Dear Bridesmaids: Here Are Your Dress Options

Hive, I've finally made a decision on bridesmaid dresses. Thank you for voting and giving me your opinions! They were so helpful. What I've come up with is a collaboration of all of my thoughts so far.

After filling you in on my idea to use various J. Crew dresses (thanks to their many color-coordinated dresses right now), I hoofed it over to the store. I was a little worried that some of the dresses would be too casual and, boy, was I right. They didn't have the dresses I was interested in there (regardless of the fact that some weren't b-maid dresses), but they had other items in the same fabric so I was able to nix anything that wasn't dressy enough. (And thanks to reader Slicey19 for telling me that linen wrinkles easily).

After my little research trip to J. Crew, I wrote an e-mail to my bridesmaids to present them with their options. I really wanted to make them adorable hand-written letters with printed pictures and swatches but I was too worried that one of the dresses would sell out. And anxious to share my thoughts with them and get theirs.

So here you go. My bridesmaid dress choices. Finally. The girls will be able to pick from these:

Option 1: Embossed Cotton Printed Lorelei Dress. Color: Papaya. $118.


Option 2: Any of J. Crew's silk chiffon knee-length styles in Light Shell. $165-$180.


Option 3: Any of J. Crew's silk chiffon knee-length styles in Deep Rose . Again $165-$180. This color becomes available in August.

Thanks Ashley from J. Crew for sending me images of fall's selections

And, for all you Sarah Seven lovers out there, this is still an option. For the girls who liked these custom dresses, they can choose one of four styles from her and get them in a coordinating color. Here are their four options:

The Tulip Dress

Raspberry Perfection Dress

Peachy Keen Dress

Flock Dress

The last option is for the girls to find dresses elsewhere, but to run them by me before they buy anything. I don't want to be a bridezilla but I've put so much work into making it look coordinated, too. It's so hard to balance all of that.

Next, I'll be getting a few swatches in the mail as well as the printed Lorelei dress to try on. Hopefully, these swatches will confirm my final decision. If not, well, you're in for another round of bridesmaid dress drama.

So far, two out of five bridesmaids are opting for silk chiffon J. Crew dresses while another wants a Sarah Seven dress. I haven't heard from the final two yet. Can't wait to see what they pick.

Did you have trouble balancing bridezilla-ness and letting go completely? I'm hoping I've found a good balance.

The Silk Taffeta Trial

Well, hive. After getting my 'lil heart set on J. Crew's barely peach fall color, I ordered in a couple of their silk taffeta styles to try them on. My favorites were the Lorelei and the strapless Sangle, so I just picked whichever colors weren't back-ordered and went for it. If I loved these dresses, I realized I'd be even more confused than I was before I posted about my three final bridesmaid dress options. If I hated them, well, then at least I could nix number one.

J. Crew's new silk taffeta color for fall

Here were the results.


The Sangle dress was adorable from the front. This champagne color would actually make a good, short wedding dress option. The pockets made it really comfortable and the detail on the neckline was cute too.


Can we say mushroom butt? I mean, the high waist makes it look like your arse starts really high and bulges out. Hmmm....


I feel like I'm wearing a modern version of a big, 19th century French dress with the bum that sticks up and out really high.


Then onto the Lorelei. Again, cute from the front. Although, it doesn't have a layer of netting under the silk taffeta like the Sangle so it lies a little flatter (less mushroom butt!). But, I'm not really a fan of how shiny the silk taffeta photographs.


If you have your hands in your pockets, you get this little bubble above your bum where the pleats are.


See? Even my dog Rio thinks my butt looks weird!

I guess that means silk taffeta is nixed. Which, is already the case if I decide to go with the different dress option since the fabric is so different from my other options. Thanks for listening to my J. Crew woes.

Were you disappointed about the fit of a bridesmaid dress you liked on the internet?

We're Kindred Spirits!

Yes, Mr. Cowboy Boot and I are kindred spirits, but I was actually referring to J. Crew. It seems they've embraced my color scheme in their summer collection. Or...maybe I subconsciously started seeing these colors around, gravitating towards them, and selecting them. You're right, J. Crew's summer colors were probably just a coincidence. Either way (hehe), head to their home page and you'll see elements of peach, dusty rose, gold, cream, and pinks.

