Once the tiring and painstaking ordeal of finding that perfect wedding gown which speaks to you on a personal level and reflects your personality and tastes, along comes yet another journey – that of finding the best possible dress style for your bridesmaids.

And this time, you do not have to keep up with the liking’s of only one individual but your choices must suit the tastes, preferences, and most of all, the shapes of your bridesmaids. Talk about exhausting! The following advice will hopefully help ease some of the stress off of your journey to picking out the dresses, including specific tips and ideas from wedding dress trends for 2017.

Pre-Planning for Success

In starting your exciting journey, it is important to have a look around and browse examples of available gowns. This can be done by either leafing through magazines, scouring through websites and bookmarking the ones that strike you as you go along, or visiting physical shops to get a taste of what is in and what stands out more than others.

It would be a good idea to create an ‘inspiration’ or ‘vision’ board so as to help you map out particular features and characteristics in dresses you like, as well as helping your bridesmaids come to an agreement on which colors, styles, and more specific details they may like best.

Finding the Balance Between Price and Desire

As discussed in other sections of this website, it is crucial to stick to a realistic budget. Typically, the bridal party will pay for their own bridesmaid dresses, and it is a good idea to give a gentle reminder of this, keeping in consideration just how much it is that your friends can afford to fork out for a dress.

While it is a good idea to browse through affordable sections should the budget prove too little, renting out the dresses may also be an option. Many high-end brands and designers cater for to a wide range of tastes at an affordable price. When scouring the shops and browsing, it is best to think about whether or not you are open to criticism and opinions about your likes and interests in any given dress.

Input is important, but if you feel that too much critique is bound to influence you negatively, then it is a better idea that you do the search alone or with only one friend, to ease some of the pressure off.

Making Your Selection

The bridesmaids’ dresses should match and complement the bride-to-be’s chosen gown, as it is the latter which is the primary focus of the big day. Therefore, it is advisable that the bridal gown is purchased before any choices are made regarding the bridesmaids’ dresses, to ensure the bride-to-be’s tastes of style are respected.

The dresses typically take anywhere between two to three months to arrive and a leeway of four to six weeks should be given for any possible alterations that may be needed. A total of six months’ leeway for the journey in its entirety should be affected, giving you and your bridal party enough time to make the right decisions.