Bridesmaids: Black, White and yes, Green!

I know that you can't make everyone in your bridal party happy. As accommodating as you try to be, at the end of the day the decisions you make are going to culminate in what you think looks the best/fits your vision/makes you the prettiest lady in the room (yeah, I said it).

However, I still have kept a lot of important things in mind when choosing the "look" for my five bridesmaids. Most importantly has been affordability. Since three of my bridesmaids live out of state, I didn't want to pile on a lot of costs beyond hotel, airfare, and hair. Secondly, I focused on dresses that could potentially be worn again, dresses that I would want to wear again.

With a black and white color scheme it was a no-brainer that I was going to pick out black and white dresses for the girls. Fresh, fun and high contrast. Fortunately, there's a store that caters exactly to my color scheme - White House Black Market. Their dresses are fun, flirty and always incorporating a great twist on black and white, since that's all they do. On top of that, they're always have sales! And sending me coupons! Love it.

Source: White House Black Market

When I saw this silk houndstooth dress on White House Black Market last fall, I knew that I loved it. When I saw it on sale a couple of weeks later, I knew that my bridesmaids had to buy it. For around $100 this dress has a great black and white print but in a sillohuette that is flattering to almost anyone (no tugging on strapless dresses for my bridesmaids!) and it even has pockets!

I immediately emailed everyone and asked that they order the dress that day. We were not going to lose out on this deal. Even though it was about a year out from the wedding, and this was the first dress I had really considered, I made the decision - seeing my bridesmaids lined up in this dress is exactly how I'd envisioned they'd look.

But what about their feet, you ask? A classic black pump would be cute. But since I was wanting "pops" of green throughout the wedding, what better way to add an element of fun than with vintage-inspired green peep toe pumps?! I found a picture of these online and knew that this was the look I wanted.

Source: Newport News
Peeptoe Mary Jane Pump in green: $25

Through so much searching, however, I couldn't find these shoes (or anything like them) anywhere! However, as I was reading through A Windy City Wedding last week and found her post for these shoes (she was looking at a different shade of green for her girls). It was THE shoes!! The shoes I had been searching high and low for. And for only $25! Score.

Knowing it couldn't get any better than this, from price to style to color, I had my bridesmaids order these last week. I know some of them aren't exactly dying to own green shoes (like I am - I bought a pair for myself!), I figured that $30 after shipping is a pretty fair compromise.

So we're all set, right? Cute black and white cocktail dresses, fun green pumps, and some great jewelry (to be blogged later) to compliment everything. I really thought I'd hit a home run here. Everyone would be happy and maybe even come out of the wedding with bridesmaids who might wear a thing or two again.

Wrong. There's been a little pushback. I think my mom was totally blown off guard with the green shoes. She wanted to make sure I was sure about the green shoes. Me sure? I wish I could wear the green shoes at my wedding. And the dress. This is definitely one wedding I'd want to be in if I wasn't, well, the bride. I think there's also a little unhappiness with one or two in the bridal party.

I'm trying not to focus on the negative, because again, as much as I try, I will never fully win. Some will love everything, and others will hide the dress or shoes away in a closet, never to be seen again. And that's ok. Because my wedding pictures are going to ROCK!