Wedding Style: Your Style Girlfriend

Party Style

by megan | on August 2nd, 2012 | 32 comments

I rounded out my summer wedding schedule this past weekend with a friend’s nuptials in Wisconsin. I’d known the bride since…well, I kept saying high school, but really, we’re grade school friends. We played basketball and talked about (never to) boys all the way back at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parochial School. How’s that for some history? Along with the other lovely ladies in the top right corner, we all transitioned to public school when we hit freshman year, but I guess there’s something about Catholic school friendships, as we’ve all stayed close to this day.

In her speech at the rehearsal dinner Friday night, Katie made a point to tell the gathered friends and family that all her bridesmaids came from different states to be a part of her big day. I didn’t even realize that was true, but I totally loved it. Not to say that you can’t or shouldn’t end up where you’re from – I personally love being from Wisconsin, and from Madison specifically, and I know it would be an amazing place to raise kids – but I also recognize and appreciate the importance of getting the hell out of Dodge (wherever your particular Dodge may be) at least for a little while.

To be honest, I was a little worried about the decision to put all the bridesmaids in ivory (call it the Kate Middleton effect), fearing an “army of brides” vibe, but it turned out beautifully, as you can see from the top right picture. It helped that for seven of us, we got to pick from three different styles (I liked mine the best, obviously), keeping it from looking too uniform. That’s one advantage bridesmaids have over groomsmen these days I suppose – if you’ve got a good bride, you might still get to show off some individuality, as pre-determined by the bride, but at least it’s something.

Apart from a late start to the trip (when a severe thunderstorm grounded me an extra day in New York) and a late start to the reception (when a winnebago side swiped the wedding party’s mini-bus, delaying our entrance at the reception by 45 minutes), the weekend went off without a hitch. Apart from that of the bride and groom’s of course….