Bride with a Twist: Eclectic Romance

Why hello there! I wasn't planning on posting tonight as I've been busy cooking for my new diet and trying to tone up before going bridal gown and bridesmaid dress shopping with my ladies this weekend! (More on how to get in shape for your wedding in a future post). But, you're in luck because I happened to write and send a "Bridesmaid Inspiration" document to my bridesmaids yesterday to get them prepped and pumped for this weekend! Because I'm a nerd, said document read just like a blog post! So tonight's post is easy peasy for me because I essentially wrote it yesterday!

After much thought and consideration I have come up with a style identity for my wedding. (Taking inspiration from my fave designer, Emily Henderson's TV show). The style that I will be trying to pull off is ‘eclectic romance’. This style will be particularly pulled in through the bridesmaid dresses and other accessories. For the 'eclectic' portion, I don’t want any of my maids wearing the same thing. Each of my girls is unique and special and I really want their "looks" to reflect that. I want the dresses to be around the same color but I’m not concerned with them matching exactly. In fact, I don't want them to match exactly! I'd like for the girls to be dressed in the same color family without perfectly matching each other. (See the first three inspiration pictures below for an example of same color family, not same color). I don’t want them to be all of the same fabric either. I want it to look like all of my bridesmaids are going to a fabulous cocktail party and just happened to show up in similar colors! I know some brides have their bridesmaids go out and select their own dresses after giving them a few guidelines... However, I'm much more of a control freak than that! I think it's important for me to steer the dress selection because I am the one who has the overall vision and feel of my wedding in my head. I still want everyone to look put together and like they're going to the same event. So I will be making sure that each lady stands out on her own and looks glamorous but fits in with the rest! Now time for some inspiration images!

(I apologize ahead of time, since I've been gathering these pictures for a while in a word doc to send to my ladies I don't have all of the sources but I will try to add in the ones that I can remember!)

Color vision and actually close to the color family I want. More of the ones on the right side and a bit richer.

I just love how these ladies "go" and don't "match"

These next dresses I LOVE the style but are obviously not in the right color. I think it would be so cool to have a collection of dresses like this together. They're all so stylish, different, and I would wear every single one of them. I love some of the belts too. I'd like to add a belt or two into the mix as well if it works.

(Top left- Vera Wang for David's Bridal, Top Right Ivy & Aster, Second Row Left- BHLDN, Third Row Left- BHLDN, Fourth Row Right- BHLDN)

The next ones are all in the “right” color. They are all technically bridesmaid dresses but another great thing about choosing different dresses for each girl is that you can find some really great and less expensive dresses at department stores or even fashion stores at the mall. The options are really endless. Plus, I love online store scouting!