This controversial wedding trend is becoming a Thing

When it comes to wedding guest attire, we recently shared insights on the best shoes, dress codes, and a comprehensive list of spring wedding attire. To add wedding prep outfit ideas and more, today we’re changing direction slightly to focus on the bridesmaid trend that’s causing quite a bit of controversy in our office right now.

Let me start by saying that I attended three weddings last summer, so most of my weekend plans and conversations revolved around planning or traveling to my next wedding destination. Read on for bridesmaid trends that I was surprised to identify with.

Controversial trend: second dresses for bridesmaids

You might think that after attending three weddings in the last year, my dress planning energy and bank account would be sweating from the thought of buying another dress for the wedding weekend, but I’m in the middle of this trend that I accidentally started: the wedding party second look. Hear me out on why I’m so passionate about this idea. A wedding is one of the few times you get to meet all of your favorite people in one place, and if you’re chosen for a wedding party (which is an honor), that means you’ll be wearing the same or similar outfit as the other girls in the party.

For this reason, I suggested a wedding party “look again” to a friend of mine. I admit I was a bit joking when I suggested it, but when my friend was so into it, I thought we should make it official. My friend and bride-to-be said she would be frustrated if the bridesmaids wanted to change and wanted everyone to enjoy the night and feel comfortable in whatever they wore. This is by no means necessary, but it is just an option for those who want to change the wedding party after the bride wears a second set of makeup. This topic becomes controversial when I casually talk about it in the office as the team is 50/50 for and against the idea.

Our EIC, Kat Collings, even chimed in: “I was understatedly shocked when Michelle told me about the new trend of giving bridesmaids the option to wear a second look. Being a bridesmaid is already a bit harsh in my opinion, and having to consider another dress (even though I already owned it) and pack it in seemed like extra pressure. I knew it was likely optional, but I didn’t want to be the only one wearing a bridesmaid’s dress because everyone else had transitioned to looking cooler. At the heart of the argument, though, is the fact that people don’t like wearing bridesmaid dresses. I bet if you could wear a bridesmaid’s dress that you felt was truly beautiful and unique, no one would want to take a second look!” I understand what she meant, but for me, the idea of wearing a dress I was really excited after all the bridesmaid duties were done because the night made me so happy. Read on to purchase the dress I am considering for my next wedding party second look.

Choosing a bridesmaid dress for the second look of your wedding party