Does it ever feel like everyone has been trying to introduce more freedom to choosing bridesmaid dresses, but it’s just become more stressful instead? This idea that we can improve the bridesmaid dress shopping process by adding more options comes from a good place. We want our best people to feel fierce and comfortable when they party with us on our wedding day. And we don’t want them to go into debt doing it. But the truth is, the alternatives—pick your own dress/wear a LBD/anyone else remember the utterly useless tip to shorten your bridesmaid gown after the wedding?—often just make an already fraught process more complicated. In my experience, what most bridesmaids really want is 1) a bridesmaid dress shopping process that’s painless, 2) options that fit them and are flattering, and 3) a gown that doesn’t cost $300 before alterations.
And that’s where our longtime partner Brideside is reinventing the game. They have taken a process that we have all totally over-complicated out of the desire to make our friends happy and made it dead simple enough to actually make everyone happy.
For starters, their dedicated style consultant service (fancy title for a real-life person devoted to making sure y’all end up with cute dresses on time and on budget) totally streamlines the dress selection and buying process for both brides trying to wrangle their crew and procrastinating members of said crew—like myself. Your stylist can help figure out which dress styles and colors will be the most flattering, and then coordinate your bridal party to make sure everyone orders their dresses on time and in the right sizes. And when I say real person, I mean it—I have personally used Brideside and ended up wishing my style consultant was there to help keep me organized for… every major event of my life? (A girl can dream, right?)
The helpful human aspect paired with their Warby Parker-esque at-home try-on program (which I have also used personally) and wide selection of modern designs means that Brideside basically marries all the convenience of internet shopping with none of the risk or overwhelm.
While there is a part of me that wants to believe that sequin jumpsuits and velvet evening gowns are the standard bridesmaid uniform these days, my experiences actually being a bridesmaid over the last few years tell me that that’s just not true. (😢) There have been one or two sequin gowns in the mix, but most of the weddings I’ve participated in have involved a more traditional bridesmaid gown. You know the one. Long. Flowy. Coordinates with the rest of the wedding party. And actually, I have zero beef with that. Because while I love me a sequin gown, there’s something really nice about being told to choose a dress by this designer in this color and that length, instead of being thrown to the wolves and told to choose whatever I want.
So when Brideside launched their own private label bridesmaid dress collection earlier this year, it quickly became my go-to recommendation for traditional bridesmaid dress options, but better. Think: super flattering, on-trend styles that coordinate effortlessly with one another, in two dozen modern colors, made out of beautiful fabrics, and even some (really cute) maternity styles—for less than $200. Plus, because Brideside has committed themselves to size advocacy in bridesmaid dress shopping (they recently pushed a few of their partners to drop the additional charge on plus size bridesmaid dresses), you’ll note that all of their private label gowns are available from a size 0 up to a 28 long.
For the spring, Brideside just added a bunch of new styles to their collection, and the new Spring 2019 dresses are romantic without being fussy and feature designs that fit almost any wedding vibe. Casual poolside barbecue wedding? Sure! Fancy formal ballroom wedding? Absolutely! Trendy urban loft wedding? Definitely. And at $180 (regardless of whether you’re ordering straight size or plus size), they’re about the same price your squad would spend if you turned them loose in a department store. Except Brideside’s dresses actually look comfortable. And did I mention that at-home-don’t-have-to-leave-your-house-to-try-them-on program?
Here are a few of my favorites from the spring collection:
Brideside’s newest dresses are available online, in showroom appointments, and via home try-on—aka Brideside’s gift to you and your squad’s sanity. So go sign up, and get chatting with your style consultant today. Then kick back, relax, and let those bridesmaid dresses come to you.
CLICK HERE to meet your style consultant and explore all of Brideside’s new private label bridesmaid dresses.
This post was sponsored by Brideside, the complimentary styling service dedicated making bridesmaid dress shopping a piece of cake. With a selection of hundreds of dresses, in size 00–30, and a team of dedicated style consultants, Brideside hopes to make the dress shopping experience a more positive one for all your wedding party members. Shop online, use their Try At Home program, or visit one of their new showrooms. Click here to explore Brideside’s newest bridesmaid dress collection today.
