Weddingbee boards

I've been in 3 weddings and have never reworn the bridesmaid dress.  However, back when I was in college, I found the prettiest bridesmaid dress at a bridal salon that was going out of business.  You really couldn't even tell the dress was a bridesmaid dress, and I paid only $50 for it!  I wore it to a formal my sorority was having, and it looked great!

I have worn BM dresses again.  A couple of them I cut up and altered to be a bit more my style, but others were perfect for nice dinners out or the nicer dinners on a cruise.  However, most of my friends have had more casual weddings with shorter dresses, so I can see where it would be more difficult if the dresses were really fancy.

Nope, only been in one, but the dress was red satin, floor length, ughhhh. I donated it to the goodwill.

I have one that a definitely would rewear (and plan to!), but just haven't yet. It is very long and formal, but I'm marrying into the military so chances are I'll be going to at least a few more formal events.

My friend chose the Sophia in black from J. Crew, so it's completely re-wearable.  But I haven't done so yet, since I don't like wearing black to weddings (unless the bride has told me to!) and I haven't had any other fancy enough occasions since my friend's wedding.  But it's a perfect LBD, so I'm sure I will wear it again sooner or later.

The only reason that I've worn all but 2 again is because I live in an area of the country that celebrates Mardi Gras, and three of the dresses were perfect Mardi Gras ball gowns.  One was too short to wear as a ball gown, and one...no way.  I hated it from the get-go and knew that I would never wear it again.  (I hate butt bows.)

The two that I didn't wear, I donated to a local consignment shop, and both have been bought. :-)

I think it's a bonus if you can wear a bridesmaid dress, but certainly not a requirement. I'm having a less formal affair, so my BM dresses are shorter, and they're in a style that I think doesn't scream "bridesmaid dress"! I'd almost like to get it myself and wear it with a cute cardigan. I also put $75 toward each girl's dress so they only had to pay $30 for it, and they can make their own decision for hair and accessories.

That being said, I don't think brides who have their BMs buy a dress that can't be reworn should be made to feel guilty. Especially if you have a more formal wedding that calls for floor-length dresses, it's difficult to rewear them. And, depending on the BM, they might never attend another more formal occassion that would call for rewearing a BM dress, even one that could be reworn. That doesn't mean a bride should have her BMs pick up a cotton sundress at Target for $20 if that doesn't suit her wedding.

I don't think it's much different than a prom dress - when will we ever wear those again? True, the prom dress is for our own prom and it's our choice, versus the BM dress that is for a friend's wedding and not really our own event, but sometimes we do things for our friends that cost us money and don't benefit us in any way.

Bottom line, I think we as brides should pay attention to what our BMs like and what they can afford. If we can give them a dress they can wear again, that's just an added bonus. :)