Bridesmaid Dresses- Help!

Hello and welcome

You've got a very broad range of bridesmaids there so I can understand why you considered different dresses. I'm not sure why the amount of guests you're having impacts on them wearing different dresses? (That's a genuine query as I've said I don't mind my two having different dresses and we're having around 80 day guests).

I think with that kind of budget for a full length dress your options are really high st or dressmaker (possibly via eBay). It sounds like you're not keen on the high st option so maybe give eBay a go? I haven't done any in depth research myself but the eBay ones other brides post tend to be around £100 for full length so you might find you need to adjust the length or budget accordingly.

Good luck and don't forget to give us a flash

I feel your pain. I get married next April and am having my daughter who will be 26 and my step-granddaughter who will be 12 but is tall. My daughter I could source now no bother, the problem is the 12 year old. Over the next 12 months she is likely to change beyond recognition and so the dress I chose now could be totally unsuitable so I'm leaving it until September/October time and having a look then. You've got a good 18 months so I'd wait until this time next year then you'll have a much clearer idea. You can decide your colour scheme though and styles for the older girls, different colours and/or styles looks amazing. It's the number if bridesmaids that affects that choice, not guests, IMHO x

Thank you for your advice! eBay is a really good idea and an avenue il definitely be searching down! I think increasing the budget to £100 may be the most likely option anyway, thanks again!

Hiya! Il definitely be waiting around a year before purchasing for similar reasons- the younger girls will all definitely be growing! I think I just wanted a vision of what they might look like to aid the rest of the planning inspiration. Il be picking a colour scheme roughly depending on the dresses we find for them as I'm not confident yet what will suit (one is tall with long dark hair, one is short pale with blonde hair, one is short with long dark hair, and the youngest is small with very long blonde hair!)

thanks for your help! X

I just got mine from china, they arrived yesterday, I got a range of styles in the same colour to fit across my different age bridesmaids and the dresses cost £26 each fr the adults and fifty pounds for the flower girl dress. They are fabulous quality and material, I can't tell you how pleased I am with them. I made sure the china seller I bought from on eBay had really top notch feedback and percentage ratings.

I am looking at getting them from the china sellers on eBay as well but wanted some feedback first so that's great... I may order one and see what it's like then order the other 4 as they are so cheap!

I have 5 bridesmaids as well all will be 24 Apart from one who will be 35 but she looks so young anyway I'm going to put her in the same as everyone else. I wouldn't worry about your size of guests, just do as you please as it's your day. Although that poor girl turning up in the same dress sounds horrendous xx

I'm so glad you are pleased with them! Would you mind sharing the name of the eBay seller? I will definitely look into this!

That's a great idea ordering one first, thanks! Hopefully the other bride will kindly share the seller she used with such a good experience. My sister bought her prom dress online from china about 3 years ago and it was stunning! And cheap! She doesn't have a record of the seller though.

Its funny you mention an older bridesmaid- I've been toying with the idea of asking my sister in law who will be 37. as my bridal party is quite young I worry she would feel uncomfortable, but mainly because she isn't married but always wishes she was (a touchy subject!) With us 10 years + younger I think it would be a bit of a kick in the mouth. Should I at least ask her and she can make that decision?

Hi, I have a sort of similar issue with mine. I want to have my two sisters (will be 4 and 13, although she looks like 10) and my two best friends, who work great together because they're both slim and pale and will be 19 and 20. The issue, like yours, is with my 13 year old sister. I don't want to "demote" either of my sisters to flowergirl status, because I don't really want any, but the ages are too different to put them in the same dress, and even though she'll be 13, she will definitely look much too young to wear the same as the other girls. I like the idea about all different but same colours though

Ooh and I would definitely also like to know the name of the eBay seller! I have a pretty tight budget, so just having 4 bridesmaids is a bit of a squeeze!

And welcome to hitched!

xxx

It's so difficult isn't it! Thanks for the welcome xx

Hiya,

I have a similar situation, I have adult bridesmaids and my 12 year old sister. I have got my dresses from sexyher.com they are online but also have a showroom which I went to. They were extremely helpful and they have children versions of adult dresses and reasonably priced. I think mine were £75 each and they are stunning :-) xxx

I don't entirely agree with the talk of 12 or 13 year olds needing different dresses. Yes, depending on the dress it might not be appropriate eg if it was low cut but that's not very bridesmaid anyway.

I have three 31 year old bridesmaids and one who will be 13 the day before he wedding. She's very slim and doesn't have boobs yet. I simply asked her if she wanted the same or not and she did. It's an m&s multiway one so they're all wearing it a different way to suit their different body shapes. Annoying for me they're all gorgeous, three of them are size 8, and the other a 10 - not fair - I want to be that slim!

Welcome to hitched.

BHS do a range of bridesmaid dresses including teen sizes, but in the same colours & styles as the adult ones. They also have those twist/wrap dresses that can be styled to suit the shape of the bridesmaid. The teen ones are in budget, but you'd have to wait till the sales for the adult ones. The younger teen bridesmaid can have ticker straps added or a bolero if the dress is a bit revealing.

