How to get dresses for out of town bridesmaids?

No, but I have the same problem with our best man. To make it worse, he has no interest in even getting measured on his own. He basically expects to show up and have a suit custom tailored for him, without any input. Arrrrgggg,

Choice 1) find a national chain store, pick a dress, and make them all go into their local store for a fitting and buy it on their own

Choice 2) Find one online that you like that comes in all sizes and let them order theirs.

Choice 3) Give them guidelines: color, length, fabric

Mine picked their own and I thought it turned out well, I had size 00-28 in my BP

Most people hate to go there, but David's Bridal has shops nationwide.

I was lucky that mine both found pictures of dresses online that were similar styles. They were both told the color and length and went from there. While my sister and Maid of Honor was the only one of my two bridesmaids that got to try on the dress, her and my BFF have similar body types but are different sizes. I took pictures of a few dresses on my sister and shared with my other brides maid and we all ended up favoring the same one. I went to the designer's website http://www.davincibridal.com/ and did a store locator to find shops near them so they could be measured and ordered. Be aware all bridal shops will tell you they should all order from the same store at the same time so the dresses will be out of the same dye lot and be exact matches. We did not do this as I had serious prob with DB in the past and was paranoid about back orders and alterations. It was more important to get their dresses and have a convenient way to alter them.

That being said . . you could do something similar. Have your girls go to local stores and try on dresses and send you the pictures. Share your favorites with the BP and then search for that designer at stores local to them.

All of my bridesmaids live in town. All but one. I went to David's Bridal specifically because I knew DB was such a large chain. We had an appointment for the girls in town, and then we told the bridesmaid in London. She then went to the DB in London, and told them which dress and which color, and was able to order it.

For your situation I recommend Davids Bridal, not always the best customer service but the easiest way for girls to find dresses. That's what I did and it worked out great, some even ordered and shiped to me so they dont have to travel with it. The other option, is picking a color, send them a swatch and let them find a dress in that color. Good luck

I feel your pain, none of them live in the same state. Plus, I have one who is pregnant (but is due before my wedding) and her religion requires EXTREMELY strict requirements (must have cap sleeves that aren't see through and high back and coverage in front) plus she's on a tight budget. So none of the dresses at David's Bridal will work for her. I'm thinking of going with an online website (Etsy or Light in the Box) and then giving the girls like 5 or 6 dress options, making sure one of them works for the religious one. Then I will let them choose the one they think they'll like the most. So as long as you narrow it down and then have mismatched styles but in the same color that would look nice. But if you don't have the strict requirements, go with David's Bridal.

I did David's Bridal dresses since they are everywhere so they can get measured, plus they can order online. I chose a dress, got everyone's approval, went to the local store with my MOH to see it in person, and then texted everyone our ID number, style number, and color with instructions to drop by a store to get measured and have the dress ordered by mid-August.

The BMs sent me their measurements.

I tried on a few dresses from places with online retailing and decent/liberal return policies- Ann Taylor, J Crew, Nordstrom (Donna Morgan, Jenny Yoo) -- to judge sizing. I also called and spoke to the online "bridal consultants" from these retailers about body types/fits and got their recommendations.

Then I picked a dress line, fabric, and color and the girls picked and ordered the styles that suited them best. Each girl wore a different style but they all worked for their body types and they all looked great.

There were a few exchanges to get the right size... but, in the end, only 2 girls needed ANY alterations and, then, only minor ones.

Out of curiosity -- what color are you looking for???

We used DB. Two of my girls are local and only one is out of town...but the one out of town is the only one near a DB.

I found pictures online, they all loved the first one so we took measurements and my MOH picked the dresses up!

I live in va and 6/7 of my bridesmaids are not near me. I went shopping with the bridesmaid that lives near me, and picked out a designer that the boutique where I got my dress carries. I told the girls what the dress and designer was so they could find a shop that carried it and see it in person if they wanted. The the girls called in their measurements and made their payment over the phone to the boutique where I got my dress (they got a 15% discount because I got my dress there too). When the dresses came in, I picked them up and brought them to my shower.

I'm in the same boat! We ended up finding a dress they all loved on Modcloth.com and they even sent us a coupon! It made it easy for everyone to just order the dress in their size.

Songbird,

Here is a picture example of the kind of color I want. Something like a cross between fuschia and dark purple. I like that bright pop. Have really only been able to find that color on one site, but many of the dresses are different fabrics and I worry would hold the color differently.

My first reaction was DB, too, but so far online I really didn't like the purple choices they had. Driving me nuts! Of course the only color I'd fall in love with would be totally hard to find! haha

That looks like "radiant orchid" (the pantone color for 2014.) It photographs as "pinky-purple."

I think Donna Morgan makes chiffon dresses in this color.

There were only a few dresses (none I liked) in the color I like at DB. Just decided to try out weddington way. Was able to find FORTY dresses of the same fabric/color. I'm a bit apprehensive about sizing, but I will give my BMs fair warning they may require some alterations. Most of the dresses run about 99 so I figured that wouldn't be a huge deal. Keep your fingers crossed and thanks for all the suggestions!

I would try using Weddington Way (www.weddgintonway.com). They will have this color somewhere under purple/berry. You order swatches and can create a "showroom" of favorites. Your bridesmaids can order directly thru WW online.

Is there an Alfred Angelo near you? I have out of town bridesmaids and I think that's where I'll be getting mine because they're nationwide and that's where I got my dress.

I am also going with DB. When I stopped by DB to look at the dress that I want, I asked the lady about this. She said that I would set up an accout and my FSIL would just go into her local DB and they could look up the info. That seems like the easiest way of doing this! AS for the GM, we will be using Men's Wearhouse for the same reason!

I am also going with DB. When I stopped by DB to look at the dress that I want, I asked the lady about this. She said that I would set up an accout and my FSIL would just go into her local DB and they could look up the info. That seems like the easiest way of doing this! AS for the GM, we will be using Men's Wearhouse for the same reason!