After saying yes to your best friend, it’s your turn to pop the question to your closest friends! As much as I love hearing about how your fiance proposed, it’s almost just as fun to hear about how you asked your bridesmaids to stand next to you on your wedding day. This season of life is special for you and your future hubby, but it’s also such a sweet time to share with all of your sweet friends. They get to shower you, support you, shop for dresses and so much more!

Last year I had the privilege to be the maid of honor in one of my best friend’s wedding, and I’m currently helping my sister plan her July wedding as her maid of honor. I’ve gotten to take part in my fair share of dress shopping so I completely understand how fun, exciting, and sometimes frustrating it can be. There are so many things to consider when shopping for bridesmaids dresses like the color, the length, the fabric, the style and more! There are endless options and pros and cons to each. The length of the dresses is always usually one of the biggest parts to the debate, so I’d love to share some of my thoughts on whether you should go with short or long dresses!

1. Consider the season of your wedding. This may be pretty obvious, but the temperature of your wedding day can potentially play a role in deciding the length of your bridesmaid dresses. Typically, the bridesmaids in winter weddings wear long dresses, while I see a lot more short dresses in the summer time. That doesn’t mean that you can’t wear long dresses in the summertime, though! People often choose long dresses in the summer time for some of the below reasons!
2. Consider the formality of your wedding. Short dresses are less formal than long dresses, so if you are planning more of a casual affair, then these might be the ones for you! They are fun, care-free and have a lot more breathing room. They also showcase some personality, since they can show off the shoes! Long dresses are on the more formal side and also hide a lot of inconsistencies (like different shoes). In pictures, long dresses also hide whether or not your bridesmaids have the feet together, apart, etc.
3. Consider the height or your bridesmaids. If you are wanting your bridesmaids to all look exactly the same, then a long dress might be the best way to go because the hemlines all hit the floor. If you prefer the mismatched look, then short dresses may be better because it is a lot more difficult to match the hemlines on bridesmaids that are all different heights. However, it isn’t a must that everyone be in the same hemline anymore. Sometimes, brides will put their maid of honor in a long dress, and the rest of their bridesmaids in a short dress. It’s completely up to you!

Alright, hopefully this is helpful for you as your and your bridesmaids start dress shopping! At the end of the day, it is your wedding, so you should pick what you want to them to wear. I’m just here to offer some insights for what I’ve seen on wedding days and share them with you. Happy wedding planning!