Girls in Blue

I know mismatched bridesmaid dresses can be construed as something trendy these days, but ever since I was little, it was what I envisioned bridesmaids dresses to be. My mom had mismatched bridesmaids for her wedding, and those are the first pictures that formed my vision of what a wedding looks like. The only wedding I attended as a child was my aunt's, in 1984, and the dresses were pink and poofy - you can imagine the horror! With those two images of what bridesmaids look like juxtaposed in my head, you can clearly see why I was drawn to mismatched, individual styles.

As a bridesmaid (3 times thus far, my 4th time will be in August), I have always hated wearing the same dress as everyone else.  Even if I love the dress, there's nothing like wearing the exact same dress as girls who are built differently than me (in my case I've always been the biggest bridesmaid) and feeling like people are comparing me to the other girls. It's hard not to when you're wearing the exact same thing.

With nothing pastel and nothing bright blue being the only requirement I am giving my bridal party for the color of their bridesmaids dress,  I am allowing each girl to pick their own dress and style in a shade of blue ranging from slate blue through navy.  I do not care if the dresses are short or long, ballgowns, strapless, halter, whatever.  Each of my bridesmaids is a beautiful woman and will pick something that looks good on them.  I worry that my vision will not look how I have imagined it will, which is something along the lines of this:

Image via Marc Anthony Photography

Or this:

Image via Style Me Pretty / photo by Jen Fariello

Or even something like this:

Image via Paige Newton Photography

The colors of this last picture, with the length/formality of the first two I think accurately captures my vision.

What I love about the first and the last picture is seeing big bridal parties with all different dresses, without it looking like a mess.  I want each girl to feel comfortable and gorgeous in the dress of her choosing, and ultimately want each girl to choose a dress that she will really love wearing.  All the pictures I am drawn to all have the girls in the same length dresses, so maybe I should limit my dress choices to just one length.

Has anyone done a mix-matched bridal party with different lengths, colors, & styles while still managing to pull off a cohesive look?  What do you think of mismatched bridesmaids?