Ordering bridesmaids dresses

[JuneLilies]

Hi there,

I am getting married next June (yay!). I have 1 bridesmaid that lives 1,000 miles away and two others live a few hours away. Luckily, they have all seen and loved the dress I picked out for them to wear.

So my question is -- what is the best way to go about their fitting and ordering their dresses? My gown and the bridesmaid dresses are from local bridal shop, but I have checked, and there are stores that sell the same dress where each of the girls live. Is it okay to have them get fitted where ever they live and send the measurements to the local shop, and maybe give them a deadline to do so (when should this be??)?? That way, when all the girls' measurements are in, they can order all the dresses at once?

And when they come in, is it okay to have them ship the dresses to the girls so that they can get any alterations they need? I want to make this as easy as possible for my girls, and also less stressful for me!! What do you guys think? Thanks!! :)

And congrats to everyone getting married!!!

[RadioLyss]

I think you posted in etiquette too, but you asked things a little differently here so I will also answer what you asked here.

Is there a deal you get if you order all the dresses from your local shop? If not, since you know the dress is available close to each girl I would suggest having them get measured, order the dress, and have their alterations done all at the shop that is near them. I'm sure that if you let these girls know when it is they will need to order their dresses by they will be able to do it and get it all done. Good Luck!

If you are going to try to order them all at your shop and get their alterations done at their shops have them check that this is ok with all the shops that will be included in this. Some shops will only do work on a dress if they ordered it.

[winnie1976]

Hi there,

I am getting married next June (yay!). I have 1 bridesmaid that lives 1,000 miles away and two others live a few hours away. Luckily, they have all seen and loved the dress I picked out for them to wear.

So my question is -- what is the best way to go about their fitting and ordering their dresses? My gown and the bridesmaid dresses are from local bridal shop, but I have checked, and there are stores that sell the same dress where each of the girls live. Is it okay to have them get fitted where ever they live and send the measurements to the local shop, and maybe give them a deadline to do so (when should this be??)?? That way, when all the girls' measurements are in, they can order all the dresses at once?

And when they come in, is it okay to have them ship the dresses to the girls so that they can get any alterations they need? I want to make this as easy as possible for my girls, and also less stressful for me!! What do you guys think? Thanks!! :)

And congrats to everyone getting married!!!


You should try to see if the price of your bridesmaid dresses are less on websites such as www.bridesave.com. If it is, you should have every bridesmaid take their measurements and give them to you. You can determine based on the manufacturer's size chart the appropriate size dress to order. One thing to remember is that the bridal sizes and the regular dress sizes are different. Sometimes bridesmaids cannot believe they would need to order such a large size and decide for themselves that they will just order the smaller size and workout so that it fits. This way, they don't know what size their dress is...only that it will actually fit them. I'm sure that your bridemaids will be able to find a place to alter their dress, even if it is at their local drycleaners. Your gown requires a special taylor, not theirs. Hope this helps!

[bjmy1975]

I honestly don't recommend ordering dresses off the internet unless you have had a professional measure you. I am speaking from experience. Get your dresses from a shop. I was told any good dress shop will measure your girls even if you aren't getting the dresses there. They say that they whould all be ordered together and at the same store to get the same dye lots.

[JuneLilies]

Thanks for your help, everyone...

When do you think I should ask the bridesmaids to get their measurements to me/the shop? I'm not sure how much time before the wedding bridesmaids' dresses should be ordered... My wedding is June 25, 2005.

[RadioLyss]

Thanks for your help, everyone...

When do you think I should ask the bridesmaids to get their measurements to me/the shop? I'm not sure how much time before the wedding bridesmaids' dresses should be ordered... My wedding is June 25, 2005.

Hi. I found the dresses that I want at a bridal shop where they have to be ordered. If this is the case for you (i.e. you arent going to be getting them from a davids bridal that carries most of their dresses in shop), you should plan that they will need about 14 weeks to get to the shop. then an initial alteration appointment, a second appointment and a final appointment. Typically it takes 2 weeks between the initial and second appointment. (at least it did for the last wedding i was in) So, you should plan that their final fitting will be the weekend before your wedding. And count back from that weekend at least 16-18 weeks!

Consult your shop for a more accurate time, but remember with adults that aren't changing size it is never too early to order them to be safe!

[chelleann80]

I would be careful about ordering dresses too soon. I was in a wedding in April and we had ordered the dresses over a year before the wedding. Big mistake. I ended up being 7 months pregnant for the wedding and had to have major alterations done to my dress, which included trying to find material to match to add in. It was a nightmare. It's hard to order dresses when your bridesmaids live so far away. They should all be ordered from the same place at the same time to ensure that they are all the exact same color. Good luck with everything.

[Krista]

You may want to go with your store because keep this in mind . . . if they dye the dresses in store then you will want the dyes to all be the SAME color.

Good luck!!