Bridesmaids with very different body types

I ended up with 2 different dresses on 4 girls. 2 in each. I insisted they come from same company ( well Davinci and Impressions are brothers who use same factory and colors) same color and fabric. I wanted all the same, but my MOH is too tall to wear the dress everyone liked, and her daughter is also. The other 2 like the dress but not the new one. I still think because of similar styles at top, and also using bling brooches that match should pull it together.

I was in a wedding (6 bridesmaids) where all of us were very different. Our heights ranged from 5' to 5'11" with sizes from 6 with an athletic build and B cup to 18 curvy and very well-endowed. The bride decided to have us all wear the same designer, color fabric and length (tea length), but let us choose the dress.

In my sister's wedding, we all wore different dresses in the same color.

In my wedding, they all wore the same dresses - I found something that worked for each. It can be done, but it's more difficult.

I'm leaning towards letting my bridesmaids choosing their dress from a set of styles (same designer, fabric, and length) that I have pre-selected. I love how it looks in the magazines It seems like that would work well for your situation. Good luck!

I'm in a similar situation with my bridesmaids, so I've chosen a designer, color, fabric and length and they can each choose the style they feel most comfortable with.

How about just let them buy a dress they like...pick a color or don't. I only asked that my ladies pick a shade of blue dress...and that has allowed them to get fabric, shades of color, style, cuts, that they like on themselves.

I have a little too much OCD to be ok with mismatched dresses in my wedding. Nothing against people that have them, they just really wouldn't work for me. My bridesmaids range from 5' and size 0 to 5'10" and size 12. All different body shapes. It took some looking, but we found a dress that will work for them all!

I think if you have them pick from the same shade and same designer with similar length and fabric, it will look just as cohesive as if you picked one dress. As an added plus, all the girls will be comfortable wearing what fits them best.

My 3 girls have different bodies.

They are all VERY self conscious about their bodies and are dreading dress shopping.

This process has been perfect for us so far:

I asked for their likes and dislikes/concerns prior to going dress shopping; without talking about it as a group, we actually all agreed on what we'd like! (Chiffon, Short/Tea Length, No Halter, No One Shoulder, in Pink or Charcoal)

Over the last few weeks I've been sending them photos of dresses that I like and asking for their input. They've also taken the time to browse through some websites on their own and send me ideas.

We'll actually go dress shopping next year, but this gives me a better idea of what they will feel comfortable in and what I will like for my wedding photos!

Points if you take the time to stalk their facebook photos of them in dresses to see what looks good on them in the past!

I hated the idea of having everyone pick their own dress, but then again I have 11 bridesmaids and they all have very different body types. Luckily I found a dress from David's Bridal that looked good on all of them.

My process was similar to Alice T's. I asked them about prices and general style ahead of time, sent them batches of possible dresses and asked for feedback, etc. I finally had enough of an idea of their tastes that when I found a dress I loved in-store, I emailed them the link and got all positive reactions! (These are 7 girls, age 15 to 30, every combination of height-weight-bust you can imagine... so I consider myself lucky! I found that something with just a slight amount of extra fabric that falls from a high/natural waist seems to flatter the most body types.

FYI: This is the dress they all agreed on, in either Horizon blue and Marine. http://www.billlevkoff.com/style/bridesmaid-dress/485

It all depends on your vision. I personally hate mismatched bridesmaids so I could never let my girls pick their own dresses. You just have to think about what you want your bridal party to look like.

My girls all had VERY different body shapes. What I did was I picked the designer, color and length and let them go for there. There were a few that I was like "just not that one" cause I didn't like them for some reason or another. They all really liked their dresses and the nice thing for all of them is they can wear them again and WANT to wear them again. I was in my MOH's wedding and she did the same thing with us. I ended up wearing her bridesmaid dress on our honeymoon cruise during one of our formal nights

The red is her wedding, purple is mine..

I gave my girls a color length and fabric and let them choose their own. Besides body type, it also helps to accommodate different budgets.

I love the look of mismatched bridesmaids dresses when the designer, fabric, colour and length are the same. It looks great and lets each BM's personality shine through and also ensures that they can choose something that flatters them. They are still VERY cohesive for photos since only the style is different and everything else the same.

I'm franky tired of "Stepford Wife" bridesmaids with identical dresses and hairstyles and everything else. Boring!

What I did as a Bride:

I have 2 BMs - one is 5'10, slim hipped and long-legged and blond, and one is 5'0, short-waisted and curvy and auburn. One is my SIL, and the other my BFF. I wanted them to be happy and comfortable and feel good, and, ideally, be able to wear the dress again. They are in different cities, so I chose Alfred Angelo, sent them a few guidelines on what styles I did not like, and colors I did not want them to wear), and left it up to them.

We met up to go dress shopping when my BFF came into town recently, and they chose a color in about 30 seconds. For length, I'm having a summer wedding, and not super-formal, so they asked if they could wear short dresses, both for comfort and also because they could wear them again more easily - I was fine with that. Then they started trying on dresses - I had veto power, btw.

My SIL chose a pleated, one-shoulder style similiar to a dress she owns, that looks great and gives her nice curves, but isn't revealing. My BFF chose a fitted sheath style with a bit of a chiffon peplum overlay at the waist. I bought them a matching blingy fabric sash to tie the looks together, and to take the dresses from pretty to wedding-y.

My experience as a BM:

My SIL, mentioned above, got married 2 years ago. Her 3 BMs were me and her two sisters. Both her sisters are also 5'10, blond ectomorphs size 6-ish. I am 5'3", brunette, and size 20W. I was terrified! LOL My SIL went to a small local boutique for her dress, and they carried Jim Hjelm brand dresses, so she chose one of their best-sellers for us to wear, in black. My mom told me that she specifically wanted a dress that was more 'covered' around the bust so I'd feel comfortable about that.

