Planning a wedding is already stressful. A bride and groom have to plan the wedding, decide where to have the wedding, what food to serve and how many people to invite to the big event. They have to decide on the budget, get the tuxedo for the groom and the wedding dress for the bride.
On top of it all, the bride has to also work together with her bridesmaids for the dresses they will wear. Bridesmaid dresses are one of the toughest things that the bride will do apart from buying her own dress. Notorious for being difficult, the bride will have to think about all of her bridal party when it comes to dress shopping.
The easiest way for you to tackle bridesmaid dress shopping is by giving your bridesmaid a color scheme and let them choose the style of dress they want to wear. While this is a good way to step away from yet another responsibility some brides just don’t like to take this risk.
However, if you don’t to step away from getting the dress for your bridesmaids, you can either get them from a wholesale clothing store near you so that you can find dresses in budget or you can shop online. Shopping online is a great way to do it, but it does have its requirements.
Here are some tips that will make the bridesmaid dress shopping process a little easier for the bride and the bridesmaids.
Pick A Budget and Stick to It
To begin the process, you need to decide the budget and stick to it. If your bridesmaids are going to be paying for their dresses, you need to consult all of them to make sure you come up with a budget that they all are comfortable with. Do a little window shopping online and see what kind of dresses you can find in what price point. Once you know that, give the options to the bridesmaids and see what they are willing to pay for the dress. When you know that budget, it will make the dress shopping experience easier and more pleasant for the bridesmaids.
Pick a Style That Suits Everyone
Remember that every bridesmaid is not going to like the dress you choose so keep an eye on different styles and keep your mind open as well. Your bridesmaids are all going to different body shapes, some of them are going to be conscious about hiding certain parts of their body. So, rule number one: be respectful of everyone and their decisions. Your best option would be to decide on a mix and match dress style. Pick two or three dress styles and let your bridesmaids decide on what type of dress they want to wear out of the three decided styles.
Be Careful of the Measurements
You may think finding the dresses in different sizes and measurements is going to be a difficult process online, but things have changed greatly. Many brands now carry sizes up to XXL and XXS in dresses which allows your bridesmaids to find the dress they want in their own style. However, that is not all. Many of the online stores now give the option of tailoring the dresses so that your bridesmaids can get the dresses tailored to their size if they don’t find their correct measurement or size listed on the dress page. Be sure to check the size chart on the website and see what you can work with and what you cannot.
Be Careful of the Timeline
Make sure all of your bridesmaids follow the timeline and are following it. Usually, a bride’s dress takes up to 10 months to be made and then shipped. A bridesmaid dress can take up to three months to make and ship after you place the order. Make sure all of your bridesmaids place the order at the right time so that the dress can be delivered before the wedding with plenty of time for you to make alterations if they are necessary. You don’t want to have an eleventh-hour rush and scrambling to find a missing dress just days before the wedding.
What Else Can You Do?
There are some things you need to be aware of when you decide to go bridesmaid shopping online. For example, you need to look at different bargain shops online if budget is an issue for your bridesmaids. Look for sales or you can get the dresses on rent as well so that the bridesmaids don’t have to make an investment.
Check the return policy of the website before you or your bridesmaids place an order. Some websites and dress stores online can have tough return policies so always make sure that you read their return policy clearly and make sure there is a money back guarantee for you to consider if the need arises.
