The Big Bridesmaid Decision

So my sister came to visit last week. She's the first in my family to come see me since the proposal. We're pretty tight-knit; we're just not good with travel. Anyway, the weekend was filled with fun and laughter and poor food choices (I'm back on track now! Well, sorta.). The weekend was also filled with some big wedding plan changes. I've changed my colors and the whole look of the wedding!!!

In addition to having my sister here, another bridesmaid was in town, too. My sister and I picked her up from the airport last Friday, and with the realization that we were about 10 minutes from the bridal boutique we were supposed to attend on Saturday, we decided to take a sneak peak. We were looking for bridesmaids dresses. I found my dress months ago on a whim (A future blog post to give all the details is in the works.). Thank goodness. The visit was GODAWFUL!!! If you're in the market for bridal goods, skip Katherine's in Alexandria, VA. They were rude and extremely unfriendly. Unfriendly like, "Why don't you all just look up the dresses your interested in and come back another day" as we stood at the racks and explained that we wanted to scout dresses that day to make our visit with the bulk of the bridal party less stressful. I could speculate for days as to why we were mistreated (Hmph...I hate pulling that card, but it's so hard not to), but why waste energy on them?

I knew I couldn't bring the rest of the bridal party there the next day. Not only were they rude, but the space was CRAMPED. The dresses were tightly packed on racks that were way too small. While my sister and one of my girls tried on dresses (They are one of the few places that carry the full Jim Hjelm line. We made a pact to try and not to buy from them.), I looked for another shop that carried the line. The heavens opened, and we were led to Hannelore's in Old Town Alexandria, VA:

The ladies at Hannelore's were AMAZING!! They were kind, courteous, and quick to let us know that the ladies at Katherine's are known for being "trashy" (Ha! Love that little bit of messiness!). While there, one of my bridesmaids found her dress, and we agreed to bring the rest of the bridal party the next day.

For the rest of the afternoon and evening, we shopped and then went back to the house where the bridal party discussion continued. While my sister thought the navy looked good, she got me to thinking. Ain't nothin' like family. She reminded me that: (1) I am not a "traditional bride" and (2) I never planned to have 7 bridesmaids and (3) I could break the rules if I wanted. This motivated me to rethink my thinking. I was getting caught up in the WIC (wedding industrial complex, as I've seen it called on these here internetS). I was already going to let my ladies pick their own dresses. Once we saw the picture below, it was ON:

After some hemming and hawing and prodding from my sister, I've decided to do something similar in a metallic color palette. Here's my inspiration board:


I am in love with the new palette. I'm excited about the day. Each bridesmaid can bring her own personality to her look. I've told them that I want them to look like their best selves, and I really, really mean it. I'll be back with more inspiration posts in a few. This mismatched bridesmaids thing is really taking off in the bridal world. We can't go wrong with metallics. Until next time...