Okay, so let me start off this blog post with this disclaimer:

This blog post is all about why I love the mixed bridesmaids trend, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love the tradition and the balance that comes from having all the bridesmaids wear the same dress. I do! (Play on words intended.)

I simply think that there is room for more than one type of trend for bridesmaids in this wedding planning world. Just because “mixed maids” is popular, doesn’t mean that having all girls in the same dress is dumb now. It’s not. It still looks beautiful and there’s a lot of nice tradition there. Please don’t take offense by this blog post, and also please don’t panic that what you’re doing is wrong! If this trend is not for you or your vision, just remember – it’s your wedding. You do you and pick what you want to look at in your photos. It’s your wedding. A fact I can never emphasize enough.

So that’s that. Onto the blog!

As you may have noticed, modern couples are doing whatever the hell the want when they plan their wedding day. I love it and I’m here for it! They embrace traditions they want, toss out ones they don’t care about and start completely new ones of their own. One of the trends I’ve been so jazzed about (yes, jazzed) is the start of the mixed bridesmaids dress trend.

This trend isn’t exactly new, it’s been on the rise for years. I honestly don’t know what started the trend. My guess is it started out when convertible dresses came into play a few years ago, but I’m writing this after three hours of sleep and little coffee, so please don’t site this for Wikipedia because I didn’t research.

The idea of mixing the necklines up and switching around the looks with all the same dress was super exciting when the convertible dresses first came out. When I first started in bridal, people would call endlessly for convertible dresses. I would spend so much time during my day demonstrating the different ways to tie off the neckline and watch as excitement took over everyone’s faces.

But here’s the thing about convertible dresses: You have to learn how to use them and also there’s always a weird amount of extra fabric in the back.

In walks the hero of this blog post: Mixed Maids! For those of you new to wedding planning or if you haven’t been in a wedding before, the concept is simple. Couples let bridesmaids choose what they want to wear! I know. It’s mind blowing stuff. Modern couples are straight up wild!

The most common way to do it is when the couple sets some parameters, such as bridesmaids need to all choose from the same color, fabric and designer. I call it the convertible dress idea, or the mixed neckline look, because the result is similar to the effect of the convertible dress, without the need to tie your neckline in 80 ways or watch a YouTube how to video. All the bridesmaids have the neckline of their choice, but the dresses all coordinate in the official wedding color.

I love this. I think this way you still get your uniformity from your bridesmaids, but they get to choose a dress they feel comfortable wearing. Couples get their perfect wedding vision. Bridesmaids don’t have to pay for a dress they immediately want to burn.

Insert the following exclamations I hear every appointment:

“You mean I don’t HAVE to wear a one shoulder just because Susan looks great it in it?!”

“Omg! This is great! Can I tell you about the time I had to wear this [insert awful silhouette/neckline/color] dress to my sister’s wedding?”

“I’ll actually use this again when I attend someone else’s wedding in a few months.”

Here are my top three reasons I love this trend:

1. They are paying for this dress.

People are excited about this process and I find are more likely to not pitch a fit about having to chip in for their own dresses when they truly like the dress. In my experience, girls don’t mind paying for their own bridesmaid dress when they feel like they have some control over what they look like. That doesn’t mean green-light the $600 gown that you’ve been eyeing on your Pinterest inspo board if they can’t afford it, in case that’s where your mind just went. I didn’t say they’d break their budget or get something they can’t afford, just that they didn’t mind paying for their dress as much.

2. Mixed bridesmaids is kinder to bridesmaids of different body shapes

Most of the time, plus size bridesmaids are not comfortable with whatever dress a tall size nothing is wearing. And a petite bridesmaid is probably going to drown in something that looks great on someone with a larger bustline. If you have a bridesmaid in need of a maternity dress, or who is going to be welcoming a new baby in the months before your wedding, she’s probably going to need a slightly different look, too.

My point is, that people are different. And they don’t all have the same taste or feel comfortable in the same looks. Mixing up the bridesmaids dresses is a way to them the ability to express themselves, feel comfortable and look great on your wedding day.

3. It considers other people

It’s your wedding. I have said it about 100 times in this post and others. However, your bridesmaids are a part of it. And theoretically you are supposed to love – or at the very least tolerate – the people who are up there with you when you say, “I do.” If it doesn’t sacrifice your perfect wedding vision to let them choose a dress or mix things up, maybe it isn’t the worst thing in the world to hear them out, or find a bridesmaids look that makes them a little happy? Just a thought.

If you’re worried about how to coordinate, lean on your bridesmaids’ stylist. Likely they’ve seen all the different successful combinations of mixed maids, from a choose your own adventure collection to an ombre palette to every other bridesmaid in a different color to the mixed neckline look. We are here to help you figure this out!

I could go on, but I my word count is at 1,000 and climbing now and I’ve probably lost half the people reading. In my humble opinion as someone who sells this stuff and also has been a bridesmaid, this wedding look deserves to move from hip trend to a mainstay, dare I say even a tradition. It’s a trend that balances bridesmaids’ feelings with a couple’s vision for a perfect day in a truly successful way! Just give this wedding look a chance, or at least entertain the idea by looking at some inspo on Pinterest or Insta.

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