Unconventional Bridesmaid Dresses

When my daughter, Elizabeth, announced her bridesmaids were not having matching dresses, I thought it was an original idea. Of course, it's been a while since I've read Modern Bride, so what do I know? She then told me the bridesmaids were going to be wearing black cocktail dresses, which initially surprised me.

Black? When I was married bridesmaids wore pastels. Of course that was thirty-two years ago. My mother, who is much more hip with fashion than I, assured me black would be very stylish.

I can definitely understand Elizabeth's decision. A couple years ago she was the maid of honor at her best friend's wedding, and last year a bridesmaid in the wedding of a childhood friend. Both dresses she wore were beautiful, and she looked lovely. But, she will probably never wear either dress again.

One problem with matching bridesmaid dresses, they don't necessarily compliment all figures. Take one dress, and have seven different girls wear it, chances are only one or two will look that great. And who wants to spend that much money on a dress you don't feel good wearing?

Elizabeth didn't just choose black to be trendy. She felt every woman could use a black cocktail dress in their wardrobe, and with black, there wouldn't be the problem of clashing hues, had she chosen another color.

This brings me to our son's wedding, which was held several weeks ago. My daughter-in-law also decided to have her bridesmaids choose their own, individual cocktail dresses. Instead of black, she wanted red, and her wedding dress was to be pink.

I'll confess, I was a little concerned. So was her matron of honor, Emily, a young woman I enjoy. Em and I fretted just a bit over the possibility of clashing reds, yet one must support the bride's judgment. I certainly wasn't about to say anything! As it turned out, the bride was right.

My daughter-in-law's dress seemed more champagne than pink, next to the bridesmaid dresses. And if I didn't know better, I would have thought the girls all used the same fabric. Who would have thought it was possible to successfully blend five different red dresses? I wouldn't have changed a thing, it was perfect.

Today I stopped at the library, and decided it was time to look through a bride's magazine. I came across a photograph of a bride with her bridesmaids. And like my daughter-in-law's wedding, each had on a different dress. But, all dresses were yellow, and like the red dresses, it worked.

Sometimes we get a little crazy spending money on weddings. It is not just a financial hardship for the bride and groom, but also for the wedding party. Often there are travel expenses, along with the wedding attire. It's nice there is a way to be sensible, and still be stylish.