The bride-to-be often worries about selecting the correct bridesmaid dresses for all of her chosen bridesmaids, as there is usually more than one person to please, which can be difficult when your bridesmaids are all different shapes and sizes and they all have very different tastes and styles. Here are some of my top tips for selecting bridesmaids dresses to ensure both you and your bridesmaids are happy on the day!

Find YOUR dress first.

If you are the bride, before you even start looking at bridesmaids dresses it helps to have chosen your own wedding gown first and have a clear idea of the theme or colour of your wedding so you can ensure your bridesmaids fit in with the overall style and look of the wedding and complement you and your groom in all the wedding photography. In ancient times the idea of having bridesmaids dressed in similar styles and colours to the bride, was to distract and confuse any evil spirits who attempted to disrupt the wedding – the bridesmaids made it impossible for the spirits to identify the bride! However these days the look of the bridesmaids are to enhance and complement the bride, being either in contrasting dresses (a very popular theme at the moment being bridesmaids in black) or complementing dresses, usually in a softer, lighter hue.

Know Your Bridesmaids

Are there lots of similarities between your bridesmaids or are they all completely different?

Important factors to consider are size, shape, age, style and colouring. Something that would look wonderful on one girl may look unattractive on another, even if the dress is beautiful! Talk to your bridesmaids and ask them if there is anything in particular they would not feel comfortable in and take this into consideration when shopping for dresses.

Ensure you have an idea of colour and length.

On your wedding day you want your bridesmaids to be happy, smiling and having a great time and what they are wearing can have a huge impact on this so you want to make sure they all feel great on the day, however be careful not to give your bridesmaids free rein or they might all want completely different styles!

The best thing to do is establish the colour of the dresses and the length first, and then find a few different styles you like and perhaps consult your bridesmaids as to which ones they prefer. It’s quite popular these days to have different styles for each bridesmaid in the same fabric which can be a win-win option!

Remember when choosing the colour of your dresses to bear in mind the colouring, size and shape of your bridesmaids! The wrong choice could make them look washed out or a size bigger than they actually are and that won’t look nice on your photos or make them feel very good about themselves!

A bridal stylist can help.

A bridal stylist can ensure you make the right decisions for you and all of your bridesmaids and find a style, colour, fabric and length that suits everyone and is well worth the investment.

Having a third party giving you honest, expert advice in a diplomatic and inspiring way can really help get all your bridesmaids on board with your decisions whether it’s a shy friend or a demanding sister!

An independent bridal stylist will ensure honest advice as they are employed by you to make you and your bridesmaids look your best for the big day, so you know you are being given an expert opinion and not just being “sold” to with regards to a particular dress.

Fabric is important!

Don’t forget to think about fabric when you choose your dresses! If you’re having a summer wedding you need a lighter fabric and the opposite for an autumn or winter wedding. Remember too that the choice of fabric teamed with the style and colour can shed or add pounds to your bridesmaids so choose carefully.

Don’t make accessories an after-thought!

Very often, the dresses are seen as the main item and the accessories including the shoes, bag and jewellery, are often an afterthought. As a stylist I know that accessories can make or break any outfit even on your wedding day so allow plenty of time to look for the right accessories.

Luckily the high-street offers so much choice these days that you can find amazing accessories to really add the right finishing touches to your bridesmaids oufits at a really low cost! A good bridal stylist can really help you in terms of time and stress. For instance, I spend so much time in shops, reading fashion magazines, brochures and catalogues and scouring the internet for the latest things in style, that I can source the perfect items for you really quickly.

Again, don’t forget to think about size, shape, colouring and style of your bridesmaids when choosing the accessories! For example the wrong length of necklace or style of shoe could ruin the whole look!

Fittings and Ordering.

Always get professionally measured for your bridesmaids dresses as different manufacturers will use different sizing so you need to ensure the dresses are a flattering fit.

