Ask Abby
Here is the second question of the day, and one that I am pretty sure a lot of brides are struggling with!
Question number two comes from Leasa…
Q2: Help!!! My best friend and maid of honor has informed me that she will be seven months pregnant by the time my wedding rolls around in October of this year. There is no way I would even consider taking my vows without her by my side, but I want her to look cute and stylish for the wedding (not dumpy). I also want her to coordinate with the other bridesmaids who also vary in shape and size.
In total I have five bridesmaids: my best friend/MOH who will be seven months pregnant (she is also about 5′8″ and average build); two petite cousins who are both around 5′3″ and 90 pounds soaking wet; a friend who is 5′3″, very full-figured and top heavy; and another friend who is 6′1″, full-figured and top heavy (she will also have given birth the month before the wedding). I’m not stuck on having them all wear the same dress, but I would like them to wear the same color and fabric. Do you have any recommendations for dress manufacturers that can accommodate all of these different body types?
I want everyone to look their best and I really want my MOH to feel comfortable. I also want everyone to look very stylish in a dress that is complementary to each figure. Like I said before, HELP!!
A. All of you have such great ideas! Leasa, my first instinct when I read your question, was to refer you to Jenny Yoo. I am a huge fan of Jenny’s and after seeing a fashion show of hers in New York, I am convinced that her designs are some of the best out there. She has absolutely beautiful fabrics and colors and the cuts are all very now, without seeming too trendy.
This would be my pick for your girls. I love the flowy fabric and the delicate look of the dress. Jenny makes a great maternity dress, as well, that coordinates nicely with this line. I would have each maid choose the style that suits their body type and their personality…
Another option would be to order the brilliant bridesmaid dress by Two Birds Bridesmaid…
This dress makes it so simple to accommodate different body types. I am partial to the shorter length and think that the apple green would be a lovely look.
Aside from these two designers, all of those mentioned by readers are really great and have TONS of beautiful options. Simple Silhouettes and Aria are my personal favs of the larger scale shops. Hope this helps!
Hi Leasa,
We just got our bridesmaids dresses over the weekend and my four girls are a variety of sizes. We went with the desinger Simple Silhouettes and they are great! I picked a color and each girl picked her own dress, so they all feel really great in them. They have lots of sizes and even maternity styles (and I think they let you order them closer to the wedding date to accomodate a quickly changing body). Good Luck!
I know of a site that will be able to help you out! A few months ago someone turned me on to a company called Aria Bridesmaids. It may have even been one of the girls from this blog.
www.ariadress.com
They offer a wide array of different styles to fit different figures, even plus sizes. (You mentioned one of your girls was full-figured) They have pictures of the dresses in actual weddings and they are gorgeous! They're all made in the USA which is a major plus. No sweatshops to worry about.
You can get several different style dresses in the same colors. The fabrics are beautiful and the prices are right!
I'm thinking about using them for myself as well.
I second Aria - I'm using them for my girls. I picked a color and fabric (actually two, one main color and one accent color), then the girls picked their own styles. They incorporated the accent color through sashes or the "double-hem" option, which is a peak of color at the hem of the dress. They require a 4-month lead time to make sure the fabrics come from the same dye lot.
Good luck!
www.jennyyoo.com has very cute dresses with a variety of styles and fabrics. They also have maternity dresses.
http://twobirdsbridesmaid.com/ " rel="nofollow">http://twobirdsbridesmaid.com/
these dresses can be styled in many different ways...also many different colors! the gallery has great pictures!
So many great ideas already!! Thank you!!
I was a bridesmaid last year and the bride choose Alfred Sung for our dresses. We were 8 girls total and we all loved them. They were flattering to us all....Alfred offers separates, dresses and maternity styles so theres lots to choose from. http://www.dessy.com/bridesmaid-dresses/alfredsung/ " rel="nofollow">http://www.dessy.com/bridesmaid-dresses/alfredsung/
I am in the same situation and we have decided to go with the Helena dress by Jenny Yoo. This is such a gorgeous dress on any body type! I am just a huge fan of Jenny Yoo.
