Should i even ask my bridesmaids what kind of dress they want to wear?

I would definitely ask them. You don't want to choose a dress style that one of your bridesmaids will feel uncomfortable in.

I selected the color and fabric and allowed my bridesmaids to pick the dress of their choice from Azazie. It looked great and everyone felt comfortable and beautiful.

Especially because they all have different body types, I would definitely let them pick out their dresses - or at least give their opinions.

I am having my bridesmaids pick out their own dresses because I want them to be comfortable and buy a dress they like in a price they can afford. They only thing I asked was that the dresses are black and floor length. Other than that I am not picky and long black dresses aren't hard to find lol.

I have a very wide range of personality and shapes in my bridal party as well. I would choose what you want first, whether it be everyone the same or everyone in the same color. For me personally, my bridal party is very opinionated and letting them choose freely would result in disaster and fights, so I ultimately will choose something simple that can accommodate everyone.

I’d let them choose their own styles! Honestly I like that look anyway.

Another vote for Azazie. That's what we are going with for my wedding. I have 7 BMs and picked 3 different colors and said I wanted an even distribution (3/2/2) in each color so each girl had to "claim" the color she wanted. From there, it just had to be floor length, mesh or chiffon, and different from what everyone else picked. I had a spreadsheet to facilitate the process.

If you want everyone in the same dress, at least go through and pick a top 3 that you like best. I personally think it's acceptable to pick the dress entirely if you want them in the same one, just try to take into account their body types, skin tone when choosing dress color, etc.

I think brides should try to be accommodating and flexible - that's why I did what I did. There are disadvantages, though. See the bride above whose BM tried to get a "close" color on Amazon. What happens if your girls take a vote and all but one want to wear the same style dress - would you make the other girl wear that one too so she didn't stand out? What if it's a 3-2 vote? What if you ask someone what they want to wear, open-endedly, and they tell you they want something very different from what you and/or everyone else likes?

Even with mine, the last girl to vote ended up getting a color she didn't like. I felt bad, but I also didn't feel like I as the bride could ask someone else to switch with her since obviously everyone picked the color they wanted. My FMIL indicated she wanted to go to a brick and mortar store for FSIL rather than buy through Azazie. My other FSIL didn't do this for her wedding...she just said "this is the dress you're going to wear".

My girls are the same way with different body types but I wanted to like the styles of dresses they were going to pick from so I chose 5 different styles for 5 bridesmaids and I told them they can choose whichever dress they feel most comfortable with but this is totally up to you just make sure you like the dresses too!!

View Quoted Comment I do like this!!

View Quoted Comment Yay! Glad it helps.

Lots of great comments already. I'd agree, you can have one color (or shades of that color) with different styles. Yes, you don't have to be considerate of what they want- but it is very kind & might make your pictures turn out better in the end! Happy & confident bridesmaids make the day even better!

Honestly, I tried to ask for all the girls' inputs on dresses and what they felt comfortable in and do the whole "same color and fabric, different style" thing. It caused tons of fighting amongst the girls, everyone had super hard opinions, they decided they wanted to weigh in on what color to wear, what website to order from, how much the other girls should spend so they don't have to wear a "cheap" dress...

I am now considering just picking a dress and telling them to buy it. I'll pick one in consultation with my mother so that we consider the body types (I have some stick thin girls and some curvier girls). Bridesmaids did it for decades. Mine can do it now.

I didn't ask them. I gave them a color, fabric, and length from Azazie and they had 100+ dresses to pick from that were $89-$169. I told them about a year out so there were plenty of opportunities to take advantage of 5-15% off sales too.

There was a dress that we all liked, but one of my BM did not fit because she's too tall. Decided to keep the original dress and pick another option. They are buying their own dresses so I wanted them to be comfortable paying for a dress they wanted to wear. The new dress is still gray sequin and has the same silhouette, just with options for adding on fabric to make it longer 😀

I would recommend coming up with some guidelines (length, color palette/family, fabric type) and letting your maids choose specific styles from there. I would request that your maids run their choice by you for final approval before purchasing, just so you can make sure everything is cohesive.

Not all silhouettes, styles, or colors look great on every body and not everyone has the same budget, and I think its incredibly unfortunate when a bride picks out an exact dress and then expects all her maids to pay for it and wear it, especially if they have different body shapes, complexions, etc. I personally feel that if a bride wants all of her maids to wear the exact same dress, she should pay for them.

Keep in mind your maids will be happiest and most comfortable if they are able to pick out a dress that flatters them, and that will show through in your photos and such. Don't force your maids to wear something you like, but they don't. When I went dress shopping with my MOH she tried on a few dresses I LOVED and thought were super pretty on her but they weren't "her" and she likely wouldn't have worn it again. She also had things she hated about her body that no one else would notice but wanted a dress that highlighted her best features and hid the ones she was self conscious about. I waited until we found a dress we both liked and she felt really comfortable with the style, fit, color, and price. I know she would be really comfortable in that on my wedding day, and that would mean she could focus her time and energy on helping me and wouldn't feel self conscious in any of our photos.

It’s up to you if you want them to match or not. I personally didn’t feel like I could tell them exactly what to wear because I would want some say if I were in their position. Plus, I have a completely different body type and what I think might be pretty might be from the lens of what typically looks good on me. Then on top of that, they each have different preferences. With that being said, I did leave them parameters and went with them to all the appointments. I wanted them to match and I wanted burgundy. Other than that, they could choose which ever they were all most comfortable in.

I have asked everyone what style they prefer mostly because everyone is a different sieze/shape & height so I doubt I'm going to find a universal dress to fit each person. So what I'm doing (probably) is to allow my MOHs to pick out their styles since their shapes are vastly different than everyone else, I'm also taking everyone's opinions into consideration since I don't want anyone to be uncomfortable in their dresses. My only thing is they have to get their dresses from the same store so I know everything will be in the same shade of navy, everyone knows there's some cuts I'd rather them not have so I think I should be okay in this department.

If you're unsure find a sight that you like & feel is affordable enough & pick out some styles then show them, tell everyone that this is what you envision & they can pick between these specific dresses. It's very kind of you want to take their thoughts into consideration, just be sure they know this is your wedding & ultimately they're supporting you on your big day.