Happy Bridesmaids = Happy Bride

A wise man once said, “A happy bridesmaid makes a happy bride.” I think he knew what he was talking about. After being in numerous weddings myself, I decided early on that I wanted to make my wedding as easy as possible for those I wanted to share it with me...namely my bridesmaids.

Meaning: letting each girl choose her own dress, have the option to do her own hair/makeup/nails, choose her own jewlery/shoes, etc. I figure that these things would add up to a happy bridesmaid.

When I made the decision to have each of the girls wearing different dresses, I did not realize the extra job I was taking on. Add to that the fact that no bridal shop in Lexington carries the complete line I chose (Forever Yours) and you have a sticky situation.

Luckily, Ruth's Bridal in Lexington (where my gown was ordered) has been very easy to work with on this (as they are ordering the dresses). Since mid-August, I have been shuttling groups of my girls back and forth to Cincinnati to the mecca that is Bridal and Formal. And one by one, each girl chose the dress she wanted to wear.

My last such trip took place over the weekend with my Maid of Honor, Trish. (Anna joined us and we had a fabulous time BTW!)

The dress Trish chose is called a "crumb catcher" and I think it looks absolutely gorgeous on her! To be completely honest, I fell in love with this dress the first time I saw it. And practically every one of the girls has tried it on. But for one reason or another, other dresses were chosen. And on Saturday, Trisha tried it on...and loved it too!

To make her stand out a bit, we are thinking about the possibility of incorporating a brooch to her dress in some way...if we can find a suitable option. Keep your eyes peeled for something vintage that screams old Hollywood!


Here is the final dress line up:

What do you think? Keep in mind that all dresses will be in emerald green (even sashes) and the longer two dresses in this image will be hemmed to a shorter length to match the other dresses.

All in all, I think these dresses will make for beautiful bridesmaids.

Now to schedule fittings and get the final cost of these dresses...

Seven down...MOH to go

Yesterday, I took a drive to Cincinnati with my mum; youngest sister Kimberly; soon to be mother-in-law, Debbie; and sister-in-law, Rachel. What a good trip! Not only did we have a blast, but both of the girls chose their dresses to wear in the wedding. Success!!

Kimberly will be wearing this dress (right). I really like this dress! It will look stunning on her. And Rachel will be wearing this dress (left). Another super cute dress. Cannot wait to see it in emerald green! Both of these dresses were classic choices that can be traced back to the original dress shopping trip. I love both of them!

So then there was one. Seven of the girls now have bridesmaid dresses. So much fun! That leaves one. Trish, my MOH (Maid of Honor) is planning a trip to Lexington New Year's weekend so we can do a little shopping. I would love to make her dress look a little different in some way. I wonder what it would look like, if she chooses a dress with a sash or something, if the sash was a different color than the typical emerald green of the rest of the dress. Opinions? I guess it will really just come down to which dress she chooses. More on that later!

Once Trish has chosen her dress, I will lay each of the dresses out so we can look at them as a group. I think they will be the best looking (and best dressed) wedding party of 2010!

PS, I have decided that silver shoes are the best option. I think a silver satin shoe will do the trick. Hilary has found lots of cute ones out in Hamburg...planning an outing with her to take a look! (Note: girls can wear whatever shoes they are most comfortable in...they just need to be open toe/strappy and satin.)

Oh! One other update: I have officially chosen my wedding gown! Love it!! Tried it on for the group yesterday and it was a smash. Mom made an appointment for me tomorrow so I can go ahead and order it. Wow. Ordering my wedding gown. What a surreal feeling!

Coming soon: consultations with florists...ideas...opinions...thoughts... Big decision to be made in the next few weeks.

Bridesmaid Dress Shopping: Take Two!

Yesterday, three of the bridesmaids (Crystal, Hilary and Anna) and myself ventured to Cincinnati to determine the dresses they want to wear next September. Having comandeered the Forever Yours line at Bridal and Formal, we snagged a corner of one of the dressing rooms so the girls could try on dresses...dozens of dresses!

After a short while, two of them determined what they want to wear. Crystal chose a cute strapless dress that has a slight sweetheart top. It was really slimming on her and looked great! (See image on left.)

Anna's dress is just as cute and is also strapless. When she got it on, we both knew it was the dress! She especially loves the sash that is on the back; though you cannot see it from this image. (See image on right).

Hilary is currently undecided. She is attempting to decide between two, one she fell in love with on the first shopping trip and another she came across on yesterday's outing. Both would look great on her; excited to see what she chooses! (Stay tuned!)

I love that though several of the girls expressed interest in some of the same dresses, there have been no duplicates chosen. I am especially looking forward to seeing all of the girls in their dresses at the same time! I really think it will look great.

So as of today, four of the bridesmaids have dresses chosen. (YAY!) One will decide this week and the other three over the course of the next month...next Cincinnati trip is coming up on December 20.

The next major discussion for the bridesmaids' attire: shoe color. Silver or nude? Hilary was wise enough to bring a pair of each color to try on with an emerald dress in the shop so we can get initial ideas...I will need to upload those photos so the discussion can continue.