There was a time when I thought I’d always be the bridesmaid and never the bride. I thought the film 27 Dresses was written about me! But despite being a bridesmaid more than three times, I’ve luckily now been a bride too. Before being married, I was a flower girl as a toddler, a bridesmaid twice as a child and a chief bridesmaid two times as an adult. My roles at the weddings were to look cute, to play a part in a family wedding and to provide support and guidance to close friends (in that order). It was certainly an honour to be part of the wedding party and enjoy the celebrations and their special day.
Plus one lasting part of being a bridesmaid is being able to enjoy wearing the beautiful dress again at other occasions after the wedding (although the orange puff sleeve dress from when I was a bridesmaid in the 1980s sadly doesn’t still feature in my wardrobe!)
Traditionally bridesmaids would’ve worn exactly the same as the bride to confuse evil spirits and protect the bride from bad luck. Nowadays bridesmaids are chosen to support the bride and to honour the part that friends and family have played in the bride’s life.
According to Cool Daily Infographics, there are around 11 million bridesmaids a year, brides have an average of 5 bridesmaids each, with 64% of brides dressing their bridesmaids in identical outfits.
Here is some wonderful insight from the lovely and highly talented Mrs W Tutus on the growing trends in bridesmaids’ dresses and why you should choose a tutu for your bridesmaids.
I’ve seen a lot of bridesmaids dresses over the years – as the eldest daughter of a Vicar, when you are very small an exciting Saturday afternoon excursion is to go and watch the arrival at Church of the Bride and her Bridesmaids/Flower Girls and swoon over the pretty dresses in front of you!
The wide ranging choices for dressing the littlest members of your Bridal party (and the big members for that matter) can seem hugely overwhelming – do you opt for something traditional from a Bridal boutique, scour the High Street for the right choice or opt for handmade?
Unsurprisingly, I am a big advocate for all things handmade – the benefit of choosing to have something made specifically for your little ladies is you get to have EXACTLY what you have been picturing in your mind during the dreaming/planning process and can be sure that no-one else will have dresses like yours!
Whether your wedding is going to be an incredibly traditional religious ceremony or something a little more outlandish and out of the ordinary, chances are there is a Tutu or Tutu Dress out there (or somewhere within the depths of your imagination) that will fit perfectly with your chosen theme.
If Traditional or Classic is your style, then choosing to put your little maids in either of my Taffeta Princess or British Belle styles offers a wonderful balance of pretty fluffy tulle coupled with the elegance of a taffeta overdress, all the finer details of which can be chosen and customised by you, whilst the Crochet Princess has a lovely Vintage feel to it, thanks to the hand crocheted bodice and wonderful oversized bow at the back.
If quirky or over the top is more your cup of tea however, opting for the Pomander Fairy or a full length tutu teamed with a Princess Streamers Bustle may be the way to go – both of these styles offer incredible amounts of wondrously fluffy tulle and most definitely appeal to the inner Princess of any Bridesmaid or Flower Girl!
Tutus are a great choice if you are choosing a Rustic theme for your wedding – a knee length tutu skirt teamed with a simple leotard are an excellent alternative to a potentially more traditional dress…….add a matching Tulle Crown and Wand and you have a great way of expressing the individuality of both the Bride and the young lady wearing it!
Another option to consider is a custom Tulle Petticoat to go under a more traditional dress – a flash of rainbow colours adds both fun and volume to an outfit……and is guaranteed to make everyone smile, courtesy of all the twirling that will be going on!
Once the Wedding Day is over, all these things make lovely additions to any little Princess’s dressing up box and can continue to be worn for many years to come!
Absolutely everything from Mrs W Tutus is handmade by herself and as well as existing designs, she is always excited to create something totally unique based on your own ideas – she has 42 colours of tulle that you can choose from, be it a single or mix of colours and some of which come in both sparkle and glitter tulle, so you can be confident that it will be a perfect match for your chosen theme.
For more information, go to www.mrswtutus.co.uk or email kate@mrswtutus.co.uk