However, the dress I saw online freaked me out - it looked super-fitted, and designed for a basketball player! I went to try on a sample dress, and was very, very pleasantly surprised - it looked FANTASTIC. It had one shoulder, but was basically a strapless dress with chiffon overlay that gathered at the bust and went over the shoulder, so you had good coverage - no visible cleavage.

The shoulder had a little bit of flutter chiffon "petals", which I thought would overwhelm my petite frame, but did not, because they were not stiff. The dress style was empire waist A-line, actually was very slimming, and because the most fitted part was on the ribcage, and then loose from there, was super-forgiving around the tummy and hips, without making me look bigger. Now I know why it's a best-seller - and I appreciated that she asked the sales associate for recommendations for what dresses were best-sellers *because of their universal fit*.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

- GIVE GUIDANCE: If I had more than 2 BMs, or any girls who didn't know each other, I would have given them MORE instructions for the dresses, b/c otherwise some girls may feel strong-armed by larger personalities in the group, and because giving *no* guidelines can really be difficult if the girls have different personal styles.

- LENGTH. Choose a length - long or short, and if short, HOW short (i.e., do not let girls choose short, then have one girl him hers 'inappropriately' short, because 'you didn't say there was an issue')

- WHOLE COST. Alfred Angelo and David's Bridal both have dresses starting at $100, while boutique dresses tpically will run more like $175-$300. But EVERY dress requires alterations, at least of bust+hem, for a $50-150 additional cost to each girl if they use the shop's services. You may want to find a local seamstress to give them options for having the alterations done cheaper.

- SHOES. If any of your girls have foot problems, let the girl with the foot problem have a strong say in the choice, if you are dictating them - ask her for five or six pairs that she likes and can wear. I have wide feet, and can't wear high heels due to a heel injury, so my SIL asked ME to pick several styles, and I was soooo grateful! I thought about all of us, and picked a super-comfy low heel strappy silver sandal that all the girls loved, and we were able to wear the entire night - no ballet slippers necessary! (It was similiar to the Touch Ups Jane shoe in Silver, $54, but without the snakeskin). These are also shoes the girls would able to wear again, and worked for their budgets.

- PRIORITIES. Lastly, really think about your priorities... if your top priority is making the girls happy and making sure they can wear their dress again, after spending $200+ for it, then I'd let them choose their own dress, with guidelines. Or, if you prefer to choose for them, pick 6 dresses you would like, let them pick their top 2 picks, or if there are a lot of girls, top 3, and then majority rules. Keep in mind that the same dress may look, for example, elegant in eggplant and 'cheap' in red - so make sure you look at color + style together when choosing. If you are letting the girls choose the color, give them a specific set to choose from, if the color matters - do not let them choose a color, and then veto it, because it will frustrate them unnecessarily... if you know you don't like certain colors, then rule them out up front. (e.g., "Eggplant, Navy, Royal blue, Royal purple, Marine, Medditeranean blue and purple are fine - no cobalt, please!)

- STRAPLESS v. STRAPS. As a larger girl, strapless dresses (and for the record, I consider spaghetti straps the same as strapless) are not as flattering as those with even one shoulder, or a halter style or a strap or cap sleeve. From the side and back, they are just not as flattering, and they lead to fear of 'spillage' out of the front when you bend over. Strapless also makes it difficult for very thin, small-bust girls to pad or add cutlets that can boost their girls a bit.

If you choose strapless dresses, consider to add a self-fabric wrap /chiffon scarf that they can pull around their shoulders and tuck under their arms - this will give some coverage to girls self-concious about their arms, while draping elegantly on slimmer girls, and creating 'softness' on someone who is athletically built. If you can afford it, consider gifting them with a matching sash with sparkle on them, which is universally flattering, defining the waist of larger sizes, and creating curves on slim girls. (These are expensive, $50+ each, so if you have a large bridal party it's a non-starter.)

KUDOS TO YOU! Finally, kudos for thinking about this now, and thinking about your BMs! Not everyone does. I was recently in AA with my mom, and there was a BM dress that was 'abandoned' by the BM... she came in to get it, and she literally tried it on, and walked out of the store saying "forget it" - it was paid for, but she dropped out of the wedding instead of wearing the dress.

What could've been SO horrible, you ask? She was very large - size 30W - and the dress was a short chiffon pleated strapless full-skirted dress, in what I can only describe as flourescent peach, with a hot pink sash tied in a bow at the hip! As a plus-size girl myself, pleated chiffon is a NIGHTMARE. The dress my SIL is wearing (the pink one below) makes me look three sizes bigger than I already am, plus pregnant! LOL For most plus sizes, a full, pleated skirt is the absolute worst thing you can wear, IF you do not want to be wearing it. A fitted style, sheath with chiffon overlay, is universally flattering, in short or long - so if you're choosing the style, please please stay away from pleated skirts!

I had a similiar issue with my bridesmaids. And being a bridesmaid myself several times absolutely hating the dresses I was put in, I knew that I wanted my girls to pick their own. After all, they are the ones who have to pay for the dress and wear it all night, so why not have them feel fabulous too! I picked a fabric and length and let them go at it to pick their own (I must note though my color is navy so different designers did offer dresses in almost identical colors so if your color is very unique, I agree on picking one designer). I only had two girls pick a dress that they wanted but the designer's color was just way off so they picked another dress. Not one girl picked the same dress and it made me happier that they felt awesome in their dresses than me picking it for them. They all said it was their best experience so far being a bridesmaid and they couldn't wait for my wedding. There really aren't any set rules anymore so if you want them in one dress or to pick their own, it really is your decision and I am sure it will be beautiful!