Bridesmaids come in all shapes and sizes.
When you say “I do,” you will want the people that care about you the most to be standing near you at the altar. If your bridesmaids are not all size sixes, be very conscious about what Bridesmaids dresses you choose. The comfort of your bridesmaids will have a direct correlation to how much fun they have at your wedding and how much fun you have with them! So don’t make your friends fit the dress, find dresses that fit each of your bridesmaids.
I think my favorite bridesmaids’ outfits have been weddings where the bridesmaids have not had the same dress on. They have worn dresses that were made with the same material and/or maybe the same color but the outfits were uniquely their own.
A friend of mine told her friends to wear what they felt the most beautiful in and those girls just shined! I coordinated another wedding where the bride asked her bridesmaids to wear ivory (she wore white). One bridesmaid wore an amazing pant suit, one wore a great strapless gown and another wore a similar gown but added this antique lace jacket over it that I wanted to steal! One bridesmaid was a size 0, one a size 8 and another a size 24. I loved watching the plus size bridesmaid because she looked fabulous and she knew it. She wore what she felt beautiful in and wasn’t asked to show her upper arms or fit her generous breasts in a strapless gown. And the size 0 who had zero cleavage, didn’t have to wear a dress that required a padded bra to look good in it.
Here are a few other hints:
Find a material that you love and have the dresses made to fit each bridesmaid well.
Talk to a Bridal Salon Consultant about the sizes of your friends and get their suggestions about which designers cater to your bridesmaids’ sizes and shapes. Before you take your bridesmaids out shopping, go by yourself and have a personal consultation at a Bridal Salon so you gather information and begin developing your own ideas on what you want to present to your bridesmaids as options.
Search the Internet – need I say more? Do keyword searches like plus size bridesmaid dresses, petite bridesmaids, maternity bridesmaid dresses, etc. 
You might want to take your plus size friends out alone for their first shopping spree and measurement taking. I worked in a bridal salon for a while and I saw how uncomfortable it was for some girls to be measured in front of the other girls – be conscious of your friends’ modesty issues.
You can usually buy extra material from most bridesmaids’ dress designers and then can hire a seamstress to make a jacket or a wrap. I personally don’t like the wrap thing because it’s pretty impossible to keep them on all night but a Bolero jacket can be a great complement to many styles. You might want to consider a jacket or a shrug for everyone to use during the ceremony and then at the reception, those that like to show off their triceps can simply take off the jacket and others can keep it on – their choice for their comfort. 
Whatever you choose, remember that being surrounded by those you love is more important than any bridesmaid’s dress you’ve seen in a magazine. So choose loveable Bridesmaids and outfits to fit each one of them beautifully.
Tags: brides know best, bridesmaid dresses with sleeves, maternity bridesmaids, Personalized Weddings, plus size bridesmaids, wedding advice, wedding planning, wedding wisdom
When I got married my very best friend made up this lame excuse not to be in my wedding and I was so hurt. I didn’t know the real reason until 2 years later. I had chosen a strapless dress that I had posted a picture of it on my refrigerator and I always talked and talked about how much I loved this Bridesmaid Dress and I couldn’t wait to see all my friends in it.
Well Laura (my BFF) had been in many weddings and the one just before I got engaged was humiliating for her when she tried to fit her “Double D Girls” in a strapless dress – and while dancing, “the girls” fell out… She was so embarrassed she never told me about it and me having itty bitty titties was totally clueless and insensitive. My refrigerator picture of my “dream bridesmaid dress” quite literally made Laura sick to her stomach every time she saw it. She literally could not stomach being in another wedding that made her feel fat, ugly and awkward.
Two years later when she was getting married she confessed and profusely apologized to me for hurting my feelings and told me why she chose to lie and not be in my wedding. After we cried for an hour or two we finally started laughing about it because I was pregnant and she was going to have to find a dress that fit a VERY pregnant matron of honor!
Well Katie is telling the story very accurately (unfortunately!). I am so sad that I wasn’t strong enough to tell Katie what the real problem was – and we both missed out on something so big!
I had been in six weddings and only one bride said to me – “let’s go out and find a dress that you love and fits “the girls” (as Katie calls them). At that wedding I felt great and had a great time. At all the rest of the weddings I was so self conscious and constantly trying to readjust my dress to be sure that I wasn’t hanging out.
At my wedding I went out with each bridesmaid individually and showed them styles from Watters and Watters because they have all sizes and so many beautiful styles. I found a type of material that they use on 3 different styles so I let my Bridesmaids choose what style they liked the most and we ordered them all in the same color and material.
I really did my homework before I took any of the Bridesmaids out and I couldn’t agree with this blog post more – go to a qualified Bridal Salon Consultant and tell them about your group of friends so they can direct you to styles and designers that are going to flatter your bridesmaids.
Katie was 8 months pregnant when I got married and because we had chosen a beautiful maternity bridesmaid dress – she never looked more beautiful! I am so glad that there are many designers that are dealing with the fact that friends come in many shapes and sizes – now I just wish more brides were more sensitive to their very own bridesmaids.
Wow Laura and Katie! I am impressed that you guys are so candid about your experience and forgave each other.
When I got married I chose the dress over a friend – basically told her that if she didn’t like the dress I understood that she didn’t really want to be in the wedding. I was a Bridezilla and I lost a friend because of my behavior. We have not been able to get beyond it. If there was a “do-over” button for me, I’d tell her to wear whatever she wanted – I just really needed her by my side. I hope the future brides reading this will learn by my very big mistake.