Bridesmaid Dresses – How Important Are They?

Planning a wedding? Wondering how important it is to make sure the style and color of the bridesmaid dresses match your wedding theme?

For that matter, are bridesmaid dresses really so critical anyway? After all, won’t all eyes be on the bride on her big day?

Actually, bridesmaid dresses do play an important role in weddings. Having bridesmaid gowns that fit in with the overall theme of your wedding is important — and here’s why.

The perfect bridesmaid gown should set off the wedding dress, flowers and invitations — and help set the tone of your wedding. But its second major function is to contrast with the bride’s gown, making it sparkle even more than it does on its own. In other words, a bridesmaids dress should complement the bride’s gown to perfection.

But there are several factors to consider when deciding on what type of bridesmaid dress to get.

Before You Go Shopping …

Take a moment to ponder:

• Who will be your bridesmaids?
• Are they grown adults, small children, or both?
• Are they full-figured ladies, or slim and petite? Will anyone be pregnant?
• What color hair/skin do your bridesmaids have? (A yellow dress would not necessarily suit a blond or a redhead.)
• Is the wedding in the summer or winter?
• Do the maid’s dresses need a warm wrap if you’re having a winter wedding?

Think these things out before you go off hunting for the perfect bridesmaid gowns — not all styles of dress suit everyone. A dress that’s gorgeous on a reedy teen probably won’t flatter a more mature adult. So you may have to choose two different styles of gowns, one for the adults and another for the teens and pre-teens.

If your bridesmaids have different hair and skin coloring, and you want them all to wear the same color dress, try to pick a ‘neutral’ color that will suit any hair color and skin type. As I said above, a yellow dress won’t look great on most blonds or redheads, but might suit brunettes quite well. Or, an alternative: have a ‘rainbow’ wedding. Dress each individual bridesmaid in a gown of a different color, depending on their hair and skin. I’ve seen this type of wedding many times before, and it always looks bright and colorful.

Even if the wedding’s in the spring or summer and you’ve opted for an outdoor wedding, you’ll still want to consider some sort of wrap or pashmina to cover the bridesmaids’ shoulders — things can get chilly, especially in the evening.

So to wrap up: yes, your bridesmaid dresses play an important role in your wedding, and they should suit each bridesmaid individually. But they shouldn’t ‘out-do’ the bride and her wedding dress. The role of the bridesmaids’ dress is to complement the bride, while still blending in with the overall theme and color scheme.

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