Pretty Maids All in a Row: The Girls' Girls

Alternate title: A Promise Made.
or
Yes, I Will Be Talking About Boobs, But Only In As Far as They Pertain to Bridesmaid's Dresses (see why I didn't go with that title?)

A long time ago, back before engagement, before pre-gagement, heck, even before I met Mr. Aardvark, I made a promise to Bridesmaid Red. You see, Red has been in more weddings than anyone I know, a few of which were during our stint as roommates.

 As such, she had been subjected to all manor of strapless dress/bra combinations that ranged from "Just plain ugly" to physically painful. As her roommate I heard and saw the anguish these contraptions put her through.  I promised here then and there, that if I ever got married, she would be able to wear the most comfortable bra she owned, and the dress would hold itself up no matter how much she danced (let's face it, there will be a lot of dancing).

(Image via Burda Style)

There will be none of that going on at my wedding! Well, maybe there will be some, but not from the wedding party! And I've heard it all about how well made dresses stay up better... but that doesn't necessarily mean they are comfortable for getting your groove on. Anyway... I digress.


Now, fast forward about four years. I am engaged, I have asked 5 amazing ladies to stand up with me as I say my vows, and (of course) I have told them all about the promise I made to Red. I don't know if you have looked at bridesmaids dresses lately, (who am I kidding, you are reading a wedding blog, of course you have looked at bridesmaid's dresses) but the vast majority of them are strapless! Seriously, about 98.78%... This is not only an issue for the bra wearing members of my wedding party (that would be all of them), but also for Bridesmaid Sis, who will be 13 at the time of the wedding. Call me old fashioned, but isn't that a smidge young to be going strapless?

Our narrowed down options have, in no way been a hindrance to the hunt! Mostly because the 1.22% of  dresses out  there that actually have straps, are more than enough to choose from. In fact, I would even go so far as to say, it has save me from being super overwhelmed. If you recall, these are the current front runners:



(Images from Dessy and Bari Jay)



We have not even looked at dresses that aren't from "Bridal" brands yet either. So I am quite confident we will be able to locate one (or five) style(s) that work for everyone.

Did you make any promises to your wedding party really early on? Are you glad you did? Are they glad you did?