TK MAxx might be worth a look also

Whether your wedding is large or small, yours bridesmaids can be matching or not- up to you. Ideally have the hem length the same height, but you could have:

- the same colour, but different styles. Might be difficult to find the exact same colours in high street dresses though

- same style but different colours

- Shades of the same colour & different style. Dark pink through to light pink for example.

- all pastels, autumn colours, bold colours, all black etc

That's really helpful, thanks! Especially hem lengths to match heights!

the twist and wrap dresses are great- where I work we stock the Two birds dresses but at £250 per ball gown it's out of budget by far!

Think il be going with the eBay option- love something a bit different without blowing the entire budget,

I'd love all pastels- thanks!

I just saw that Debenhams have a sale on & some of their debut & other occasion dresses are within budget. At least the sizes you are looking for a usually high street sizes. The 12yr old might fits a womens size 6 or 8. Good luck.

Hello!

i had a bit of difficulty due to a pregnant bridesmaid due 2 weeks before the wedding! We have got a floaty maxi style dress which should work whether she is still pregnant or has had the baby *fingers crossed*! I also had difficulty getting dresses as I chose a chocolate brown colour theme, which doesn't seem to be the 'in' colour for fashion at the moment lol!!

i got my bridesmaid dresses from Dylan queen which is another one of these china based places and my friend got hers from eBay, again a china based one, all just have a little advice. My dresses are really good quality however I definitely need alterations which will be an added cost however this is still working our cheaper than buying from a bridal shop! I ordered te 2 dresses together with 2 shawls all in the same colour. When the dresses came, one had flowers on the strap and one didn't and the shawls were a different shade! On contacting the company the most they will do is a £5 refund!! They take no responsibility that the colour is different and dresses are different! My friend used eBay and she ordered one dress first, loved it, ordered a second and the shade was noticeably different, again the company didn't take responsibility and said it's due to the way they hand she the fabric.

i don't want to put you off as I am happy with my dresses and the cost saving I made but just want to throw an 'air of caution' out there just to be careful ! On the plus side, they arrived very quickly, they keep in contact with updates and the fabric and layers are great quality.

Good of luck with your search

You can choose different style in the same colour. For the younger one I would go for made to measure option to make sure it will be adjusted to her but in adult style. I know one online store (and they have showroom in London), their choice of dresses is wide enough to find style for all of your bridesmaids and they can do the dresses in the same colour (even if it's not listed on website). The prices are in your range and you always can ask for discount. you can find them here: evica.co.uk.

I had a similar issue and similar budget. The adults were easy....gorgeous bhs dresses using a vouchercode. Had a nightmare with the girls tho as none of the bhs ones coordinated with the adult dress and my eldest daughter was just over the sizing for junior dress but some of the adult ones looked inappropriate. ..like she was playing dressup. I ended up busting the budget and getting dessy dresses. I only did that cos they are my daughters. A more sensible suggestion is to get them made. A great dressmaker in essex quoted 90 for the girls dresses. I was just too worried that I wouldnt see the style beforehand and im rubbish at visualising things. Hope you get it sorted.

What about these. Great prices & start at size 6.

http://www.clothingattesco.com/women/dresses/icat/womens-dresses#esp_cf=pdxtstyle&esp_filter_pdxtstyle=Occasionwear

thank you! I hadn't thought of that happening.. I don't really mind details too different as long as dress shades are the end. Maybe I'd convince my sister to buy one in another colour for a Uni ball and then if it's good we can buy them all at the same time to hopefully match colour as close as possible.

Thanks for raising this point!

Thanks!! I didn't even realise tesco did formal wear! I've found two on there I love I've bookmarked to show the girls!

Thank you! Have you used this site before?

If the dresses come from china is there import tax and risk they get stuck in customs? x

Thanks for the tip- just did some further web research and it's got some great reviews! Il be taking a trip there too if the girls find styles they like, I never have much luck ordering online!

Ooh fab! When are you getting married and do you have a venue?

Time will fly by quickly though! We are looking at mid Sept 2015, giving us enough time to plan, save, and still enjoy life too we have a short list of Laines Barn and Herons Fatm, but we are looking at Sulgrave Manor tomorrow morning- then hopefully it's decision time!

I'm having a similar problem - wide range of ages and sizes!

I'm in Oxfordshire aswell, getting married at Notley Tythe Barn

I had a similar problem with a variety of body shapes to accommodate. I went with lightinthebox.com (a Chinese company) told the BMs the colour and let the grown-ups pick their own style. I know not everyone is crazy about the fit but I'd chosen the 'off the peg' sizes always intending to have them adjusted here in the UK if necessary. Two of them needed it, two didn't and the total cost including adjustments was less than £70 per dress. I bought matching flowergirl dresses from the same site too. I know LITB isn't everyone's cup of tea but two of my Bridesmaids were so happy with their dresses, they went on to convince the Brides at two other weddings they were Bridesmaid at to order through them. Photos in my wedding report via my signature if you're interested.

Oh beautiful Venue! I hadn't looked there but I have seen it online, how exciting!

Thanks! I will take a look now at the website. Your bridesmaid dresses are gorgeous!!!!