Nontraditional Bridesmaid Dresses

Being a bridesmaid in a wedding is a huge honor. After all, a bridesmaid gets to stand besides the bride on her big day and support her through the many months leading up to it. In the past, though, bridesmaid dresses have been a source of headaches for many bridesmaids.

Luckily for bridesmaids everywhere, brides are stepping off the beaten path and selecting more interesting and unique bridesmaid dresses. With trends like mixing and matching dresses, bridesmaids wearing sweaters, and even non-matching dresses, there are a lot of new styles for brides to choose from! Thinking you might need a suggestion or two as to where to start looking for these nontraditional dresses? The answer may be closer than you think!

Anthropologie — Many brides are finding great looking alternative bridesmaid dresses from the upscale chain store, Anthropologie. With stores in Greenwich and Westport, Anthropologie offers brides a chance to outfit their wedding party in dresses that they will not only love, but will be able to wear again. A helpful tip: check out BHLDN, which is a wedding company that is owned by the creative powers behind Anthropologie, and is centered around all things wedding.

J. Crew — In the past five years or so J.Crew has really taken over the wedding market with their line of preppy and stylish wedding and bridesmaid dresses. J.Crew offers brides the chance to outfit their bridal party in elegant bridesmaid dresses that work for both the budget and style of just about any wedding. With dresses ranging from $99 and up, every bridesmaid will be able to find a dress that works for her size, shape and taste.

Bella Bridesmaid — This national chain of bridesmaid dress stores offers elegant dresses from a wide variety of designers. Located in the heart of Westport, Bella Bridesmaids showcases some of the best upscale bridesmaid dresses around.

One of the best wedding trends to come out in the past few years is brides allowing their bridesmaids to mix and match their dresses. This is great news not just for the bridesmaids who don't want to be in a dress they don't like but also it opens up an entire new world of bridesmaid shopping possibilities. Think about heading to your favorite independent store and seeing what dresses they out for summer, I bet you will be able to find a great dress that fits the wedding day. Some of my favorites to check out are La Moda & Snappy Gator in Fairfield, Mitchells of Westport and The Darien Sport Shop.


Maggie Lord is the founder and editor of the popular wedding blog Rustic Wedding Chic and the online wedding resource guide, Rustic Wedding Guide. Maggie is also the author of Rustic Wedding Chic the book, currently in stores and Barn Weddings coming in August 2013. Maggie lives in Fairfield with her husband and young son.

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photograph: Afterglow Photos

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