Stacy and I have been fortunate enough in friendship that, for the most part, her friends are my friends and my friends are her friends, so we aren’t worrying too much about who’s a bridesman, groomsmaid, bridesmaid, groomsman, whatever. We basically just have a wedding party of two guys and seven gals, all of whom we wanted to specially honor. They’re all fantastic, caring people… with very different senses of style and body types.
I didn’t feel right dictating a dress for each of the ladies to wear, so at first I just assigned each of them a color (either burgundy, burnt orange, or cornflower blue) and asked them to pick something that they liked and would wear again, preferably in silk dupioni, silk shantung, or taffeta. I specified the fabric restrictions because I’ve seen a ton of chiffon and “satin” dresses that… well, honestly, they just looked cheap, and most times they distracted from the beauty of the person wearing them instead of enhancing it. I also liked the idea of all of the dresses having the same sheen.
As it turned out, it’s pretty hard to find a reasonably priced silk or taffeta dress, which is probably why so many people wear the other fabrics. I had been out hunting online and in stores for months, and although I found some gorgeous dresses, the prices were steep, and I felt very uncomfortable asking the girls to fork over close to $300. The colors I picked are specific enough that their choices were pretty slim as well. So, after some hemming and hawing over the holidays, I decided to take the fabric restrictions off. After all, why should the people I love best have to bend over backwards and pay through the nose for something as silly as a dress? The important thing is that they’re there, and that they’re willing to show up in an assigned color is just a bonus.
The guys… well, I would say that the guys are easy, since they’ve said that they’re fine with renting whatever suit we choose. Except that I’d really like them to match what Stacy wears… and Stacy’s having some trouble picking what she wants to wear. She’s been perusing the ‘real weddings’ section on this site like she’s Anna Wintour. I laid down one law (No tuxedos! if my guests want to see penguins, they can go to the Aviary) and expressed my preference for a tan suit (which is based on the outfits for that ubiquitous but awesome wedding entrance dance video. Aren’t these guys handsome? And the dresses aren’t too far off from my colors! Look at them! http://www.jkweddingdance.com/ ). All the same, I know that the outfits should be Stacy’s choice, and I’m sure she and the guys will look amazing in whatever she picks.
J and I are each just having a one person wedding party. They are both dress kinda of girls. I told them to pick whatever they wanted. However they seem to want a coordinated look, which surprised me.