Dresses

I would tell them it’s not up to them 🤷🏼‍♀️ All 10 of my girls did azazie with no issues. I’ve been a bridesmaid 14 times and have never once tried on dresses in a store and it’s all worked out fine. Tell them to do the at home try on or pick a style that they know is flattering on them.

My bridesmaids bought their dresses from Azazie, and it was a super positive experience! I'm typically hesitant to order clothes/dresses/etc online, though this worked out well for them, and the dresses arrived on time and were good quality. You are able to try on dresses at home before you buy them, and as long as you don't do custom sizing, you are able to return the dress if you don't like it/dress doesn't fit/etc after it's purchased (I think it's a 14 day window, though double check their policies if you decide to go this route).


Otherwise, David's Bridal is an option, though I know you said you aren't a fan. I can't think of any other chain dress shop that would be in multiple states. You could see if the girls are willing to all come to your state to go to a local shop if they don't want to buy online?

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Thanks! I'm just worried that I'm going to have to listen to them complain about whatever dress they decide on from now until the wedding all because they couldn't get a dress from the store. They are both the type that want to try on a million dresses before they finally decide on something.

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I'd hate to make several girls travel from one state to another during a pandemic just because two of my bridesmaids are super indecisive and can't just deal with what I want. I think I'm going to have to sit down and talk to them about this. My thought was to go with them to David's and see if they can find a particular style they like and find something similar on Azazie.

My girls got their dresses from amazon. Davids bridal can be great. It really just depends on your store.

View Quoted Comment That makes sense! They can always try on styles through Azazie as well, so if they find one they like at David's Bridal, they can also try on the equivalent Azazie dress of the same style before they buy it to make sure they still like it and that everything is the same. Good luck!

You give them a selection of dresses and tell them to pick one. If they are unable or unwilling to do that, then they can attend as a guest. They should br grateful you're giving them choices. I've been in several weddings where we all had to have the same hideous dress. As a member of the bridal party their whole job is to show up in the attire requested by the bride with a smile on their face. This day is not about them. It's about you and your fiance. If they want to be that selfish and self centered they can have their own wedding. Not trying to be rude... but damn.

DB gets a bad rap, but really it’s not that bad. With Covid present I’d suggest using Amazon Prime Wardrobe (try upto 7 at a time) or Azazie.


I wouldn’t give them a choice

I was trying to make things easy on my two MOHs and pretty much just gave them color options. It was a nightmare. Looking back, I would have picked several dresses from one place and told them to pick one of them by x date or expect to attend as a guest. Trying to accommodate everyone, in my experience, does nothing but create extra stress.

View Quoted Comment If they try and complain to you just set a boundary and say you aren’t going to engage in this conversation! When they get married they can choose bridesmaid dresses where they want but this is your wedding.

Tell them if they don’t want to spend money they shouldn’t have agreed to be a bridesmaid. I went through this issue because I had my girls order through Birdy Grey (similar website as Azazie). I said they can do any style just same color. Everyone was fine with it except my future SIL who wanted to get a different style in the same color aka try to match the website. At first I said ok and then retracted my statement a week later and apologized to her, but she got a diff dress anyway (tight and flattering on her figure bc she didn’t want a flowy dress even though who cares bc it isn’t her wedding and she has a great body that would look good in anything) She said Birdy Grey was too expensive (each gown is $99) Basically don’t let your maids tell you what to do. It’s tough because you love them but if you give them an inch they’ll go a mile. it sounds sad/mean but just stand your ground. I am sure Azazie is great with returns and exchanges if they don’t like the dress they originally pick the first time. If they didn’t want to spend money they are in for a rude awakening as a bridesmaid!! lol

My advice would be to tell them that it's not their choice! These days, especially with Covid and when you have bridesmaids located in different areas, online bridesmaid dresses are the norm. We used a similar online service for my wedding (Dessy), but I've been in multiple weddings as a bridesmaid using Azazie and it worked out really well. Azazie has way more styles to choose from and the quality is much better than David's Bridal. I'm team Azazie all the way!

