The fear of an ugly bridesmaid dress is a real and present danger for any bridal party member, or anyone who’s ever watched 27 Dresses. As if shelling out time and money to celebrate your friend’s impending nuptials isn’t enough, the potential to be forced into wearing a peach taffeta ballgown or a too-clingy slip dress can feel like grounds for a friendship-ending breakdown.
While it is the bride's Big Day, stylist Anny Choi urges brides to consider their party’s feelings about what they’ll be wearing for the wedding. “It is your special day, but you also want the people closest to you to also feel great and what they’re wearing,” she says. It’s an overlooked point: wearing something uncomfortable or unflattering can dampen the mood for everyone.
Choi has seen more than her fair share of bridesmaids attire, and has some tips to help brides-to-be avoid subjecting their bridal party to the dreaded ugly dress.
Don’t leave your bridal party’s outfits until the last minute
“A lot of people like to coordinate their flowers and wedding colors to what their bridal party is wearing,” Choi says. “Not everyone looks great in a pale pink. Keep that in mind when you’re planning for your florals and the decor. [Don’t let] the bridesmaids dresses be a last thought.”
Take your bridal party’s temperature
Everybody wants to feel heard! Choi recommends reaching out to your bridal party early to gauge comfort levels with everything from price to colors. “Something you could do beforehand—just so that everyone feels taken care of and seen—is sending out a short questionnaire. What budget do you feel comfortable with? Do you have any wardrobe restrictions? Any colors that are definite nos? and compiling that before you start the process so that you know where they stand,” Choi says.
Be mindful of different body types
“You might be six-foot, size 2, look great at a slip dress, but that's not going to be the case for everyone,” Choi says. Perhaps consider offering a variety of silhouettes for your bridal party to choose from, that way they’re able to feel their most confident.
Factor in the price
Remember, your bridal party is also shelling out for your bachelorette party, bridal shower, and other pre-wedding events. To them, having to pay an arm and a leg for a dress they don’t even like is adding insult to (financial) injury. Choi notes that there are a variety of great bridesmaid dress options across price points, from Reformation and Bec + Bridge to Emilia Wickstead and One/Of by Patricia Voto.“You might only like the designer items, but if the people in your wedding party aren’t [able to] spend that, you just need to manage expectations accordingly,” she says.
Consider alternative options
A bridesmaid dress can come from anywhere—it doesn’t need to be brand new. For brides who have a more open-ended brief, consider asking bridesmaids to stick within a color palette, but letting them find dresses anywhere, from a thrift store to online resale outlets like The RealReal, Vestiaire Collective, Poshmark, and Depop. Also, remember that not every event should require a dress to be purchased. Choi recommends services like Rent the Runway so that people can borrow dresses without having to worry about it gathering dust in the back of their closet after the fact. “For people who don’t get dressed up often, it is a big investment to buy,” she says. “If you’re having a black tie wedding, they don’t attend events like that often, that might feel like such a big investment for them.”
So, to all brides who want to avoid the curse of ugly bridesmaid dresses, Choi has some final words of wisdom: “I always say you know your wedding party best. They’re your close family and friends and you really have to make that decision based off of their personal style, their body, their budget, and how they dress.”