(Image via WedLoft where you can see some great photos of and thoughtful advice for dressing pregnant bridesmaids)

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past couple weeks catching up with a bridal reality show I’d managed to miss for a long, long time. Say Yes to the Dress Bridesmaids is yet another spinoff of the original Say Yes about shopping for wedding gowns at Kleinfeld in New York City. This one, though, is a spinoff of a spinoff and takes place at Bridals By Lori, featured in Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta.

The series is on par both in production values and general sorts of message offered with the other shows in the franchise. The search for a dress is presented as a power struggle with a villain, a damsel in distress, and the heroic members of Lori’s team arriving to save the day… or at least the appointment. And most often, in the episodes I’ve seen, at least, one or more bridesmaids take on the role of villain.

This can happen. I have actually been in a wedding where one bridesmaid ran amok and tried to change the entire wedding to suit her rather than the bride.

But my experience has been that the vast majority of bridesmaids, like the vast majority of brides, mean well and honestly want everyone to be happy. It’s just that not everyone may have precisely the same priorities and needs. Taking a moment to really think about your bridesmaids’ needs and priorities might just avoid some awkward situations along the way.
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Let’s take a look at this bridesmaids’ dress.

Attractive color, check. Pockets, check. Choice of knee or floor length, check. Rewearable? Pretty decent chance, check. Comes in sizes up to 24, which is great.

But that’s a mighty low plunge in front. Well, maybe if I find a plunge bra with a transparent front closure…

… whoops! I guess that won’t work, either. Better hope all the maids are A cups who don’t fear a wardrobe malfunction! Either that, or give all the girls wedding cardigans to cover up the dresses you chose.

So while I love nearly everything about this dress, I still have to go with HATE here, because of the impracticality and strong probability that at least one girl will spend the entire wedding desperately trying to rein in her girls.

When thinking about wedding colors, many of us tend toward pastels or deep jewel tones. Neutrals also have a strong following. But what about neon?

I know, it struck me – child of the sixties and Yellow Submarine fan though I am – as possibly a bit scary and OTT… until I saw it done right.

The key, as shown in this fabulous photo of a real wedding featured at Design Sponge, is restraint. Keep the backgrounds to stark white or black, and use the neons sparingly. Stick to just a couple colors, but don’t fear them.

As you can see here, a bright white background and carefully considered touches of neon pink, neon orange, and lime green make for a festive, fun, yet surprisingly sophisticated look.
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At long last, it’s here! Monique Lhuillier’s much anticipated bridesmaid’s collection has been unveiled, and I have to say I’m liking a lot of what I see.

For instance, I love this crinkle chiffon one shoulder gown in eggplant. It’s perfectly on trend for today, but will look classy in a wedding album for decades to come.

Overall, there’s a lot of chiffon and a lot of taffeta in the collection, and a nice range of mostly rather deep or muted shades ranging from plum and eggplant to sage and leaf green to a very zen sky blue to a soft, warm yellow that makes my mouth water. Both short and long looks are shown, mostly either strapless or one shoulder looks, though there are a couple with two straps. No sleeves, alas, but at least it’s a line designed with spring in mind.

In fact, the lowest note I saw in the collection was a strapless, leaf green column dress that reminded me a bit too much of tossing on an oversized towel on leaving the shower. Still, even that one I believe could be saved with the right accessories.

Prices range from $275 to $395. Not chump change, but pretty sweet prices for such a big name designer. All in all… yeah, I think Monique did a pretty great job on these.

(Image via Brides.com)
When thinking about what the wedding party will look like, many brides have a clear vision right from the start. Some imagine matching dresses, shoes, jewelry, make up, and hairstyles for all. Some think of a single-color free-for-all where she says ‘blue’ and everybody just goes out and gets what they want, and then styles it their own way.

One thing both generally have in common is the assumption that these dresses will be in a solid color… but that’s not in any way required.

I’m not personally all that wild about this particular Betsey Johnson dress worn by the bridal party above… but I really like the idea behind it. I think it might be fun to see more weddings where the bridesmaids wear stripes or floral prints or polka dots. It’s festive, and my guess is that a lot of women who will never, ever, ever on pain of death wear that shell pink chiffon evening gown or the emerald green taffeta ballgown again might actually haul this little sundress out of the closet and wear it for a variety of occasions.

So, yeah, I’m going with LOVE on this trendlette. I’d like to see a lot more of it.

My eyes don’t even know quite where to go on this one. Do I focus on the strips of colored… I think it might be lace? hanging down diagonally yet limply from the various layers of the dress? If so, do I watch the ones going left or right? Should I focus on the heinous belt? Or maybe the funky little hat consisting of a blue fabric rose and a sad peacock feather?

I can guarantee one thing: make your friends wear this and they will drink themselves under the tables to forget they ever knew you.

In short: HATE!

(Image via Hanle Productions)
So. Mismatched bridesmaid dresses. I know we’ve talked about this before, and the response has been pretty much universally favorable. Most of the time, though, we talk about dresses that have something in common with one another. We’ve talked about brides who give the dictum: ‘find a tea length dress in navy blue’, or ‘wear anything you like so long as it’s black and hits your knees.’

Not every bride gives even that much direction. Here, for example, the only thing that matches about these is the bouquets are the same color/shading as their dresses. Even with that, the lady in very pale pink on the right and the girl in the aqua number have bouquets that aren’t a precise match.

The dresses are every color of the rainbow, the hems hit everywhere from mid-thigh to floor-length, there are strapless, and halter, and spaghetti straps, and one even has cap sleeves. Most of the shoes are black with a mid-heel… but the girl in the pale pink seems to have ivory shoes. Their hairstyles are different. Though most seem to be wearing their hair down, there are a couple who appear to have put their hair up. In short, there is absolutely not one thing these women have consistently in common other than the fact they’re holding bouquets and standing with the bride.

Me? I love this. Every one of these women looks happy, confident, and rather fabulous in her own right, which makes for great photos. These all look like dresses they can wear again. How often does that happen? And while a glance makes it clear that each woman has her own look, it all seems to work happily together.

Yep, this is made of love.

What do all of you think?