I don't remember asking my mom or my bridesmaids where they wanted to get their dress from! Lol! I told them a color, fabric & length from Azazie and they picked from there so they had around 100 options from $89-$169. Plus I told them more than a year ahead of time so they could take advantage of sales & all that. A couple girls took advantage of the try on dresses so they could see them in person before they ordered. I'm really happy with Azazie for quality & customer service. Here is an unedited picture of my MOH and 8 bridesmaids. My MOH is in a slightly different shade of blue.

Daughter used Azazie for her 5 BMs who were scattered all over the US and had an excellent experience. She wanted them all to wear the same style and had a pretty good idea what she wanted -- a long dress, fitted waist, and a bodice that would allow everyone to wear their regular bra. Her BM's ranged from a 5'1" size 18 to a 6' tall size 6, and everything in between. Daughter chose 3 dresses and ordered samples for her to try on; once she did that, she had a clear 1st choice and just told her BMs what style to order (Keyla). She told them they could do the try on option if they wanted, but none of them did it, they just ordered their dresses. Before she made her final decision, she and I went to David's and she tried on tons of options. Honestly, there is NO comparison between David's and Azazie with regard to fabric and workmanship or price. The Azazie dresses are MUCH higher quality for a significantly lower price. Four of daughter's five BMs used the custom sizing option (which includes reimbursement for a certain amount additional alterations -- I think it was $50) and they all looked great. Initially, when daughter first told me about Azazie, I too had concerns about an online store, but after seeing the process and outcome with daughter's wedding, I am one of the biggest supporters. Her friends all looked beautiful in their dresses and we heard so many compliments about their dresses. Good luck!

David's is not the only brick and mortar store so don't feel like that is your only option. Every major city has a few boutique shops to choose from. Browse the vendor tab for your area or look up bridal shops in Google maps to see what is nearby.


I completely understand wanting to try them on in person.

Even if boutiques are different in each state, you could choose a dress designer and have your girls look at bridal shops that carry that specific designer, so they can still have their try on experience. But if you want Azazie, then they should just do as you instruct.

I've used Azazie as a bridesmaid twice now, with no complaints--most dresses have lots of customer photos so you can get a sense for what the dress might look like on you. I ordered custom size and only had to do minor alterations on each; plus, Azazie refunds you up to a certain amount for alterations if you do custom size. They also have promo codes all the time, which will minimize the cost of trying dresses at home -- I got a $9.99 off code, so trying on a dress at home literally cost me 1 cent!

My girls got their dresses on Birdy Grey and everything turned out fine. I’m in a wedding in November and we got our dresses from Lulus, free returns so I just exchanged a couple times. My dress fits nice and the bride had a code for 20% off, our dresses came out to $50.

I think ordering from Azazie is a great idea! I got swatches from them, and I was impressed with the different fabrics and quality.
I ordered a bridesmaid dress from a similar website, and I absolutely love it! The color and quality are great. I knew going in that I would likely need alterations, so I’m okay that it didn’t fit perfectly. The alterations I need are minor (hemming the bottom and shortening the shoulder straps). I would just make sure they order with enough time for the dress to arrive and to get any alterations done.

It would be one thing if you were getting them "online" through some fly-by-night storefront, but this is Azazie....it's pretty well-known. My girls also got their dresses from Azazie. I haven't seen them yet, but I've heard no complaints about the quality of the dresses and they all came pretty fast.

Prior to ordering, my FMIL did try to insist on having FSIL try on dresses in a store. This was a point of consternation for a bit, even though FSIL said she knew what she wanted. Eventually I think they did three dresses through the try-on and picked one, which they then had to exchange because of sizing.

I'd suggest they try on dresses at DB or a boutique to get an idea of what style they want, but the dress itself has to come from Azazie. They're not the only people in your wedding party.