About two weeks ago we talked about wedding trends. And in most cases these trends focused on the bride. Lets be honest, you can control what you like, you pick your dress, you pick your hair, your makeup and all of the details to make your wedding exactly how you want it. The thing you don’t have control over is your bridesmaids. Sometimes the task of choosing your bridesmaids and making sure that everyone is happy and content is a hard task. Which is why I want to introduce you to (cue the introduction music and fanfare for excitement!) The Ultimate Bridesmaid Guide: How to ensure that your bridesmaids look as good as you do, but definitely not better.

Choosing your Bridal Party – The first step is to choose your bridal party. This can be a daunting in anyway that you look at it. Some people don’t want a giant bridal party, and most brides don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by not including them. My piece of advice…don’t worry about that their feelings. I know that that sounds harsh but believe me it’s not. You don’t have to ask your friend Karen to be in your wedding just because you were in hers. The people in bridal party should be the people that you want in it, not people you feel obligated to have in it.

My next piece of advice is to make it known to your friends that this is your day, and that you’re so happy to share it with them but this day is about you. I can’t help but think about the movie Bridesmaids (perfect to reference here) and one of the bridesmaids who took complete control of everything! This is something that needs to be nipped in the butt right away. Because your going to stand there on the wedding day and realize that nothing is the way you want it. So if you have one of those friends make sure that you address an issue that may occur before there is even a chance for it happen!

Choosing the Dresses- This seems to be a hard situation for everyone. At the end of the day everyone has different body types and tastes and for that reason it is so incredibly difficult to find something that every single bridesmaid is happy with. I think for one reason that is why the trend of different dresses started to appear more and more in weddings. Brides have been giving bridesmaids a color and length and letting them find a dress that they think looks good on their body but still cohesive with the brides look. If you seem to be having a tough time with finding something for everyone, here are a few trendy ideas that people have been using lately that you might want to try and incorporate:

• Separate pieces: by this I mean a skirt with some sort of top tucked into it. There are so many tea length skirts out there and they have been coming back into style this year, so pairing it with a cami or a nice blouse is an option that could make choosing a little easier for you! PRO TIP: When opting for a long skirt for the ceremony think about the idea of a shorter more cocktail dress for your bridesmaids for the reception!
• Tea length dresses: If the separate pieces like that don’t really appeal to you but you like the length and volume of the skirts a tea length dress with a bit of a tulle skirt is a great substitute. These dresses are so girly and something that the brides can wear again. If for some reason you decide to incorporate the trend of separates with this it would be even more amazing!
• Mixed Metallics: I absolutely love this trend so much, so much that it actually hurts! I love seeing golds, bronzes, silvers, and even rose golds coming together. It looks absolutely stunning in the photos and your bridesmaids have more options for colors and choose the one that matches their skin tone the best
• Crop Tops: The difference between crop tops and the separate pieces that we talked about earlier is that you can tell that the two pieces are in fact not one when it comes to the crop tops. The little exposed portion of tummy proves that extremely well

Not all of these options are for everyone. You might not like any of them. And that’s ok. If you want all of your bridesmaids in strapless magenta dresses tell them to wear those dang dresses. These pictures will be sitting up on your mantle for the rest of your life!

In my many years of wedding experience it is the bridesmaids that seem to cause a little more trouble than anyone else during the hair and makeup phase, something that is so stressful for the bride on a day that is already extremely nerve wracking as it is! By taking some of these tips for the big day a little bit of the stress that bridesmaids not only feel but that the bride feeds off of throughout the course of the wedding!

The last tip that I’m going to leave you with is in regards to hair and makeup. If you are already hiring a stylist to do both for you I would highly recommend either paying for the same services for your bridesmaids or at least to encourage them to pay the stylist on their own for hair and makeup. In the final pictures you can really tell who has had their makeup and hair done and who hasn’t. In order to keep everything cohesive and to ensure that your bridesmaids look as good as you do, but remember not better..this investment only makes sense!