Dressing The 'Maids: Things Don't Go As Planned

If you read Part I of the bridesmaid dress saga, you found out that the goal for bridesmaids dresses was mismatched, knee-length, and navy blue. Preferably all the same fabric (lace and/or chiffon), but in various styles to match each girls taste and body shape. Since I was trying to be conscious of each ladies' budget, I decided to start our search at both Davids Bridal. As stunning as some of the designer bridesmaids dresses are at the smaller boutiques, I couldn't imagine asking my bridesmaids to pay $250+ for their dress. Plus, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Davids Bridal has been expanding their lace bridesmaid line to include lots of different options, perfect for mixing and matching.

So, off to Davids we went!

The first trip I made was with my older sister and MOH, Smiley, over my Christmas break from school. She could honestly rock any dress but she felt the most comfortable and beautiful in this lace strapless dress in Marine (David's Bridal's version of navy). Dress #1...Check! Off to find dresses for my other lovely ladies.

The next trip to David's was with co-MOH, Schmo, my bridesmaid Giggles and my junior-bridesmaid (and little sister). Each girl took turns trying on various lace dresses, and many a dress was thrown between the dressing rooms every time the girls yelled, "Switch!". When they had their dresses on, the girls would come out and we'd all proceed to "ooh!" and "aah!" over how freakin' beautiful they all looked in their picks. 

Little sis Lou chose this beautiful one-shouldered lace and chiffon dress, which looks like it was made for her. I wanted to make sure she was in an age-appropriate, yet still stylish and sweet dress that was cohesive with the rest of the ladies. The lace at the top of her dress matches the lace on the rest of the dresses, while the bottom of the dress is more unique. Dress #2...Check!

I mean, how stinkin' adorable is she?

Both Giggles and Schmo in the lace dress with the v-neck and straps. I could tell right away from their smiles and their mirror-selfies that they really, really both loved this dress. And I also really loved this dress on both of them. They have different body shapes, but the dress looked equally awesome on both of them. How was I going to tell one of them that they couldn't wear the dress, and had to choose another? I couldn't. 

Well, then crap. There goes the mismatched plan. 

When I saw how beautiful and happy both of them looked in this dress, I knew I had to make a decision about what to do about the mismatched thing. Since I was more attached to the idea of my bridesmaids being comfortable and loving their dresses than a "wedding vision", I decided to let go of the idea of all mismatched dressed and told Giggles and Schmo they could both choose the v-neck lace dress. Dress #3 & #4...Check!

The only lady left to find her dress was Cat, so we planned our trip to David's when I got back from my Christmas break. Finding the perfect dress for her was a bit of challenge, since she is tiiiiny. Super petite and tiny in every way. Since I was no longer stuck on the idea of all mis-matched dressed, she tried on every lace dress in the collection (including the strapless dress Smiley chose and the v-neck dresses the other girl's chose) and ended up loving the same dress as Giggles and Schmo. Definitely not part of the "plan", but I loved that she found a dress that's perfect for her and that she'll feel beautiful and comfortable in. Dress #5...Check!

To get an idea of what all three different dresses would look like together, during our second bridesmaids trip, I had Giggles try on MOH Smiley's dress while the other two girls stayed in their chosen dresses. I loved how all of the dresses looked together and realized that even if three of my bridesmaids are in the same dress (the one on the left) it will still look cohesive yet slightly mis-matched. 

Gotta love the socks, ladies!

Ultimately, I learned a valuable lesson in wedding planning during this entire process. When things don't go exactly as planned, and the issue isn't truly life or death...just let it go. It's so easy to hold such a tight grip on our wedding plans, especially when it's our "wedding vision". While I would have loved to have all of my ladies in completely different dresses, I couldn't argue with what they loved and felt beautiful in, and I ultimately cared more about what my girl's thought than my own vision for their look. After all, they're the ones buying and wearing their dresses, and the issue wasn't worth getting all bridezilla over.

I have no doubt that they will all look stunning in their dresses and I can't wait to see the entire look come together on the wedding day!

Did you plan a specific bridesmaids dress look that didn't exactly work out?