When looking for potential bridesmaid dresses for her girls, a bride usually wants her friends to be able to wear the dress again.   Is it always true? No.  Most bridesmaid dresses aren’t worn again, but that doesn’t have to be the case if the bride is truly conscious of what she selects.

Brides: Start by bringing some, if not all, of your girls with you to pick out their dresses.  Have each of them pick a dress they like and then decide which dress looks best on everyone.

Pick a dress that is flattering to every girl’s body type, so that each of your bridesmaids will want to wear their dress to another function and feel comfortable in it.  If there isn’t one dress that looks good on everyone, pick a few dresses for the bridal party that works for each body type — if you don’t mind that they aren’t completely uniform in style.

Color plays a big factor, not every color suits everyone and it is very likely your maids will not want to wear their dress again if they don’t like the color on the day of your wedding.  The truth is they are likely wearing it out of obligation.  Be conscious of everyone’s skin tone and understand that just because you like a color doesn’t mean it’s the one you should go for.

If you can’t decide on one color, pick a family of that one color and let your ladies choose which one they would prefer to wear. Make this an alternative to the uniform bridesmaid dresses.

It’s important that your girls are comfortable in their dresses, this way they will love them enough to wear it again.  Upon choosing a dress how it can be worn again, explain to your bridesmaid where alterations can be made (possible straps for a strapless dress, cutting the hemline to make a long dress short).

There isn’t anything better than a happy bridesmaid on a wedding day!  You want to be practical yet classy for the wedding and, more importantly you want the bridesmaids to want to wear their dresses at other occasions.

Credits: Teal Dress & Purple Dress