Choosing the perfect bridesmaid dress might sound hard to do – with so many various skin tones, body shapes and style preferences regarding your favorite ladies, it can be difficult to settle on a dress that everyone likes equally!

So how do you take the stress out of shopping for bridesmaid dresses and make it more of a fun, collaborative effort? Here are a few easy tips to keep in mind when choosing bridesmaid dresses for your upcoming Pittsburgh wedding:

Create a vision – Before you start showing the ladies your bridesmaid dress ideas, it’s best for you to spend some time researching the different color options, bridal stores and styles that best fit your wedding day vision. This will help you narrow down some of the ideas and give you guidelines on where to go in regard to color or overall style.

Remember the cost – Not everyone can afford a designer bridesmaid gown and wedding costs add up over time, even for the bridal party! Be considerate of your bridesmaids and keep costs in mind – you can do this by selecting a color scheme and allowing your bridesmaids to pick their own style or even research bridesmaid rentals – similar to tuxedo rentals, a number of websites offer rentals of high-end bridal designers for just a fraction of the cost if you got it off the rack.

Let them vote – In order to make choosing bridesmaid dresses go a little smoother, let the women vote on their favorite styles after you narrow down the options to a handful of styles or less. After you see what they like the most, you can determine which dress seems to be a favorite and go from there! If you want to go a more contemporary route, skip the one-dress-for-all look and provide the bridesmaids a specific color and allow them to choose a style that fits and flatters their body and skin tone.

Make a Day of It – The best way to keep gown selections stress-free is to gather the bridesmaids and take them to the bridal salon – they can try on various styles and see what fits best. This allows allows you to get a preview of all the bridesmaids in their gown so you have an idea of what it will look like all put together for your Pittsburgh wedding photographs!

 

More often than not, brides are now simply selecting a color that matches the wedding theme and then allowing bridesmaids to choose gowns in their preferred style –  a win-win for all!

Contact me today for help on choosing Pittsburgh wedding vendors or to set up a consultation for wedding photography!