Are bridemaids' dresses all the same?

Question

Or can they they be different?

(Which is more usual?)

Answer 1

I am getting married in March. David's Bridal now has it where you pick the color and your bride's maids can pick their own individual style out. This is a really good option if your bride's maids are paying for their own dress, I mean who wants to pay good money for a dress they do not like or feel comfortable in? You can set guidelines down like no short dresses or strapless or whatever. I am letting my bride's maids pick out their own dresses and they seem to be enjoy the experience alot more.

Answer 2

I like the different idea, but do have a common element between them all. When a bride asks all the bridesmaids to wear the exact same dress, then the drama unfolds, as one girl may not like the style or color, it may look good on some of your bridesmaids, but not others, they may never wear the dress again because it's not their "style", it will cost more, as you will probably have to buy them at a bridal store chain.
I asked my bridesmaids that my only request for the dress waqs that it was an all black dress, sleveless, or short sleeves, with the length knee-length or lower. I gave each girl a blue satin wrap to wear as well. Those of my bridesmaids with money spent $150 on their dress, and those who didn't have much were able to pick theirs up for $25 at Ross. Everyone looked beautiful, the pictures were fine, and all of the girls will be able to wear their dresses again. In addition, they all commented how appreciative they were that I didn't force a certain dress on them.
In addition, doing the "different dress" thing had an unexpected perk...one of my bridesmaids had to back out 6 days before my wedding due to a death in her family. I asked a cousin to fill in, and the cousin was able to easily pick up a dress for $25 a few days before the wedding. If I had instead picked out a certain dress that all the girls should wear, my cousin wouldn't have been able to fill in unless they were the same exact size, which they weren't :)

Answer 3

Normally they are all the same, but its becoming more and more popular these days. My sister is getting married in June and her dresses are black and have a little band that goes around the waist area and then down the front, well... even though the dresses are all black each girl is going to have a different color band.

For my wedding my girls had 2 pieces dresses and I picked the bottom so they have the same bottoms but then I let the girls pick out what style top they wanted. They were all the same color but just different tops. It looked great!

Answer 4

Bridesmaid dresses can be different. I recently saw pictures of a wedding where the bridesmaids where able to pic the design for the top of the dress and it turned out looking really good. And your bridesmaids aren't going to all have the same body type so a dress that looks good on one may not be so flattering on another. In most weddings the dresses are the same but I wouldn't say different dresses are unusual. It all depends on the bride and groom preferences, Its their day and their decision.

Answer 5

It's probably more normal that the dresses be the same, but there's nothing that say they have to be. I've seen some pictures from wedding where the dresses were the same color, but different styles and where the dresses were different colors but the same style. You do whatever makes you happy!

Answer 6

I was in a wedding in which the bride told us to go out and buy our favorite black dress. It totally worked.

I also made a dress for a friend who was in a wedding -- that bride bought a bolt of fabric and each bridesmaid picked out her own pattern. The one I made was long and sleek, slit up to mid thigh, with a Mandarin color and cross-over front closed with "frogs" at the collar bone. Another bridesmaid had her fabric fashioned into a suit, another was in a cocktail dress and the fourth had sort of a gathered skirt and top. They were very harmonious, using the same fabric, but all unique.

Two options for you -- although I do think it's more common to dress everybody exactly alike or in one of two styles.

Answer 7

The newest and latest trend is to have your bridesmaid dresses be different styles and/or colors. For examply my girls are wearing black dresses in whatever style suites them best. Plus if you pick just one style that doens't say that it will look good on EVERY girls. I personally feel if they're going to be spending a lot on a dress, it should be something that flatters them and something they like. I remember being forced into this ugly peach colored flower girl dress when I was yougner. Granted a flower girl doesn't get much say, I vowed that if I got married, I'd find dresses that flattered my attendants.

Answer 8

Bridesmaids' dresses may be the same or they may be different. For about a hundred years, bridesmaids' dresses were nearly always identical, but over the last fifteen or twenty years, the move has been more to coordinated but not identical dresses.

Matching gowns are still more common, but I think in another ten years the balance will tilt.

Answer 9

I think it is tradition they all are the same. But more and more people are having them the same color but different styles, or the same dresses but different colors. I ordered my bridesmaids dresses last week. We chose the same designer and fabric so they would all be the same color. But they had about 6 styles to choose from. So they all got the dress that looks best on them. I prefer it that way honestly.

Answer 10

My bridesmaids all wore a different dress, but in the same color and from the same manufacturer. The look was very unique! Two of the girls chose satin and two chose chiffon and they all coordinated really well together. I allowed them to each select a dress that would flatter their body type, rather than try and squeeze my curvy sister into the same style of dress as my less curvy sister-in-law.

To see pictures of the dresses: