The love of your life has gotten down on one knee and popped the question that you’ve been waiting months for. Now you’ve got an entire wedding to plan. 

Part of your planning will include choosing unique bridesmaid dresses. You want to pick something that everyone is going to be comfortable in. 

Yes, your bridesmaids will most likely only wear their dresses once, but they should feel gorgeous while they do. Most brides elect to allow their girls to choose their own outfits. 

It’s a great way to ensure that everyone has a dress that flatters their figure. You’ve also got to think about the price and your venue. 

We can help you pick out dresses that fit all your criteria. Keep reading to learn more. 

Keep Costs to a Minimum 

It’s tradition for your bridesmaids to pay for their own dresses. That’s why you’ve got to consider price when you’re browsing. Sites like Cocomelody have an option to sort by price so you can stick to a budget.

This is especially true if your girls aren’t only paying for their dresses. For example, if you’re doing a destination wedding, you don’t want your bridesmaids to have to pay for plane tickets and a hotel along with a 500-dollar dress. 

Your wedding shouldn’t be a huge financial burden for your friends. If you do want to opt for the pricey dresses, consider renting them. 

Mismatched Dresses Are Okay 

Despite what many people will say, you don’t need all your bridesmaids dresses to match. In fact, going the mismatched route will make for some unique wedding pictures. 

Your bridesmaids will be able to show off their unique personalities in what they wear. This being said, you can’t allow for too much freedom. There are some rules that you’ll need to put into place. 

Same Styles, Different Colors

You’re browsing through bridesmaid dress styles when you find one that you really like. You want to do the mismatched look, but you also want your girls to wear this dress style. 

Why not have your cake and eat it too? 

Put your girls in the same dress, but allow them to choose what color they want to wear. It can create a gorgeous rainbow look when they’re standing next to each other in pictures. 

Same Color, Different Styles

Let’s take the above situation and flip it around. You’ve got a bridesmaid dress color scheme in mind, but you want your girls to look different in pictures. 

The solution is to let them choose their dress style. Not only will you honor your color scheme, but your bridesmaids will get to wear something that they’re comfortable in. 

Not everyone looks flattering in every dress style. Letting your girls decide what they wear takes this fact into account. When everyone feels gorgeous, they’ll look happier in pictures.  

Think About Hemlines

If you do let your favorite ladies choose their dress styles, get together to coordinate hemlines. If everyone but one person is wearing a short dress, it will look a bit off in pictures.

You have to have some balance. Alternate between long, short, and medium hemlines. 

Don’t Vary Too Much

Letting your bridesmaids choose their own dress color or style is one thing. If all the dresses also have different hemlines, necklines, and fabric types, that’s another. 

If you allow for too much variation, your pictures will look like a confused, jumbled mess. 

Provide a Little Guidance 

The idea behind mismatched dresses is to let your bridesmaids have a bit of freedom. It’s okay to give them a little push in the right direction, however. 

Our recommendation is to make a bridal shop appointment with your bridesmaids. You can help them coordinate their dresses with each other. 

Consider Their Figures

Again, there are a lot of different bridesmaid dress styles out there, and not all of them look good on everyone. You shouldn’t force someone to go out of their comfort zone. 

If you can’t find a style that everyone can agree on, go the mismatched route or allow your girls to make small alterations to their dresses. 

For example, let’s say that you fall in love with a dress style that has spaghetti straps. All your girls are fine with it except for one. 

She hates spaghetti straps. They don’t look good on her, and she doesn’t feel comfortable showing off her shoulders.

Let her take her dress to an alteration shop to tweak the sleeves. At the end of the day, it won’t create enough of a visual difference to matter. 

Make a Day Out of Shopping

Do you want to take everyone to a bridal shop to choose dresses? You might as well make a day out of it. Go out for lunch and hit up the store afterward. 

Have them dry on dresses until everyone finds something that they’re comfortable in. Provide input when they walk out of the dressing room. Don’t forget to receive input as well.

After all, you’re not the one who’s going to be wearing the dresses all night. They are.

Let Your Bridesmaids Shine Bright

It’s a general rule of thumb to not wear a dress that’s flashier than the bride’s dress. It’s your big day. You don’t want to be overshadowed by your ensemble. 

We’re here to tell you to forget that. There’s nothing wrong with letting your bridesmaids shine bright with sparkles and sequins. 

Beads and studs will add some pazazz to your wedding party without your girls needing to wear a bunch of accessories. 

Don’t shy away from lace too. It’s a tradition that the bride is the only one that wears lace. Like beads, it can add a special touch to your unique bridesmaid dresses, though.  

Think of the Venue 

Always think about your venue before choosing dresses. If you’re getting married at the beach, you shouldn’t make your bridesmaids wear thick materials and long sleeves. They’ll have a heatstroke!

On the flip side of this, if you’re doing an outdoor wedding during the winter, strapless dresses are out unless you plan on giving your girls something to wrap up in. Otherwise, they’ll be shivering so much that they can’t hold their bouquets. 

If you’re getting married in a place with uneven terrain, ask that all your girls wear wide wedge heels. They’ll compliment the dresses well while providing enough stability that your bridesmaids won’t fall over. 

Don’t Sweat the Footwear 

Other than maybe color, don’t dictate your bridesmaid’s footwear too much. If you force them to wear a specific shoe, it will only create an extra expense.

Your girls will toss those shoes to the back of their closet and never look at them again after the wedding. They’re not going to want to pay a hundred dollars on them when they already have a pair that would have worked well with the dress. 

Unless one of your girls is wearing bright red shoes while everyone else is wearing silver ones, nobody is going to be paying attention to what heels your bridesmaids are wearing anyway. 

Picking the Right Fabric

Choosing a fabric can be a little tricky because there are so many. To narrow things down, think about the formality of your wedding. 

If you’re doing a casual get-together, asking your girls to wear satin will be a bit much.

You’ve also got to consider the weather. If your bridesmaids are wearing heavy fabrics in the summer, they’ll sweat their makeup off. Chiffon is a better choice for spring and summer weddings. 

Accessorizing

If you have everyone wearing the same dress color and style, allow your girls to put on alternating accessories. Don’t dictate what necklaces and bracelets they wear. 

It will allow everyone to show off who they are, and it takes something off your wedding to-do list. You’ve got enough to worry about without fixating on your bridesmaid’s jewelry. 

On the flip side of this, if you have your bridesmaids wearing different dresses, allowing them to put on mismatched jewelry might provide too much variation. Have everyone wear the same accessories or wear their hair in the same style. 

Choosing Unique Bridesmaid Dresses That Your Girls Will Feel Gorgeous In 

Choosing unique bridesmaid dresses can be hard. Your bridesmaids have different body types and dress preferences. 

If you can’t find something that everyone can agree on, you’ll have to compromise a little. It’s not a bad thing. Allowing for mismatched dresses can bring something special to your ceremony. 

Now that you have the right dresses for your bridesmaids, it’s time to plan the rest of your wedding. For tips that will help things go off without a hitch, feel free to explore the rest of our blog.