Bridesmaid dress horror stories (or good stories!)

I didn't know if this topic was better in Chit Chat or right here.  But I thought it would be interesting to hear bridesmaid dress stories.  Maybe it would give others ideas for their weddings.

What did you do for your bridesmaid dresses?  What was the worst bridesmad dress ever?  The best?  Were you ever able to get a bridesmaid dress altered into something you could wear again?

My best friend picked out the fabric and gave each of her bridesmaids a big bolt of it.  Our job was then to find a dressmaker (or a friend who could sew) and get something--anything made out of it.

It was very cool because there was a whole gamut of designs--everything from a sophisticated cocktail style dress to renaissance and medieval gowns!  Each girl had somehing she loved and that fit her body since it was made just for her!

i've been a bridesmaid (5) times... i've never had to wear something HORRIBLE, but what i mostly winge about is the price... my most recent one was $250.  nice dress, but i won't ever wear it again.

i've thought about the bolt fabric- choose your own design.  was thinking brown linen.  how much fabric were you given?  how much time did you have?  i was also thinking of asking each girl to wear green, or go out and get a green dress.  any shade, any style.

I have been a bridesmaid 5/6 times now.   So far, I have never re-worn a dress.  They have ranged in price from $120-$300 and have been everything from "not too bad" to "absolutely hideous".  I don't think too much about it, at least I don't have to worry about finding anything else to wear to the wedding and can focus on getting a cute outfit for the rehersal dinner.

My sisters are my only bridesmaids so I just told them to go get something they liked in a color that was NOT a pastel.  They came up with this...

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=5888244914234676987&id=730098&parentid=APP_DRESS_SOLID&pushId=APP_DRESS_SOLID&popId=APP_DRESSES&sortProperties=%2BmarketingPriority%2C-saleDate&navCount=13&navAction=poppushpush&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=bro
I love it and think it is just perfect for a more casual wedding in Napa Valley.  It was also fairly reasonably priced.  I think they both plan on wearing it again to weddings (as guests) and stuff.  

I didn't have any bridesmaid dresses for my wedding. It was a lovely, small, registry office ceremony. My sister was the Maid of Honor and she wore one of her own dresses.

My sister's wedding last April was another story. The best part of the bridesmaid dress (I was the Matron of Honor) was that I had dress measurements done here in the UK. The measurements were so spot on (I emailed them to my sister) that when I went to try on the dress in NY, the only thing that needed to be done was adding a built-in bra. I did end up breaking done and crying in the store because my future BIL was trying to tell me that since they did not have any room in their luggage, I would have to miss the next train to my parent's (about 6 hours away) house if it wasn't ready soon. Fortunately, the owner of the store saw my distress and the alteration was done quickly enough that my husband and I made the train. The best thing I can say about the whole wedding was that I felt quite beautiful in the dress (long, dark blue, halterneck dress). My sister chose her reception to have a row with me about not being supportive enough and has not spoken to me in around 6 months. However, I am looking forward to getting pictures from the wedding showing how I looked in my dress; at least my sister had been thoughtful enough to pay for the dress.

My SIL made everyone wear the most horrid shiny fuschia dresses and matching shoes... but they kind of worked with her dress.  She's embarrassed about the whole lot now.  HUGE pouffy shoulders... and no way to wear them again.

I had simple floor length black dresses made for my girls.  I paid for everything, as they were broke.  (And I know everyone has black shoes already!)  I've seen them wearing the dresses at other events, one just had hers shortened.  So, good choice, I think.  They didn't cost much, about 150 bucks each.  Which is more than I paid for the wedding dress... but ebay didn't have anything I liked in multiples.

I'd monitor the green idea, meggles.  See, I'd go for very very dark, possibly moss-green... which wouldn't work well with a bright emerald or kelly green.  Wedding pictures are forever!  I guess it depends on the formality level you're looking for, too.  My ideas changed a lot when I found out that my Dad wouldn't accept a beach wedding, and that it had to be in the Catholic Cathedral.

I was a bridesmaid for my first SIL.  She made me wear a bright pink dress with flowers stitched around the neck-line.  The dress was hired so it couldn't be altered and was too big for me.  The weight of the flowers around the (alreadly plunging) neck-line kept dragging it down and everytime i bent over I flashed whoever was close to me.  It was truly horrible and I refuse to look at pictures of it.

There's a whole website of hideous bridesmaid dresses here!   

OMG, I think I know some of those people... and yes, SIL did choose "pole-dancer pink".

There's a whole website of hideous bridesmaid dresses here!   

OMG!! The pregnant prom dress!! 
That is the most hideous piece of clothing I have ever seen!

i've thought about the bolt fabric- choose your own design.  was thinking brown linen.  how much fabric were you given?  how much time did you have?  i was also thinking of asking each girl to wear green, or go out and get a green dress.  any shade, any style.

I honestly don't remember how much fabric it was--but it was loads.  Enough to make a renaissance era dress that dragged on the ground behind me.

I don't remember how much time I had either--sorry! (it was 8 years ago.)  I'd say 3 months would be enough time.

My sisters are my only bridesmaids so I just told them to go get something they liked in a color that was NOT a pastel.  They came up with this...

Cute dress--and a great idea!

I managed to get a vintage dress for the bridesmaids the horror story was that she went off on holiday (christmas season) and I couldn't get a hold of her, no contact from her ...on the day of the wedding she turns up 10 mins before the wedding. 

My bridesmaids wore separates -- matte satin periwinkle v-neck tops with beading around the bottom and floor-length skirts with just a whisper of a train.  I chose their dresses because the skirts could easily be shortened and the fabric could be dyed in order to turn the formal gown into the equivalent of a little black dress.

So I wasn't going to say anything but here it goes. My brother got married on 7.7.07 for like the 5th time. He had a cowboy themed wedding which HAS to go down in the worst dressed weddings hall of shame! The bride made her own hideous concoction and ordered pink dresses for the bridesmaids and attempted to dye them black. Don't ask me why she simply didn't order black dresses. The style she chose for them was less than flattering and the dye job failed miserably and the dresses turned out a putrid grey. Needless to say the marriage broke up last week and my brother is single again. I'm guessing he just as an addiction to wedding cake. 

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Pebs, you MUST send that pic to the bad bridesmaid dress website!  Whew!  Atrocious!

oh dear god!!