Your bride tribe, your girl gang, your maid babes, your lady loves – whatever you call them, they’re an important part of the wedding process.

They’re there to support you, help you and uplift you (and maybe give you a reality check when you’re getting a BIT too deep into all the planning). It’s only right that you’d want to support, help and uplift them right back  by showing how amazing they are on the big day.

A major aspect of this is making them feel great in what they’re wearing – we always tell our beautiful brides that they should look like a more dressed-up version of themselves on their wedding day, meaning they should choose a style that they’re completely comfortable in, and this is no different with bridesmaids too.

Sometimes, though, this isn’t as easy as it initially appears. The likelihood is that your bridesmaids are different heights, shapes, and sizes, with different complexions, styles, and life stories, meaning they won’t all suit the same dress.

Add into the mix the fact that they need to compliment your outfit, and it all can seem a little overwhelming!

 

However, we’re going to get over that overwhelm, no problem. As trained bridal stylists, the Mews team know the best tips and tricks to lock your bridal style down and translate it into your bridesmaid dresses without compromise, and because you’re all absolute babe brides, we’re sharing them with you!

Before you start your bridesmaid dress shopping, our tip numero uno is to get a fabric swatch. If you’re a Mews Bride, we’ll give you a fabric swatch to take away with you to show you both the lace pattern (if applicable) and the colour of your dress. This is not only useful for matching your own accessories but also for matching your bridesmaid dresses, as it gives you something tangible to reference to.

Give some thought to how best to approach the situation, too. It’s common both to choose one option across the board and get approval from your bridesmaids, or to let your bridesmaids choose their own with a loose theme in mind. This can either be as simple as your bridesmaids seeing you in the dress style you’ve ordered and making their own decisions based on that, or a loose theme set by you (more on that below)…

So, you’ve got your swatch, and you’ve got your squad. Now, it’s time to decide on dresses. Behold, our tips on what to focus on for bridesmaid brilliance:

• Colour –  This is obviously the most traditional approach, having your bridesmaids all in one shade that suits the theme and the décor of the day. However, bridesmaids in varying hues can look absolutely amazing – why not give them a loose bracket of colour (literally as simple as ‘pink’) and see what shade they come up with? There are loads of different colours to suit every shade of wedding dress (which in itself can have loads of different colours, from ivory to cream to brilliant white) whilst still marking you out as different to the guests, the best of the best.

 

• Style – At the Mews we’re lucky enough to carry designers who use only the best French laces in an array of incredible different patterns. Pick out features from your dress and use this as your bridesmaid focus. Be it the graphic, heavy lace of Margaux Tardits to be complimented with bold bridesmaid outfits in clean-lined and timeless silhouettes, or the mystical embroidery of Rime Arodaky to get your bridesmaids in delicate appliqued numbers, each lace brings with it a different style that can be picked out.

 

• Pattern – This one’s slightly trickier. As I said above, the chances are that your bridesmaids won’t all suit the same cut of dress. However, this doesn’t stop you from picking out the elements of your dress that you adore, and incorporating this into your bridesmaid shopping. If you fell for the fluttery sleeves of your dress or become starry-eyed as soon as you saw the skirt slit, kit your girls out in the same, and you’ll make an incredible team.  And if you’ve gone for a separate set from the brilliant Rime Arodaky or Laure de Sagazan, don’t be afraid to put your bridesmaids in separates too. This is an amazing way of mixing and matching too – why not all get the same skirt, but change up the tops?

 

• Your accessories – Why not team your bridesmaids with your accessories? That can be the golden thread that pulls everything together, and it can be brilliant too. If you’re wearing statement earrings or a really dramatic headpiece, why not draw it all in by matching your bridesmaid’s dresses to that?  Alternatively, take the lead with your shoes. We recommend that every wedding dress is hemmed so that it kisses the floor; this means that when you walk, the front of your shoe is visible. A lot of our gowns have panelling detail in the skirt as well, meaning your footwear is on full display. This means that your shoes are actually more key than you may think, making them a perfect choice to base the bridesmaid’s dresses on. Match their dresses to your pink velvet platforms, or bring the sparkle of your embellished heels to their dresses too.

 

• Personality – What made you choose your dress? Did you feel like a rockstar, or did it realise your dream of boho beauty? Channel that inspiration to get your bridesmaids kitted out, whether it means floaty ethereal vibes or sequinned drama.

 

Now that you’ve got more options than you ever thought possible, go ahead and have the time of your lives – crack open the bubbly and start the shopping, whether that’s all together in a multi storey department store, a private appointment in a bespoke boutique, or with takeaway pizza crowded around a laptop searching online. Let us know what you’ve chosen – we LOVE hearing what you guys wear (in case you couldn’t tell…)!

 

 

Words by Ellie Kime