set on lavender. With her protests, we ended up brainstorming and discovering that a dark plum color would look gorgeous, be flattering on all the girls, fit the overall wedding look and it turned out to be absolutely perfect! By going with this approach, your wedding party will look both uber-stylish and happy.

Here are some great places to find beautiful dresses and gowns that would make any bridesmaid smile:

Vera Wang
Vera Wang has gorgeous bridesmaid dresses and gowns that come in different fabrics and colors. You can easily select a few different cuts within the same color and fabric and offer your friends these different dresses to choose from. Any girl would love a Vera, so why not help them build their collection with a fabulous dress or gown? Check out the store locator on the Vera Wang website to find the store nearest you.
http://www.verawangonweddings.com/


The Butter Dress by Nadia
A friend of mine just introduced me to this wonderful creation. This is a dress you can wear countless ways and comes in tons of different shades so you pick your color and then your bridesmaid decides how she wants to wear the dress. How could you go wrong?

You can buy the Butter dress online at the Butter by Nadia website:
http://www.butterbynadia.com/collections.html

Alternatively, you can buy the Butter dress at Calypso in New York:
http://www.calypso-celle.com/shop/cart.php

Or to find the dress at a discount, check out the Calypso outlet:
CALYPSO Outlet
407 Broome Street NY, NY 10013
(212) 941-9700
Mon-Sat 11-7, Sun 12-7


Jenny Yoo
With tons of styles and colors to choose from, some more fashion forward and some more traditional, you will be able to decide on the color that you love while giving your friends a ton of options for dresses and gowns that will thrill them and look fantastic in your wedding pics.

http://www.jennyyoo.com/home.html