bridesmaid dresses

I will have five gorgeous girls standing beside me on my wedding day. One is my friend from when I lived out in Los Angeles, one is my friend from college, another is my cousin, and also my two future sisters. :) I knew before I even knew what I was going to wear what the bridesmaids would wear. I love the look of J Crew's bridesmaid dresses - they are so soft and romantic, and photograph beautifully. I chose a shorter dress to spare the girls from overheating (after all, I am getting married outside at the end of May...in North Carolina), and let each girl choose the dress style that she liked the best and felt most comfortable. It was an added bonus, because I love the look of mismatched bridesmaids! In addition, the light blush color of the dresses was exactly what I was envisioning.

photo by Sara Hasstedt for Style Me Pretty

photo by Hunter Ryan Photo for Style Me Pretty

photo by Anna Page Photography for Style Me Pretty

Since my bridesmaids live in four different states, J Crew offered an easy shopping experience. All they had to do was order online and have it shipped directly to them. Unfortunately, only three out of the five girls had the chance to actually visit a J Crew Wedding store to try on the dress in person, but I am happy to report that all the girls were able to get the correct size on the first order.

choosing the bridal party

For me, choosing bridesmaids was one of the hardest things about the wedding planning process. Since I grew up in New Jersey, went to college in Virginia, lived in California for six months, and now live in North Carolina, my friends are literally all across the country (and world). I don’t have a close group of girlfriends a la Sex and the City, and none of my close friends live nearby. I knew that whoever said yes to be my bridesmaid would have to commit to a big financial obligation.

There were a couple things that I knew for sure that I wanted:

-          Not a huge wedding party. I wanted to keep the bridesmaid group down to either five or six girls.

-          Since my half-sisters are much older than me and I’m not really close to them, I wouldn’t include them in the wedding party.

-          Matt’s older sister Ashley and younger sister Kasey would be bridesmaids.

-          My friend Marielise from South Africa, who now lives in Los Angeles, would be a bridesmaid.

-          My friend Rachel from college would be a bridesmaid.

-          My cousin Lauren would be a bridesmaid.

I was down to a sizeable group of girls, but I didn’t have a Maid of Honor. I struggled with choosing a Maid of Honor for a few weeks before I finally decided that Kasey, Matt’s younger sister, would be my Maid of Honor. I chose her because out of the group of girls, she was the closest (Kasey attends college about an hour from me) and able to help me the most with wedding preparations. I also thought it would be a good way to become closer to one of my future sister-in-laws. J

Now I had to ask the girls.

In the old days, before Pinterest, a bride would take her friend out for coffee / lunch, or, if she lived far away, would call her up on the phone, and ask if she wanted to be a bridesmaid. Now, there is not so much an expectation but an obligation for the bride to give the bridesmaids little “Will you be my Bridesmaid?” gifts.

There is a lot of wedding stuff on Pinterest, but the “asking bridesmaid gifts” (not to be confused with the actual bridesmaid gifts) is something that I think is kind of cute. I ran the idea by my mom to make sure I wasn’t going too over the top, and she thought it was a good idea.

I found this DIY tote bag on Pinterest that matched one of the wedding colors, and went to C. Wonder and filled up each bag with a monogrammed mug, coasters, and Essie nail polish (with the idea that they could wear the color on the wedding day). I purchased these adorable cards from Rifle Paper Co. with information inside about the date, venue, dresses, accessories, etc.

I’m so glad that I took the time to make little gifts for the girls. They all seemed to really like them (Kasey cried when she received hers), and they were fun to put together. I’m putting together the bridesmaid gifts right now, and they are pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. I can’t wait to give them to the girls!

And in case you are wondering, Matt’s groomsmen are his brother Cooper (and Kasey’s twin) as Best Man, his childhood friend Travis, his high school friend Michael, his cycling friend Jonathan, and my cousin Frankie (Lauren’s brother).

Missed a Wedding Wednesday post? Here's our engagement story and choosing the colors.