Was it an insecure bride who wanted to insure that none of her friends looked as good as she did?
Was it a vindictive bride who wanted to inact revenge on all her ungrateful friends?
Was it a practical joke loving bride who was tired of hearing her friends gasp in terror, "OMG! We're wearing the exact same dress!!!!!!!!"?
In reality, the tradition goes back significantly farther than any of my guesses. In ancient Anglo-Saxon Brittian, evil spirts and kidnappings of the bride were considered real threats. So, the bridesmaids wore the same thing as the bride in order to confuse anyone who hoped to bring ill will to the couple. Additional note: This is also why the bride stands to the left of the groom, because then he had his stronger right arm free to ward off attackers.
So, since we no longer have to worry about kidnappings and most of us are farily unworried about evil spirits interupting the ceremony, are matching bridesmaid dresses really necessary? The answer is a resounding no! But what other option is there and doesn't it look bad? Not in the least.
For a while now brides have been giving their bridesmaids some choices. One of the first trends to emerge was the same color, same fabric, same length, different dress style look. Like this one from The Knot.
Now brides have started bucking all the traditions. For instance this one broke the cardinal rule of no one wearing white at the wedding.
How sexy and beautiful do those lovely ladies look?!
Some brides are sticking with one dress and allowing their bridesmaids the choice of color.
And some are giving them a color or color scheme (like fall tones of brown, orange, and red), and letting them run with it.
Most of us have been in the situation where we have been asked to spend a LOT of our hard earned money on a dress that, even if beautiful, will most likely sit in the back of our closets for the rest of its life. Thankfully, as you've seen, many brides are becoming more considerate to this delema. But if you want to guarantee that your bridesmaids will end up with something they will wear again and you are having a fairly formal or evening wedding, consider the ever classy little black dress. This is really the only sure fire, I-want-my-bridesmaids-to-wear-their-dress-again, solution. Even if black isn't in your color scheme, accents can always be added to tie everything together, and if the guys are wearing black suits or tuxes then it will all flow regardless. Not convenced that it will look cohesive? Take a look at this picture of Ms. Avacado's (from Weddingbee) girls in their stunning and stylish dresses.
I love this picture for many reasons, but my favorite is that it proves that modest doesn't equal frumppy! As a member of the Church of Laterday Saints (LDS), the bride has a conviction about being modest which includes no bare shoulders. Although I'm not opposed to bare shoulders, I AM pale as can be and hate spending the entire day tugging on a strappless dress. For those girls like me, there is another option!
In striving to be gender neutral, keep in mind that all these tips can be applied to any/all women involved in a wedding party regardless of which side of the couple they stand on or the gender(s) of the couple getting married. I've only used "bride" and "bridesmaid" for simplicity sake. :-)
So what do you all think? What are your favorite trends in wedding party attire? How about any dissaster stories? (Cue picture of my mom's poor bridesmaids in their floppy hats! :-P)
