Someone else's dress for a change!

Yeah, my bridesmaids!

My bridesmaids are Mia:

She's my college roommate, the one who introduced Kyle and me!

My sister Jordan... she's my sister. HA! But really, we certainly get along better than we did when we were kids.

And Keri! My friend from grad school. I talked to her so much about the wedding and she was such a good listener that it seemed only too right to ask her to be a bridesmaid.

Anyway, so I had a mind to allow them to wear whatever they wanted, and all three were opposed to this, saying that I would regret it. Now, I didn't really care, but I figured this was there nice way of saying "I am not going to pick something you don't like and then have you hate me for it." So I said, FINE, but all I cared about was that it wasn't made out of shiny satiny material. This still wasn't enough because that doesn't narrow it down any. Do we get them from the same store? Do we get the same color? Do we get the same length? Sleeves? Strapless??

Alright, alright!! I started thinking about all these things and it occurred to me I would like if they were all my burgundy/wine color. It would look nice. And I really feel that it's a color that will go well with all their skin tones and hair colors (you can't see Keri's hair, but it's like a strawberry, dirty blond, depending on the light). Other than that, I was thinking... and we still have so much time to decide this it's not even funny... that if we can pick a sort of theme then everyone can pick their own from that theme.

For example (from Jim Hjelm occasions)!

Just as the description implies, these are all a softer chiffon or organza - similar to my gown - some with ruffles, some without. The first has a v-neck, the second has a scoop-neck, the third is one shoulder and the fourth is sweetheart. Three are short, one is long. The point? They all have the same fabric but with slightly different styles, and I think this is my favorite concept so far.

There's a few other styles I'm diggin' though:

Cowl back, super fun and sexy while still appropriate. These are made with luminescent chiffon, so, it's still not satin, but a little shinier.

More one shoulder dresses, slightly different styles and lengths:

In theory, I love one shoulder dresses, and I will expound upon this in my next post as well, when I start talking about MOB dresses, 'cause Mama! I'm excited about coaxing you to wear something fun and sexay!!!

Lastly, I love love love v-necks, I actually wanted a v-neck gown but couldn't find one that had anything else I liked (hence deciding I love modified sweetheart instead!). Not only do I love v-necks, on me, on everyone, but I have personally seen every one of my bridesmaids in v-necks and think that they are also flattering on my lovely ladies! Disagree with me if you wish, and of course I'm not going to force anything on you, but I found several really flattering, pleasing, pretty, [insert additional adjectives] v-neck gowns from Jim Hjelm (not sure why I gravitated towards Jim Hjelm, I really think he just so happened to have the most that I liked):

What I love most about all these is that there's a great mix and match; within a certain theme, all my girls can choose the one they like best; short, long, v-neck, one shoulder, cowl, etc...! They might look girly, (like the second and the last one of the second row, ruffles and a funny bow) but as far as details are concerned, I don't think they should be over the top like my dress is, but a little ruffle would tie the bridesmaid dresses into my dress, and that funny bow is self-tied, that doesn't need to be like that!

So the real question is what do my girls think? I can't emphasize enough that this is not a pressing concern, just one that's on my mind now that my dress is purchased. Especially because my sister is leaving for Germany in a few days for, like, three and a half months! By default, we don't have to think about this for three and a half months!!

But still, I really value your opinions!! So bridesmaids and anyone else; give them to me!!!