Flower Girl Dresses: Selecting their dresses

Soon Spring will be in the air – and with Spring comes weddings!

How does a bride select her flower girl dresses? There is no real set of rules; it’s really a matter of personal preference. But we can help you here with some guidelines and suggestions.

First, let’s talk about "flower girls" vs. "jr. brides maids". There is a difference in the way they are approached. Whether your child attendants are flower girls or jr. brides maids (you CAN have both) depends on both their age and their view on whether they want to be a "child attendant" or more one of the brides maids.

Flower Girls are typically young girls under age 8.

Jr. Brides Maids are older. There is no "cut off" age or real distinction other than some girls will really balk at the idea of being a "flower girl" somewhere around the age of 8-10. You can certainly still have them participate in your wedding! By simply changing their title to "jr. brides maid" you will most likely avoid any problems.

How to select flower girl dresses vs. jr. brides maid dress? If you have both flower girls and jr. brides maids, you will want to dress them differently but coordinated.

Flower girls are always sweet and adorable with a classic ballgown style dress (frothy full skirt gathered to waistline). No matter what look you select for your adult attendants, flower girls will always look darling in this type of dress. They can be filled with flower petals, if you like. But this isn’t your only choice, of course.

Flower girls typically carry a basket filled with flower petals or flowers.

Jr. brides’ maids will want to look older. Care has to be taken to still keep her looking age appropriate; after all, she is still a child attendant. While some ballgowns may appeal to some older girls, many will prefer the sleeker lines of an A-line instead of the full gathered skirt.

Jr. brides maids typically carry a small bouquet instead of a basket.

Flower girl dresses and Jr. brides maids dress can be coordinated to reflect the look of the bride or bride’s maids in many ways without having to struggle to exactly match (which is rarely possible). What do we mean?

• Match the silhouette. For instance, if you have A-line dresses for the adults, you can select an A-line style for your flower girls.
• Coordinate colors between your flower girl dresses and your jr. brides maid dresses, but select different silhouettes (such as ballgowns for the flower girls and A-lines for the jr. brides maids)
• Coordinate features of the adult dresses such as selecting a similar neckline. If you and/or your adult attendants are wearing a V neckline, for instance, select a dress with a V neckline for your flower girls and jr. brides maids.
• Other features can be reflected in your flower girl dresses. For instance, the pick-up style skirts are VERY popular with brides; you can select flower girl dresses with pick up skirts too. Your jr. brides maids will probably not go for this, though.
• Coordinate the colors with the rest of the wedding party. It’s impossible to match colors if you are ordering dresses from different companies – or even from the same company if at different times – because every dye lot is different. Instead, focus on coordinating colors by selecting different shades of the same color (lettuce green with dark green or pink with burgundy) or contrasting colors (put children in the colors of your bouquets instead of colors of your dresses), or add a splash of color with a sash, with flower petals or embroidery on a white or ivory flower girl dress.
• Length can be either tea or formal length – entirely your choice!

Finally – and we cannot stress this too strongly – don’t wait until the last minute to select and order your flower girl dresses. This causes tremendous stress and strain and frequently disappointment, too, when you find out that your first choices are not available in the little time left before the wedding. Yes, children do grow and it can be difficult to project what size they will wear for the wedding. The general rule is really very simple – always err on the large side. Any dress can be altered just before the wedding to be taken in or shortened, but most cannot be let out and probably none can be lengthened.

To avoid frustration and worry, select your flower girl dresses (and jr. brides maid dresses too) at least four months before the wedding – and get them on order right away. This allows time for them to be delivered and altered and avoids worry. If you only have three months to go, get it done today.

Also remember that if you see the dresses you want right now, you’d better place the order. All dress manufacturers change their styles regularly; what you see today may no longer be available next month. It happens all the time – avoid the frustration by not putting it off.

One of the finest selections of flower girl and jr. brides maids dresses anywhere can be found at: http://www.PerfectDresses.com. Happy shopping!