Bridesmaids Dresses (Part 2)

When we left off, BM Kim and I had tried on 3 bridesmaids dresses at David's Bridal and were satisfied with each one. I was left to consider my other bridesmaids' opinions on the dresses. Fortunately, all were super-flexible and willing to wear pretty much whatever I chose. The only issue was Dress #3 (see below), which wouldn’t work for girls with a larger bust and was consequently taken out of the running.



So in theory, I was at a good place. I had two cute, affordable dresses that I liked and my bridesmaids approved of. But I still had some qualms about choosing a dress without having looked anywhere but David's Bridal. I’m not going to lie – I felt like a bad bride for not putting some more time into the search. What if I could find something nicer for the same price? What if the perfect dress was hanging just out of reach on a rack at a department store or boutique? Wouldn’t my wedding be more special if I found something more unique rather than off-the-rack dresses used by thousands of brides?

Though it was a hard decision, I decided to ignore these nagging questions. I’m not sure what I would have found if I searched further, but the reality was, David’s Bridal made the most sense for me. With my 70-hour-a-week job, I had little time to go shopping or even look for dresses online. And for my bridesmaids, spread out over various states and countries, it would be most convenient if I chose a store that each one could visit easily to try on and purchase the dress.

So David’s Bridal it would be. And a perfect occasion to choose a dress was coming up in a few weeks. My Maid of Honor was passing through New York on what would likely be her last visit to the States before the wedding. As she normally lives a 13-hour plane flight away in a country without any David's Bridal stores, we decided to choose a dress while she was here. I showed her the two options(sadly, neither came in the light blue, again), and asked her to try my favorite one first.




I immediately fell in love with the dress all over again, and MOH Flo looked beautiful. We decided that this would be the one right away, and I wondered whether trying the other one was even necessary. "Let's do it just in case," Flo said. So on went the second dress.




And then, the unthinkable happened: I realized that it was the one. Flo felt the same way: the off-the-shoulder dress was elegant, but it was too elegant, suited better for a formal gala and a bride in a ball gown. The second dress, on the other hand, perfectly captured the "breath of fresh air" vibe I wanted to permeate my wedding. I took a few more pictures of Flo and imagined all 5 of my bridesmaids in it, standing by me on the shore as S and I became man and wife. And it looked gorgeous in my mind.

The dress chosen, we made our way to the register to learn about the ordering process. With over 8 months until the big day, I felt like we had plenty of time, and was planning on asking the girls to order sometime in the next few months. But when we handed the dress to the women at the register, they exclaimed, "you better get these soon, or they'll be gone!" Apparently, the dress was not part of the permanent collection, and would be discontinued when new styles came out at the turn of 2010. I had just a few days to snag all five dresses.

Flo bought her dress on the spot. I was also able to order BM Kim's dress for her right away, since she had already tried it on with me and knew her size. And now, three girls in three different cities had get to their nearest David's Bridal, try on and order pronto. It was the week before Christmas, a busy time for everyone, and I was worried. I put in three desperate calls that night and crossed my fingers. All three girls were busy with work, school, and pre-Christmas craziness. All three got the dress within a few days. This is why I love my bridesmaids.

Where did you get your bridesmaids dresses? Do you have any suggestions for shoes and accessories for mine?