Yes, that is runway, not runaway….I always thought it would be somewhat cool and unique to make the wedding aisle more like a runway and dressing everyone differently, yet cohesive. Our bridal party consists of five on each side, so my thought is to select either different colors for the ladies and/or different styles. What I have found and love is the Dessy Group jersey twist wrap dress, it can be work at least 5-6 different ways.  It seems as though this way of working the aisle is a little bit tabu, but I am determined to make it work!  Or at least sah-shay trying.

::Sidebar– I am eagerly awaiting a sample of this dress so that we can try it on and ensure that the wrapping of it is as easy as it seems::

Dress by The Dessy Group::Matte Jersey Twist

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A while back I told you all that my bridesmaids will be picking their dresses, and I am excited to announce that they have found them!!  Yay.

Here is the line up.

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I have my entire wedding set up on Martha’s site. I use all her organizational tools. I think I have looked at every link on every page. I’m a little Martha obsessed. When I came across this darling, I was off to the paper store.

From marthastewartweddings.com

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Bridesmaids dresses. I love planning – but I have one small problem… I really battle with trying to make everybody happy. I know, I know, this is OUR wedding, but I want the maids to love what they are wearing. However… this is much easier said than done.

For example, I have one maid who is 5″11′ and although she isn’t full figured, she also isn’t small boned. In contrast, I have a maid who is 5′5″ that weighs about 115 lbs with a slight frame but a not-so-slight ‘top section’… ha. Then, there is my sister – no ‘top section’, insanely tall (picture supermodel). How can tiny Mum Maid and Supermodel Mum Maid possibly wear the same thing and still look fantistic. The answer, I have decided, is THEY SIMPLY CANNOT. The solution?

Threaddesign.com – their new Party Collection offers various fabric, color and style choices without looking bridesmaidy, which I have found is also hard to avoid.

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This weekend, Sunflower mom and sis are coming to Toronto to go dress shopping! Since I’m such a keener, I’ve already scoped out the shops, and have 5 fav gowns chosen between 2 bridal shops. Sunflower mom and sis live 4 hours away, so this weekend trip is a chance for all of us to spend some QT together. So I’m making the most of it!

Friday night: Musical! We’re going to exercise my shameless love for Musicals with Sound of Music.

Saturday: With a tasteful entourage of mom, sister and Jill, we have our first appointment at Beckers Bridals. Beckers’ in house designer is Barbra Allin, who has some deliciously simple gowns in rich fabrics for modest prices. My favourite part was that they featured great structure, but were only about half of the weight of some of the other designers. (What’s with the weight of some of these dresses!?)

Barbra Allin Style 7433

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My twin sister claims to be years away from tying the knot, but we have talked about her future bridesmaid dresses on several occasions. That being said, she LOVES pink and I HATE pink!!!

Photo from http://www.elitalice.com/

(She might buy me this shirt for kicks and giggles, but I WON’T wear it!)

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So, in my two recent posts, I was frustrated and panicked about turnaround times and discontinued styles. I think I am finally at a point where I have come to terms with it and am feeling okay about it.

Hydrangea dude’s sister and I went to a bridal shop this weekend and picked out a new style for her top. Frankly, I like it better, and she is happy with it, though I think she would prefer her original choice. Either way, a new style has been chosen, and the order has been placed through the bridal shop to the vendor.

New style - Alfred Angelo #6566

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I recently posted about my anxiety over not getting my bridesmaid dresses back in time for my bridal shower trip to California, where 4 of the 5 girls will be there from various West Coast locations.  I was looking forward to the experience of seeing them all try the dresses on for the first time together.  And, it was saving us money since I was just going to bring them with me on the plane and there would be no shipping fees.

The order was placed yesterday after everyone finally submitted their sizes, styles, and deposits.  We were right on the line where the dresses would be back just as I was leaving, and I hoped that I could get them in the nick of time to bring them with me.  But, I just found out today that one of the bridesmaid dress styles is now discontinued, so they couldn’t place the order yesterday.

Discontinued Alfredo Angelo Top Style 6608 NOT available at alfredangelo.com

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However, the expected turnaround for receiving the order is 12 weeks.  I knew this ahead of time, and it’s still in plenty of time for our wedding in June.  But since 4 of the 5 girls in my wedding live on the west coast (California and Oregon), and we went with a bridal shop out east, I had planned on bringing their dresses with me in April when I go back to California for my Bridal shower.  However, now we are butting right up on the time they should be ready, and if the don’t arrive in time, I will have to ship the dresses to them.  And, we’ll lose out on the experience of everyone trying on their dresses together for the first time.

Time is Money!Watch from finkgifts.etsy.com

It’s not like these are custom-made dresses.  They are in standard sizes.  I know this is the case with almost all dress vendors, but I think their turnaround times are a little ridiculous.  But what can you do, right?

What are your thoughts?  Does anyone have a different experience?  Shorter/longer ordering times?  Has anyone received dresses before their stated date (please, please, please)?