DIY Bridesmaid Dresses

I Find Wedding Inspiration Everywhere

You know how when you're engaged you see something in the store or online that totally encompasses everything you want your wedding to be? Your dress to be? Your flowers to look like? Favors? Cake? Your inner bride starts doing backflips and you think, "Eureka! This is it!"

Yeah that happens to me almost everyday. I can literally be walking through the grocery store and think, "Ou! Cherries! Those would be awesome favors!" Or walking through the flea market, see hankerchiefs, and think, "Should I buy these? Oh my gosh! We could use those!"  

I've Always Got Our Wedding On The Brain

I wish I had the kind of money to buy everything I see that I love and think we could use for our wedding, but I just don't have that kind of dough. So what do I do? I take a picture.

I don't know what I would do if I couldn't take pictures with my phone! 

Take this cute dress for instance. I saw it at Forever 21 while I was shopping for an outfit for myself this weekend. I thought "This would be such a cute bridesmaid dress!" Then of course I realize that my girls might not agree. I realize I'm at Forever 21, the dress is pretty short, and the sizes run really small. I still wanted a picture though.

Then I got to thinking, I wish I was brave enough to let my BMs pick whatever dress they wanted and do the whole mismatched thing. I really, really like that look. I've had my heart set on it for awhile, but then I started to get a little gun shy.

 

Be A Brave Bride

It's not because I think my BMs won't pick nice dresses. All of my friends (seriously) have emaculate taste and a sense of style I envy. It's just that I'm afraid it will look weird. Too new age for our families. Too out-of-the box. I need to get over what other people think though, right? I need to be a brave bride need to do what I want. Cause at the end of the day, there's no denying how much I love this style.

How cool is this wedding party? I love it. I absolutely love it.

so terribly sorry, but I lost the source 

Taking the Easy (or Not) Way Out

The next best thing to mismatched dresses would be the same dress in different styles. It's a trend that's been gaining popularity over the last year and designers like Two Birds are exploding on the market. It's what I like to call the Easy Way Out. Brides are able to indulge in the urge to have mismatched, fashionable maid and BMs pick how they'll wear their dress. It's the perfect middle ground, right? Wrong.

Problem with Two Birds is that the dresses are really expensive, at least for my group. While I can tell my friends that the dress converts into 11 different styles and they're getting it all for the price of one gown, it still doesn't seem right. So. Back to the basics? Not quite. 

Thank God for Bride Bloggers

The clouds parted and the sun came up when I stumbled across these images this week. Obviously the color, being olive caught my attention:

  

 

here

Thinking Two Birds, right? I thought the same thing. Those cool convertible dresses in green! Yippee!

Nope.

Try DIY.

DIY?

Dresses?

Convertible Dresses?

This Brides Got Balls 

Don't ask me how I stumble across such an amazingly talented bride blog. These things, I swear are divinely driven. Lisa Welge, is a Sacramento Wedding Photographer and obviously a DIY extrodinare. While searching Google for images of convertible dresses, I came across the above photos and her post right here. Once I stopped hyperventilating, I realized the post was from back in 2009.

Wait whaaaa? That must means there are pictures of her maids in these dresses on her wedding day!! Ding ding ding ding ding!!! I quickly (almost frantically) searched her website. Show me the dresses on her friends, I thought! Please, God!

Ah!! Yet another Eureka moment for the record!

Absolutely stunning and with such special, personalized touches no doubt.

This Might Be The Solution To My Problem

Or I might be one ambitious sewer! The thing is, I have a sewing machine. I'm actually learning to sew. I got it for my birthday last year and I've wanted so bad to use it to create something (anything!) for our wedding. I know this is a big undertaking, but could this be a sign? How cool would it be to be able to make my BM dresses? My friends wouldn't have to spend a dime (Lisa said it cost less than $60 to make each dress) and I get to be a brave bride!

I started to think such a thing was totally preposterous, but then I saw a trail of breadcrumbs.

The source of all the DIY goodness.

The How-To (If You Dare)

Presenting the Infinity Dress and full tutorial right here from Rostitchery...

 

here

Isn't she cute? Do you think I could make them long dresses? I wonder what material I should use. I'm going to give this project some serious thought and consideration. I need to review the instructions and recruit a more skilled sewer for help. 

Am I taking on too much?

What big DIY project did you do?

Are you thinking of having mismatched BM dresses?

Bonus

Here's a great post on The Cinderella Project about this topic.

Shades of Peach and Stripes

Gorgeousness...

Absolutely love these two-toned dresses...

Looking sharp. I love this look. The groom wears all white, and the guys are in stripe ties...

Other details I'm loving...

{Laurel McConnell Photography via Style Me Pretty}

Wedding Dress Envy

(Ahem... Aaron)

KEEP IT MOVING!

I'm in love... again!

With backless wedding gowns! This isn't the first time I've talked about liking this type of wedding dress. If you recall, last December I couldn't get this dress (right here) out of my brain. I was seeing it in magazines everywhere and when I found this real wedding, I was smitten!

My taste for backless has changed a bit since December. I'm really into a crisscross back now. I love the thought of our wedding guests stunned at the originality and sleekness of a crisscross back when I walk past them down the aisle. It'll be the ahh to the ouu of my moment in the spotlight! I get chills just thinking about it!

Here's an example of the crisscross back:

{Source}

I love it in pictures, but how will it look on me?

I've never tried on this type of gown and I have no idea how it will look on me. We've all heard stories of brides who thought they knew what type of gown they wanted, but drastically changed their style when they tried on a few dresses. This has already been the case for me, because when I went looking I didn't like anythign I thought I would! I thought I wanted something casual and simple, but I loved being in poufy-princess dresses with regal diamonds and designs! I'm not sure if that's really my wedding style or whether it was part of the glam of trying on a wedding gown for the first time.

