Should I shop for bridesmaids dresses at the same time as my wedding gown?

Question

I am getting married in August. I am planning on ordering my gown in March or April. When I go dress shopping, should all my bridesmaids come with to look for their dresses, or should I look for my dress first and they come with after I order mine (like for a fitting). I am having a hard time with this... just exactly when to do what. So any links to good site would be helpful, I joined theknot.com but its doesn't have an answer for this question.

Answer 1

No. take care of yourself first and while you are there alone get an idea of what the selection looks like for bridesmaids dresses and narrow it down (or just chose). Then take the girls out...if you really want their opinions. It is your wedding.

You dont have to be there when they go to order their dress or get it fitted. You have enough to worry about. If your maid of honor is someone other than your very young little sister, they can be put in charge of making sure the girls get their dresses taken care of.

Answer 2

By all means, shop for them both at the same time. Often I would take a bridesmaid with me gown shopping and we ended up looking at the bridesmaid dresses on the same trip.
Make sure you ask the bridal shop how long it will take to get the wedding dress in because I ordered mine in March and it didn't get in until the end of july and if you need any alterations or you are having portraits done, leave some extra time.
As far as bridesmaid dresses go, it will help to think about these few things when narrowing your search -
* What color do you want (some of my favorite dresses didn't come in the color I wanted)
* What dress style do you like and is the most flattering on your girls (I couldn't have strapless because many of them had bigger chests or didn't feel comfortable in strapless)
* Be mindful of people's budgets - nothing like telling your b-maids they will have to fork over $400 for a dress they might not wear again.
* Look at bridesmaid dresses in the stores but ignore color. I found the one I chose in a completely different color from when I first saw it.

There are many afforable bridesmaid dresses out there. I chose one from Bari Jay. A good idea would talk to a bridal shop employee about what companies offer good quality dresses at a cheaper price. If you have plus-sized girls, make sure it is available in the bigger sizes. They will have lots of suggestions since they know which dress manufacturers have cheaper material or poor craftsmanship. Good luck!!

Answer 3

You can keep a look out for any bridesmaid dresses that absolutely grab your attention, however when you go dress shopping you should probably only take your mom, future mom in law and your matron and maid of honor. This first shopping experience is all about you and your big day and all the attention should be on you. Their time will come later after you are satisfied with a dress, that way you can pick a dress for them that compliments yours.

Congrats and Best Wishes!!!

Answer 4

Get your dress first. Focus on what you look like before focusing on them, since everyone is going to be looking at you anyway.

Plus, wedding dresses take an average of 6 months to be made and shipped, while bridesmaid dresses only take 6-12 weeks.

You'll want to find bridesmaid dresses that compliment your dress. Another good wedding website is http://www.weddingchannel.com

Congratuations!

Answer 5

I would do them separately. Wedding dress shopping and bridesmaid dress shopping (especially the bridesmaid dress shopping) are both very stressful.

I would start off looking at your dresses before you look at the bridesmaids dresses. You don't have to choose your dress before you start looking at theirs, but you should get at least an idea of what you want. The style of your dress, and any colored accents that might be in your dress, would determine the style and color possiblities of their dresses.

Answer 6

When you go wedding gown shopping, make that your only goal. Take along your mom, or a sister. If you have time, casually look through bridesmaids' dresses just to see wht is where. Once you are settled with your gown, then move on to have the bridesmaids go with you to choose their dresses.

Answer 7

Do them on seperate trips but do shop for both at the same time (meaning both in the same month). That way you can tell the shop what styles and how many you want all at the same time and maybe get a discount.
I would go earlier than march though for an august wedding. It takes awhile to get everything right with fittings and such.

Answer 8

You can research bridesmaids dresses online before you buy your dress. Get a feel for what is out there. Then once you have picked your dress, you can choose from among the one that you have preselected for your maids.

As for me , I have done it the opposite way. I picked out my wedding dress in a style that will look good on me and then I picked out the maids dresses because of the facts that it is a wear again style and i want them to be comfortable. The maids dresses are tea lenght dresses that can be used for another ocassion.

Answer 9

Yes because ordering dresses can take awhile. Also you want to think about what will happen if something goes wrong with the dress and they need to be sent back or altered or something. I got my bridesmaid dress and it had spots all over it. I had to send it back and they took another 8 weeks to get it to me.

Answer 10

You should get the bridesmaid dresses around the same time you get yours. Get yours first, but then get the bridesmaids' dresses very soon after. They will need to be altered just like yours in order to fit properly. So you will need to order them in time for your friends to be fitted for them.