Bridesmaid Dress Dilemma

If you're going to pay for those that can't return their dresses, go for it.

I don't see why not. Although, I feel like all the different shades could potentially really turn out beautiful. Maybe the first chance you have to get together with your girls, ask them to bring their dresses so you can see them on all together?

You told them they can have any dress but had to be in this color. You should have immediately address that that is not the color and it’s your wedding. I would have been upset but have also see different shaded bridesmaid dresses and they doo look pretty cute... I’m doing my matron of honor in dusty rose and the rest in blush. But they all have to come from David’s bridal because I have bridesmaids in other states and I want them in all the same material that they like

I think it sounds perfectly fine if you're telling them you will pay for their nonrefundable gowns and for their return.

I think your plan is fine. If you plan on reimbursing the 2 who cannot return, I see no problem. However, this time, make sure you are super clear with your expectations. Also, I would have them run their dress choice by you before ordering. This is what I did for my wedding. My BM's were told to order the dress of their choice from Azazie in Dark Navy. They all showed my the dress they intended on ordering beforehand to see what I thought. It worked out perfectly!

As long as you plan on reimbursing the girls with nonrefundable dresses, I don't see anything wrong with this plan. I'd say go for it!

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Thanks for the reassurance! I was hoping it was a reasonable plan.

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I thought that too. But then I put pictures of all the dresses next to each other in a Word doc. I think when the different shades are done intentionally, it looks absolutely beautiful. But this just wasn't what I had in mind, i.e. one girl picked a really pale gray-blue, another picked a very dark, bold blue, and one picked a really light, shiny blue. Thank you for the reply!

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I should have, you're right. I think when the different shades are done intentionally, it looks very beautiful. Your palette sounds great; I love pink!

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Thank you for the reassurance!

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I do plan on that! I thought I was clear the first time around...but then not only were they getting all kinds of colors, they were doing all lengths when I asked for knee-length. And I'd asked them to show me beforehand, but a few of them forgot. I'm not really sure how it got all out of hand but I am hoping to correct it with this plan and stop worrying about it. Thank you for the reply! Love navy.

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Thank you! I was hoping it sounded like a good plan. Just sometimes things sound better in your head than they do to others and I needed some guidance haha.

View Quoted Comment I would try look at Pinterest and seeing if you can make it work in photos. That’s all it really matters is that you are going to be okay in 10 years looking at photos like idk why I made a big deal about.

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I haven't seen mismatched like this anywhere on Pinterest or anywhere else online. That doesn't mean it isn't possible; I'm just not a very artistic person. Here are the dresses in case you have any ideas.

I agree with PP, if you plan on refunding the girls who can't return their dresses, do that. BUT also make sure that the girls who's dresses "can" be returned are within the time frame stated in the return policy. Just because the store policy says they accept returns doesn't mean that there aren't restrictions, like time frame.

Also, I had ordered a bridesmaid dress on JJs House a couple years ago and didn't love how it looked. But because I had "customized" my size (I ordered the dress in a short size but still ordered a normal dress size) they would not accept returns so I had to order a new dress. I just don't want you to end up refunding 4 girls when you only thought you had to refund 2 girls.

View Quoted Comment There all pretty but which one was the color your wedding is? And did you want long and short?

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The third one down is the color I picked. I initially asked for short, but got some push back on that and eventually decided to do a mix.

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Thank you for pointing that out. That is good advice. I did confirm with those two that their dresses were still returnable (one just had a baby, so she was waiting as long as possible to buy a dress, the other got hers from David's, who extended their return policy due to the pandemic).

I have 3 shades of dusty blue - dusty blue from azazie, steel blue from azazie (good choice!!) and steel blue from David’s bridal. This is one of my inspiration pics. I would print all those pictures of their dresses out and flip through them in order of your bridal party to still see if it complements the vision you were hoping for, or if possible change their order (obvs not much to do about MOH) and tell them you changed the standing order bc of the dresses. If it doesn’t fit and you are willing to pay the losses for the non returnable dresses, I would definitely tell them to get new ones to achieve your vision!

I don’t think it’s a bad idea. We are postponing til next year. And I had decided that I didn’t like the dress I chose anymore once my plus size bridesmaids received there’s. It wasn’t flattering anymore. Luckily they were final sale dresses so they only paid about $30 for them. So I think I am going to reimburse them and get new dresses