I am pretty sure you know what I am talking about just by the title – yep, bridesmaid dresses. If you’ve been in a wedding, I bet you’ve heard the above statement and so desperately hoped it would be true as you handed over your credit card to pay for a very pretty, yet, likely, very expensive dress. Unfortunately, bridesmaid dresses do not grow on trees, and despite how beautiful they are, the second-time wear is probably rarer than the Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat (seriously, look it up). Since several of my bridesmaids live across the country, I really wanted to keep the cost of the gown in check. I’d rather the ladies spend it on airfare to come to my wedding or bachelorette than a dress. But, that being said, I didn’t want to stress about finding a gown that would suit the taste and body types of eight different women! As we all know, I haven’t had the easiest time shopping for myself!

Luckily for me, the trend of letting your bridesmaids pick their own dress has really taken off. This allows the bridesmaid to wear something that they feel amazing in, hopefully at a price point they are comfortable with. And, an added benefit for me is that all my bridesmaids have AMAZING taste, so I know they will all look awesome!

Hmm, but what color…

When we were originally planning a more rustic, outdoor wedding I was definitely leaning toward gray.

And I also loved a more neutral tan as well.

But then we decided on our present venue, The City Club, which I felt called for a darker, more formal color.

I liked navy, but my sister called dibs on that shade way back in high school, so that was out.

And then I started seeing images of black dresses and fell in love with them – especially long black gowns. There was a chance (I admit small) that the ladies may actually already own a black gown. And if not, maybe they knew a friend they could borrow one from (again, wishful thinking – but a higher likelihood than other colors!).

And of course if they decided to buy a new one, they are ubiquitous so it hopefully wouldn’t be too hard to find one they loved (or even just liked!) at a reasonable price.

I also love the way long black gowns look with a classic tux.

I actually haven’t officially made my decision about bridesmaid dresses – I am waiting to do one more round of dress shopping for myself before I make it official. But I would love your thoughts – did you let your bridesmaid pick their own dress? How did it turn out? Or were you able to wear a bridesmaid dress again? I want know!

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