When I window shop my taste is much different...

When I'm looking online and in magazines, I like A-line dresses with lace and thin straps. I don't like flashy, blingy, or poufy stuff, but again, this is when I'm looking online, not in real life!

So my love affair with these backless beauties is still young, being that I have not had a chance to try on this type of dress. Nevertheless, I'll be drooling over this gown until I get my hands on it and see if it's the one for me!

So here it is, the wedding dress I envy... in all its glory:

{Source via Style Me Pretty}

You haven't had enough, have you? Me either! 

Here's the dress (or at least one that is very similiar) again. I can only hope to look as great as this bride on my wedding day. She rocked it! Tell me this isn't one of the most fabulous bridal shoots you've ever seen!!

  

{Source}

If you thought that was a great bridal shoot, check out the wedding! This wedding, which I discovered on Style Me Pretty is fun and fabulous! The gown totally fit the flirty feel of this couple and their wedding!!  

{Source}

So my goal is to try this dress on. I don't care how many dresses I try on before or after this gown, I vow not to buy my dress until I've at least tried this dress on. Problem is, I have no idea where to find it. I did some searching though and found out...

Dun dun donna...

IT'S AN AMY MICHELSON!!

{Source}

Now I just have to figure out where to go to try it on! I'll keep you posted!!

Did you fall in love with a wedding gown online or in a magazine?

Was it the gown you ended up buying?  

Cute Cocktail Dresses for Mah Maids

One thing you'll probably hear me talk about a lot is bridesmaid dresses. Why? Well, like the situation with my dress (we'll get there soon), I have no idea what I want. I'm indecisive and inspired by everything. Not a good combination!

I've talked about liking brand-name dresses and mismatched styles, but there's another type of dress that always seems to catch my attention: cocktail dresses. Short or knee-length styles in bright colors, such as green, yellow, or pink with flirty designs like ruffles or a sweetheart neckline.

When I came across the image below, I fell even more in love with the short-dress style. Aren't they gorgeous? Of course the green struck me (because green is my favorite color), but the dress is adorable. It's young and fun. It's casual and sophisticated. Check out the girl on the far left too. Her dress is a little different. Maybe she's the MOH? Cute, huh?

Source

Just as equally fabulous...

Are these Sarah Sevens gowns I found via The Knotty Bride.

Source

O M G

A D O R A B LE

(and custom made I might mention... how perfect)

Where have you been all my life Sarah?

I love these designs. They are just what I have in mind. Soft and feminine. Sexy yet suble. If they don't make it to my wedding, they'll at least make it into my closet! Ha!

One thing is clear, I need to get my inspiration in order! My girls aren't going to know what to pick with all these choices. I might take after Miss Elephant and make a powerpoint!

Do you love various types of bridesmaid dresses?

How did you share your ideas with your bridesmaids?

Menswear

Mr. B was a real trooper when we went to New York for the Wedding Library's Wedding Party. When I won the tickets (from DIYBride, thanks again!!), he immediately started planning a romantic weekend getaway in the big apple, and here I thought he wouldn't want to go.

He was probably just as excited as I was when we first arrived at the New York Palace, because we were anxious to see what all the hype was about. After about an hour or two of walking from room to room, meeting various vendors, tasting various desserts, and talking about invitations, my poor guy started to get bored.

It was also getting very crowded with women on a mission, mind you, to hunt out all the potential wedding details there, and enter every contest and giveaway available. Poor Mr. B was a bit overwhelmed and well, ready to leave. Of course, I was no where near ready to go! Like the other brides there, I didn't want to miss a beat. But luckily for me, we ran into this guy (the one in the background of this picture):

 

Man to man, he must have saw the exhaustion and boredom on Mr. B's face and he called him over. The guy suggested he try on some of their suits. This company (I'm so, so sorry I don't remember their name) specializes in fun, hip, and unique suits for weddings. While we had pretty much (or so we thought) decided to have our men in tuxedos, Mr. B was intrigued by this guy's enthusasim. I suppose he was excited to have a bit of attention too, since up until this point it was, "oh bride this and that," and no love for the grooms.

It's a good thing too, because the few minutes Mr. B spent trying on suit jackets bought me about another hour in vendorville! Not just that, but Mr. B really liked their stuff and we quickly decided that tuxedos would be too stiff for our early afternoon wedding.

Did I mention brides were walking by saying, "He's cute," and "That looks good," left and right? I think if it were up to Mr. B, he would have stayed there for the rest of the day modeling!

  

  

What a cutie, right? Looking good, if I don't say so myself!

The reason we liked the tuxedo in the first place is because Mr. B liked the idea of something formal and he's really big on black. I am too, actually. I'm a big fan of Johnny Cash (aka the man in all black), which is what I told Mr. B he looked like the night we took the picture below, New Year's Eve at the Kennedy Center), but again, black might be too dark for our early afternoon wedding in early spring.

I'm a big fan of gray. It's a lot softer than black obviously and I think it's a good color for spring weddings. It's not as informal as a tan suit, but it's not as formal as a tuxedo. I think gray works well with pink and with green too (our colors). Not to mention, Mr. B really likes gray suits. He also wants something he's going to wear again and if he got a tuxedo, the opportunities he'd have to wear it after the wedding aren't many. Here are a few inspiration photos for our menswear file:

 

  

Tan isn't so bad either! I like tan. I think it's fitting for a spring wedding and it goes really well with our colors. It's just informal. I always see tan suits at beach weddings and the guys are wearing flipflops. That's not going to work for us! I still love this look though:

 

What kind of suit is your groom wearing?

Do you think certain colors are more fitting for spring weddings?