Wedding Wednesday: Choosing Bridesmaid Outfits

I love how our colour scheme worked out, and that there were similar elements in each dress

Once you have wonderful women who have agreed to stand up next to you and your partner, one of the things you have to consider is what they will be wearing. I knew I wanted to be as nice as possible to my friends, so they were going to get to choose their own dresses that they could possibly wear again. Individual outfits is definitely more modern and comfortable than matching ones, but you do have to work to make sure they are a cohesive look.

Check out our awesome photographers: Taylor Clark Photography 

Step 1: Colour
As you'll see in a picture below, the men wore blue suits to go with our green and blue theme. I went to Home Depot and picked up a bunch of paint chips in greens that I liked. I matched them with the navy and ivory ribbons I had bought, to see which ones would work. I gave Kelsey, Ally, and Jillian strips of the paint chips attached with the ribbons so that they could take them into stores with them. This meant they knew what tone of greens to look at.
Kelsey was the first to find her dress, and from then Ally and Jillian decided who would go lighter and who would go darker.

Jillian, Kelsey, me, and Ally

Step 2: Style
Together we made a secret Pinterest board (PRO TIP: When planning big things like weddings, make sure all your boards are secret. That way the elements are a surprise to guests) where we posted ideas that we liked. That way we could pick up on the similar themes-relaxed dresses, fitted bodice, and have some similar elements to my wedding dress. If you're buying wedding magazines, pull out pages of the dresses you like and put them in your inspiration binder/board, and check out Pinterest and photographer's pages for looks you like.
My wedding dress has ruching in the chiffon across the bodice, and so does Jillian's. Kelsey and Ally's dresses have similar necklines, and Kelsey's hemline is similar to Jillian's.

Step 3: Go shopping!
The only person who lived in Ottawa near me, was Kelsey, so I got to see her try the dress on in real life. Jillian was in BC, so at Christmas she showed me the dress. Ally was in the UK, so I saw it on Skype. If you're able to go shopping with them, do it! If not, use all the tools you can to make sure it is a cohesive look: post pictures for each other, send videos, use Skype, etc. Also, be sure to be honest with them: if you really hate their outfit, you'll hate it in the pictures. And they know that. My women were so great in making sure that I loved what they were wearing, which I really appreciated.

The wedding party

Final Thoughts:
Keep things as simple as possible. Lots of people didn't like that I was planning on having different outfits for the women, which is understandable, but they had their colour swatches, and I'm pretty detail-oriented, so I wasn't worried. It also helped that the men were all wearing the same thing (except Nic had a different tie).
Try to stay away from trends! Yes, our wedding won't look timeless, but at least we didn't do the same looks everyone else was doing that summer.
Your wedding party comprises of people you love. You want them to be happy, and they want you to be happy. So make it a great experience for everyone!