The last fitting when the dresses are ready should be at least 3 – 4 weeks before the wedding to allow for any last minute alterations. Don’t just pick the dresses up a week before the wedding thinking this will allow enough time for changes!

It’s a good idea to order all your bridesmaids dresses together to ensure that they are all cut from the same fabric dye-lot otherwise you could end up with a slightly different colour for each which will really show up on the photos.

Please visit Nicola Cupples,

Image Consultant & Stylist at

www.nicolacupples.com

The Mother of the Bride outfit can be a huge source of stress for many proud mothers and can overshadow their enjoyment of supporting their daughter throughout the planning stages of their wedding.

Hiring a personal stylist can help you to ensure you make the right decision for your daughter’s wedding and select an outfit that both you and your daughter are happy with, whilst also sourcing an outfit that complements your shape, size, style and budget.

Speak to Your Daughter First

The first thing to do is talk to your daughter about the style of wedding and get her thoughts on the special day. Does she want guests to be informal or formal? What is her colour scheme? Is there a theme to the wedding? What are the bridesmaids wearing? This will give you ideas of what to look at in terms of the style and colour of your outfit.

Talk to the Mother of the Groom.

Consult with the Mother of the groom as to any ideas that she may have and try to coordinate between you to ensure your outfits complement each other, and the bridal party. And obviously to make sure you both don’t turn up with the same outfit on!

High Street Options

If you’re shopping on the high street there are loads of options at really reasonable prices but bear in mind that other guests will be shopping for their outfits there too, so beware of anyone buying the same outfit!! The key to shopping on the high street is to find a basic yet classic piece in one store and then shop around to create your own look by utilising other stores to accessorise and customise the outfit.

Copying Looks.

If you have seen an outfit in a magazine that you love but there are no stockist details or it’s too expensive, take the picture to a good tailor and ask them to recreate that outfit. This can be a cost effective way of achieving a unique, tailored and designer look!

Accessorising.

Accessories can make or break an outfit so make sure they aren’t left to the last minute. Also if you shop on the high street, don’t buy all your accessories from one collection or store, as it is more likely that another guest will be wearing the same accessories or may recognise where they are from and many Mother of the Brides want to look unique on their daughter’s special day! Also accessories can shed or add pounds to your figure, especially on photographs which will last as a record of the day forever, so ensure you know how to select the right accessories for your body shape. A good personal stylist who works independently from any stores can help you with this by offering professional, expert styling advice. Their job is to make you look incredible without overshadowing your daughter so is a great investment. The last thing you want to do on the happiest day of your daughter’s life is to be worrying about your outfit.

Prints

Avoid busy prints or busy accessories as they can date very quickly and look ageing on photographs. Better to go for something classic. This is especially true if you have a petite figure as the print may end up drowning you. If you want to go for a print, spots and stripes are more classic prints that never really go out of fashion. If you do go for bold prints, keep your accessories very simple.

When to shop for your outfit.

Remember to think of season that the wedding will take place in. You don’t want to be too hot or too cold! Bear in mind that shopping for a summer wedding six months before when the shops are still stocking their winter collections could be fruitless. However leaving it until a couple of months before the wedding or shopping a whole twelve months in advance may be a source of stress.

The ideal time to shop is at the beginning of the season when there is the most choice available but if you have a wedding in February or September this could be problematic as the months before these weddings are usually major sale and reduction times when there is far less choice and is a risky strategy.

A personal stylist and shopper can advise you on the best time to shop and is always in the shops and researching what’s available, so can often find you the perfect outfit without you ever having to lift a finger! The whole objective of hiring a personal stylist to help you achieve the perfect mother of the bride look, isn’t just to make you look fabulous but also to ease the stress and time for you, so you can focus on supporting your daughter and son-in-law to be.

Finishing off the look.

If you opt for a dress, even if it’s for a summer wedding, ensure you finish off the look properly with a jacket or cover up or you are in danger of looking unfinished on the photographs.

Please visit Nicola Cupples,

Image Consultant & Stylist at

www.nicolacupples.com