We are asking a lot of the bridesmaid dresses, as we have a lot of concerns and requirements.
As always, budget is a priority, and since much of the wedding parties are also family, the expenses come out of my purse. For those not in the family, we don't want wedding participation to be a financial burden either. We also hope that any money is well spent on something that can serve the wearer beyond the wedding day....So both attractive and comfortable to the owner, and is appropriate to events other than wedding.
Of course, the suitability for 'wedding' is still important, and the bride must also be happy with the look. This creates some tension when the bride and the attendants have differing style preferences and personal standards concerning length, fit, and details like strapless vs sleeves.
An additional challenge is that both sets of brides and grooms chose navy blue as one of their main wedding colors, and both want gray on the men. Where it is tempting, from the financial side, to use some of the same clothes at both weddings, we don't want 2 sets of professional photos, a rare blessing, of the family wearing the same clothing for both!
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However, navy dresses were proving difficult to find, especially when searching to suit all the body types, stay formal enough but be something that could be warn later (no shiny), and fit the modest budget. Her solution to the problem was to add teal as another wedding color. That new plan would have the friend in navy, Princess Sassy in teal, Princess Artiste as the link between
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We currently have quite a pile of dresses, working toward both the all-navy and the navy and teal plans... Kind of keeping all the balls in the air until a complete set satisfies the bride. Thankfully, there are a lot of sales on right now...after prom and with the change of seasons.
We seem to finally have dresses with which all girls involved seem happy. I now have complete confidence we'll have this decided soon.
Additional note: If you're in the market for a dress, I have to say that in our experience, JC Penney is the place to go! Macy's has more navy, but for overall selection, price, nice fit and features, and material and construction quality, JC Penney has offered us the most options and the best hope.
laxsupermom · 716 weeks ago
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RHome410 71p · 716 weeks ago
I would be all for the flow of color and pattern if it weren't for the orange that's supposed to be mixed into that wedding. Orange and blue was going to need a careful balance and shade selection as it was. Not sure if it will be too wild with the color mixture. But it's not my worry...It's all up to the bride and her vision. Now if I could only get the two M's of Honor to try on the potential dresses, so we could move forward... Schedules get too busy and hard to coordinate.