All White
Urban wedding myths and wedding guest dressing always suggest one should never wear white to a wedding for fear of offending the Bride. Some modern Bride’s even decide to select hideous Bridesmaid dresses to ensure that they don’t look as good. However, most Bride’s want their nearest and dearest looking great on their big day. Pippa Middleton, sister to the Duchess of Cambridge, reignited the traditional trend for Bridesmaids to wear white when she stepped out in her custom Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen creation at her sister’s Royal Wedding in 2011.
Supermodel Kate Moss wore a custom cream John Galliano creation for her wedding and her 15 junior Bridesmaids wore white. For today’s modern Bride, options for white Bridesmaid dresses include Bridesmaid emporium Dessy, found in bridal shops across the UK and online, plus high street options for white dresses can be found in Reiss, Coast and Debenhams. As seen above, a bright floral oversized bouquet can look fantastic and because it is such a classic elegant look, a classic photography shot works very well here.
Prints & Patterns
For a more relaxed bohemian Bride, prints and patterns can work very well and make a strong contrast in the official wedding images when standing next to the Bride. This untraditional option works with many prints included floral, stripes and polka dots. If your wedding has an outdoor element or rustic country theme, this works really well. Bridal stores don’t tend to stock this option well though so you are best looking to labels like Ted Baker, stocked in larger department stores and small boutiques, who carry their own independent labels. With this look, you can have a lot of fun with the photographs (once the Bridesmaids are willing) and as you have a lot going on in the foreground of the image (with the prints), a field, garden or country style neutral backdrop works really well here. One of the most versatile things about choosing a print, is that you can incorporate this across your wedding theme such as on your invitations, ceremony booklet covers, menus and favour boxes.
Dramatic Ball Gowns
The alternative Bride who favours a gothic, historical or just generally dramatic look, has to look no further than the drama of a ball gown. While many Bridesmaid dresses tend to be full length columns or a short knee length puffy style, ball gowns with bustles, corsets tops and lots of material are not something you see that often. With the volume of material used and skill required in corsetry, price point may be a factor for some, however, online shopping is the option to get around this. Look to US based websites that sell ‘Prom’ or ‘Evening Gowns’ rather than actual ‘Bridesmaid Gowns’. US websites can also be a great option if you have a larger lady in your group as they tend to cater for larger sizes more readily, compared to stores in the UK. This style can really bring out dramatic eye popping images.
Short, Fun & Flirty
The Shorter style above the knee dress has found favour with Brides in the last few years. These are often not specifically a ‘Bridesmaid’ dress but dresses that can be bought on the high street, making them very affordable. This style is best suited to a bridal party where all the Bridesmaids are a similar dress size and comfortable with showing some skin. This style works very well for fun shots like the above ‘mid-air’ shot’ as there are no heavy long gowns to trip over. High street stores that cater to this mid rang option include Topshop, Oasis, Warehouse and you could also check out TK Maxx to bag a designer bargain at a high street price point.
Whether you are having your wedding photography in Sussex, Brighton, Worthing, Chichester, Horsham or anywhere else in the UK, dressing your Bridesmaids in the style that best reflects your personality and getting the photographs you want is all possible with a little planning.
