That is a most unfortunate hairstyle on the Bride

My best friend is a real-life grownup who spends her money on things like a first house and a big wedding, instead of leather boots and sweater dresses like me.  I’m going to be one of three bridesmaids in the ceremony.  She really wanted us to like the dresses, so she left it up to us to choose it.  Her only requirement was that the color be some sort of blue, to fit in with her winter theme.  Can three girls, all different ages and sizes, agree on the same dress?   Highly unlikely.

The maid of honor and I basically wanted two completely different dresses.  We agreed the dress should be something we could wear again, to another wedding perhaps.  In my opinion, that meant that the dress should obviously be short.  I don’t have any proms coming up in the near future, so a gown didn’t seem very practical.  Yet, she was drawn to the long dresses.   I felt the color should be either a dark blue, like navy, or a very icy blue to match the winter theme.  She favored turquoise and teal.  At a certain point, I gave up and accepted the fact that I’d be spending $200 on a dress I’d never wear again.  But when it’s time for me to get married, here are a few examples of the type of dresses I’ll consider for my bridesmaids:

Is it me or do the models’ limbs always look awkwardly Photoshopped in on the David’s Bridal website?  Yikes.  Provided your bridemaids aren’t scarily Photoshopped creatures, I think this cut would be flattering on many different body types.

A bow creates some interest on an otherwise simple cocktail dress from JCrew without being too distracting or tacky.

 

I love all the dresses from Priscilla of Boston, and if you couldn’t tell, I also love simple dresses with fun details.   This is similar to the dress above, in that a rosette on the bodice makes it memorable.  The headpiece, however, is another story…

If I did choose a gown, I would want it to be very clean and simple so that my bridesmaids could rewear it at other occasions without feeling like a beauty pageant contestant.  Bonus points if they could easily have a tailor shorten it into a cocktail dress after the ceremony if they wanted.  This dress is also by Priscilla of Boston.

Which do you guys like best?  What type of qualifications would you have for your bridemaids’ dresses?  Have you been a bridesmaid before, and if so, did you like the dress?