It got me thinking...Maybe I should look beyond their traditional bridesmaids dresses and take it down a notch? Would a gander through their more casual, seasonal collection hurt?

Score! I found numerous dresses in coordinating colors. Albeit, a few of them were too casual, but at least four could work well together. I'm seeing this as a collaboration of numero uno, numero dos, and numero tres! It's not too stringent and also allows me to not let go of the reins completely. The girls could pick from these dresses and, if they found one similar elsewhere, they could run it by me. Or, if they were still stuck on Sarah Seven, they could order a custom dress through her in a coordinating color.

Pique V-Neck Ruffle Dress ($78), cotton pique, in Tea Rose

My only worries with this one: 1) Is it too casual? I'd need to see it in person although it looks like it could get dressed up. 2) The Tea Rose looks so bright on the bridesmaid dresses. Is it the fabric or the internet that's making it more palletable here?

Embossed Cotton Printed Lorelei Dress ($170), textured cotton, in Papaya

This is my favorite of the bunch. I liked the printed Whitney when I tried it. This just happens to be more in my color scheme.

Silk Chiffon Twist Tank Dress ($170), silk chiffon, in Light Shell

This is one of their bridesmaid dresses, yes, but I think it's a nice, lighter color for girls who don't want something so salmon-y and bright. Plus, there are three styles to choose from.

Metallic Linen Strapless Dress ($148), metallic linen, in Rhubarb

Linen, like the pique cotton, might be too casual. This is another must-see-in-person dress. Looks like I'll be making a trip to J. Crew tomorrow which means there's something in store for you too! Pictures of these dresses in person. Sort of.

Hopefully, this idea pans out. It's getting a little overwhelming not finding something I'm psyched about. I would be psyched, however, to have the girls find a dress they really like. Oh, and I would've included the silk taffeta dresses here (the new papaya is cute and the barely peach would be perfect) but those dresses didn't quite fit right (more on that to come) and the fabric felt like the odd one out in this line-up.

Did you let your girls choose but put certain criteria on their choices? What were those criterion?

The Final Bridesmaid Dress Dilemma

Well, hive, I've narrowed it down to three choices for my lovely ladies. You see, I just don't have a vision of what I want them all to look like which is making it really hard for me to pick out a dress. What I do know is that I want the girls to feel like themselves, to want to wear the dress again (I know!), and to get it in a color that suits everyone. You've seen the J. Crew and Watters trial. Then you saw the custom dress maker that I heart. Now I present to you my three delectable options.

But, first, let me share some color inspiration with you (peach, dusty rose, pink, and gold). 

(Thanks Martha)

(Thanks Again Martha)

(My Aren't You Generous, Martha!)

Option Numero Uno (silk taffeta; around $200):

J. Crew Lorelei Dress

J. Crew Sangle Dress

One of these styles in J. Crew's Barely Peach which hits stores in August. I ordered in both dress styles in other colors just to try on the dress itself. I'll let you know what they look like. I also got an itty bitty swatch of Barely Peach and love it. 

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Option Numero Dos (chiffon; $200 each):

Sarah Seven Flock Dress

Sarah Seven Flock Dress

Hive, I really need you to use your imagination here. Think solid color (no birds) and knee-length. This is where I'm having trouble with color, although Sarah would send me fabric samples before making the dresses. These dresses might be these colors:

The color of the curtains which is basically Barely Peach

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Something brighter like this amaryllis

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Option Numero Tres (variety; name your price):

(source)

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Or do I take inspiration from the discerning Ms. Apple Cider who had a good enough eye to catch this trend? Let the bridesmaids pick out their own dresses with set rules: in a certain color range, knee-length, particular fabric, etc. In the past, when this was done, I've seen bridesmaids stress over it and buy a dress last-minute. I've heard they like to be given more structure than this. But, I love the way it looks in the end.

So, hive, help me out! Vote for option 1, 2, or 3 below.