Just a quick thought about the color options. Many maternity/full figured dresses don't come in a large range of colors or may not look flattering in lighter colors. It may be easier to get dresses in navy and accent them with a green sash or shawl, or something like that.
I was also going to recommend Aria. I had three bridesmaids with very different body types and they could each pick a different style in the same fabric.
Also, I think they have a maternity dress!
I third the Jenny Yoo recommendation! Their dresses are gorgeous, and there are so many different styles - there is sure to be one to flatter each of your BM's very different body types. Your MOH could even have a different fabric in a coordinating color. Also, at least for her and for the new mom, I would definitely pick a shawl or sweater for them to wear, as a lot of women seem to gain weight in their arms pre- and post-pregnancy. Jenny Yoo has beautiful shawls, but I've gotten great (and less expensive) ones from J. Crew and Banana Republic as well.
I'm adding to the recommendation for Aria. We (my bridesmaids and I) chose them for my wedding because I was searching for dresses made without sweatshop labor, of natural fabric (silk). They chose different dresses in a range of colors I chose and they all looked so great!
dessy is the way to go, so many cute options in different shapes and styles!
Select WTOO (Watters) dresses are available in maternity sizes as well. I love their sage silk shantung fabric:
http://watters.com/catalog_list.php?do=header&silhouette=maternity " rel="nofollow">http://watters.com/catalog_list.php?do=header&silhouette=maternity
I have to recommend Lynn Lugo: http://www.lynnlugobridal.com/ " rel="nofollow">http://www.lynnlugobridal.com/
There is a huge variety of styles and fabrics to choose from, including plus size and maternity. We were very happy with ours! Good luck!
You can also try www.corenmoore.com. />
i... fourth? aria!
my girls are all shapes and sizes, aria fits the bill. tons of colors, too (our dresses will be aubergine w/a sand sash). thrynn and some others who have already replied here turned me on to aria through their blogs and posts, and so far the experience has been great. their maternity options are cute, too.
A friend of mine had the same thing come up. She ordered the girls' dresses through Simple Silhouettes. They had a lot of great styles that would work-- no matter what size or shape.
I know a lot of people stay away but, try this one (style F12495) http://davidsbridal.com/bridesmaids_detail.jsp?stid=2795&prodgroup=110 " rel="nofollow">http://davidsbridal.com/bridesmaids_detail.jsp?stid=2795&prodgroup=110 > at Davids. I wore it in October w/4 other extremely different shaped girls and we all looked great. Plus, surprisingly the quality was great. A 7 month pregnant woman should also look great. The dress also looked fab on a fellow bridesmaid who is Pam Anderson busty.
Depending on where you live, I would suggest using Kimera Design, based in Brooklyn. http://www.kimeradesign.com/ " rel="nofollow">http://www.kimeradesign.com/ > They make gorgeous dresses, custom, and not too expensive, out of stunning and flattering raw silk for wedding parties. They have so many styles and colors. I like Jenny Yoo but don't find them to be very forgiving for larger women's shapes.
I would look at Siri, a designer from San Francisco. />
She has so many designs to chose from, both long and short, and lets you do each dress in a wide variety of beautiful fabrics, such as Silk Shantung, Tissue Taffeta, satins... She also has a maternity line out of the same fabrics and colors, so all the maids will coordinate.
www.siriinc.com.
I just wanted to thank everyone for their wonderful suggestions. I'm sure I'll find something perfect for my girls with all of these choices.
I used cocomyles.com for my girls. I wanted them all to have the same skirt, but I let them pick which bodice they wanted. The site has maternity dresses along with jr. bridesmaid. They also will do free faberic samples so you can make sure you're ordering what you want.
I started reading your blog a few months ago to learn anything related to weddings. I work as a necktie designer and work for an online retailer. I have noticed that especially sage green ties are most popular for weddings. Here are our three most popular wedding ties:
Sage Green tie
Peach-orange necktie
Champagne color silk tie
I hope this helps you get an idea about popular color themes for this year. If you need a particular matching necktie go the my company's site. You can click on my name to get to the site.
Thanks for all the good posts!
Hendrik