Choosing Bridesmaid Dresses

Bridesmaid dresses are becoming more and more glamorous; brides are looking to make their bridesmaids gorgeous and modern. More than ever, bridesmaid dresses are mirroring trends from the high street, with huge influences from red carpet celebrities and royalty alike. Let’s be honest, how many girls want to look like Pippa Middleton and Angelina Jolie? Frankly, everyone.  But these red carpet dresses are paving the fashion path for our bridesmaids very own red carpet moment.

Strapless, one shouldered, full-length or tea-length, it has to be simple, sassy and easy to wear. Girls are also looking for styles that can be worn again, and that’s when a tea-length dress would be ideal.

So, what are the hot colours?

When it comes to colours, big trends of grey, slate, mocha and soft vintage rose are huge favourites for 2012 and 2013. Firm favourites of Cadburys' Purple and plum remain for winter weddings.

Tips for styling your bridesmaids

Every bride wants her bridesmaids' dress style to emulate their own gown in some way, and for them to be in keeping with the overall theme of the wedding. I have a rule of thumb for this - if the bride is in a lace dress or has a dress with texture, then keep the bridesmaids in a plain fabric like satin or taffeta, and vice versa. Bridesmaids are there to complement the bride, not look exactly like her.

The other tricky part is choosing a colour; some brides can over think the colour scheme for their bridesmaids' dresses. I was once asked which dress colour would go with a certain carpet in a venue! The key is to pick your wedding style and colours, then make sure that your bridesmaids complement this with a colour that works on them as well as the venue.

Tips for choosing bridesmaid dresses for mixed figures and heights

This is a challenge that many of today’s brides face. You might have a 5ft 9 inch girl who is a size 16, and a 5ft 2 inch size 8 bridesmaid. There is no question that these girls will not suit the same dress, so don’t force it. Put them in different styles to enhance their figures. Twobirds Bridesmaid is amazing for this. One dress, three lengths and 15 ways to wear it, in a variety of fabulous fashion-forward colours. These dresses can be styled one way for the ceremony, meaning your girls look demure and angelic, then they can be 'sexied up' for the evening - wrapping them into a one shouldered look, twisting the straps changes the shoulder appearance, adding sparkly brooches - the choices are endless. I am deeply in love with these amazing dresses.

I am also a massive fan of Dessy bridesmaid dresses. Their colour palette is endless and they are widely available across the UK. They too enable you to pick different dress styles to suit your girls individual figures and then pull them all together in the same colour. Their website is without question the best on the market and if you search by this seasons key colours, say mocha, you have over 300 styles to choose from! AMAZING.

So, don’t force your girls into the same dresses, choose styles to suit their figures; they need to feel comfortable. Don’t forget to pull their look together with accessories and flowers.

Remember, you should always buy your own dress or a bridesmaid dress from a reputable retailer who is a registered stockist. There are so many copycat websites; don’t be fooled. And don’t buy them online, visit your local stockist.

Happy shopping

Ellie x

Article by Ellie Sanderson

Images courtesy of:

Images 1, 2 and 3: Twobirds Bridesmaid

Images 4 and 5: Dessy

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