Wedding Bridesmaids & Groomsmen

When you ask someone
to be in your wedding,
they will be expected
to spend a substantial
amount of time and
money on your wedding.
This will include buying
a dress and shoes or
tuxedo rental, fittings,
buying a gift for, and
attending your shower,
bachelor/bachelorette party,
and wedding day. Working with
your attendants will probably
be one of the most stressful
parts of planning your wedding,
simply because you are working
with a lot of different personalities, tastes,
and schedules. Try to keep this in mind when
you and your fiancé are choosing your wedding
party. You want this to be an enjoyable
experience for everyone.

The selecting of the tuxedos seems to be less
complicated than the dresses and accessories.
Of course this is true of the Bride’s dress and
Groom’s tuxedo as well. The bride and groom
usually pick out all of the tuxedos together.
The groom is generally the only man in a
different tuxedo. The best man will have a
different accessory such as tie, vest, etc.
The hardest part will be getting the groomsmen,
best man, and dads in for sizing, and deposits
to order their tuxedos. Always be sure they try
on the entire tuxedo when picking it up, to be
sure everything fits and is included.
When choosing bridesmaids dresses, it is best to
only take one or maybe two people shopping with you.
If you want to go with more, just have fun and don’t
try to make any decisions until later. Otherwise,
you will be frustrated because you will have several
people saying I want this dress, not that one, which
will not be fun for you. Very rarely can several women
all agree on the same dress as being their favorite.
Keep in mind the sizes, shapes and ages of all your
bridesmaids when shopping.

Once you have selected your bridesmaids dresses, each
girl will need to come into the bridal shop to be
sized, and put down a deposit which is usually half
of the total.
The shop will not place the order until everyone has
been in, so the dresses will all come from the same
dye lot. Otherwise, your dresses may be different
shades. The maid/matron of honor can have a similar,
but different dress or bouquet for her to stand out.

Once the dresses come in, each bridesmaid will need
to schedule a fitting for her dress. Some alterations
are usually necessary, and are not included in the
cost of the dress The most common alterations are side
seams for a tight fit, and a hem. At the time of the
fitting, it is necessary to have the under garments
and shoes that will be worn at the wedding. You will
probably want your bridesmaids to all be wearing the
same shoes, so it is best to order them at the same
bridal shop, especially if you will be having them
dyed to match the dresses. You will want to think
about the jewelry they will be wearing. The perfect
solution may be to buy each bridesmaid matching
necklaces and earrings. This way everyone looks great,
and you have your attendants gifts taken
care of as well!