So we’ve covered the flowers and the bridal gown & accessories, now let’s move on to the bridesmaids and groomsmen’s attire!

The bridesmaid’s dresses were made by my mom. It really was the only way to go for me, because my older sister was pregnant and had her baby just a couple months before the wedding (so it would have been impossible to guess her size beforehand on any store bought dress) and my seven-year-old niece, Evie, was one of the bridesmaids (it would have been equally impossible to find a dress for her that matched any older girl dress styles in any store). Along the way, we had a few disagreements amongst us all about what the dresses should look like/be made out of, but in the end I think they turned out great.

I knew all along that I wanted to go with a neutral color for the bridesmaids dresses (I think brightly colored bridesmaids dresses can be distracting and take attention away from the attire of the bride), but also because I love the way they look simple, sophisticated and classy. I wanted the flowers to be the pop of color. I picked out a light champagne colored linen (it was a linen blend, to help reduce the amount of wrinkling — I liked the feel and texture of the fabric and felt it was much more flattering than a shiny taffeta-like fabric that most bridal stores sell bridesmaids dresses made out of) and we accented the dresses with champagne colored satin, tulle, and sequined fabric. I love the way the several different fabrics were incorporated differently into each dress.

I decided to go for a similar-but-different dress style and allow each girl to design the style of her dress. I’m happy that I was able to go this route and allow all my bridesmaids to pick something to wear that they were comfortable in. I was told by several people that they “could really see the personalities of each of the bridesmaids in their dresses”. The top of my older sister’s dress was even made to allow her to easily nurse baby Jackson.

I had each girl pick her own shoes as well. My only stipulation was that they be either gold, champagne, or cream colored and be some kind of heel, fancy sandal, or ballet flat. My two younger sisters and my nieces even found gold/champagne glittery shoes similar to mine. My older sister’s cream colored shoes (the third from the left) are the same shoes she wore for her own wedding day.

I told each bridesmaid to choose her own jewelry as well, just to keep it classy and neutral (gold, silver, rhinestones or pearls — no bright colors) and choose whatever she thought would go well with the style of her dress. All nails were painted either a neutral color or any shade of pink. I also told them to each do their hair however they liked. I think they all did a fabulous job with hair, shoes, and accessories!

I do really think that the personality of each of these wonderful ladies shone through their attire. Their dresses, shoes, accessories, hair, etc really did highlight each of them well. They picked things that I imagined that they would.

Speaking of them, I never properly introduced them. From left to right — my older sister, Blair, my college friend, Jessica, my younger sister, Kelsey, me, my youngest sister, Jillian, my childhood friend, Tonya, and my niece, Evie. I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to share one of the most special days of my life with these wonderful ladies. 🙂

Look how sassy my niece, Evie, is! So funny! I love all these pictures.

The littlest lady of the wedding day was my lovely two-year-old niece, Georgiana, the flower girl. Isn’t she adorable? My mom made her dress as well, out of the same materials as the big girls’ dresses. My mom actually made that basket too (sewing and basket-weaving are two of her many talents), and both the basket and the flower in her hair are the same ones that Evie used several years ago when she was a flower girl in her parent’s wedding. I love that we incorporated those same things into my wedding.

Now on to the boys!

First, to introduce them. From left to right — (in the photo above) my older brother, Blake, Drew’s older brother, Doug, Drew’s childhood friend, Ryan, then Drew of course, then Drew’s oldest brother, Robbie, Drew’s older brother, Wes, then Drew’s work friend, Yutaka.

We went with grey tuxes for all the guys (black seemed too harsh a color for a country, outdoor wedding) with an ivory/cream color tie and vest. I actually originally planned to have only Drew in the cream color and I picked out a champagne colored vest and tie for the groomsmen to tie better into the bridesmaids dresses, but I ended up changing it a month or so before the wedding. The bridesmaids dresses weren’t done yet, and I was worried the champagne color wasn’t going to be the right color. I wish I had stuck with it, I think it would have looked better overall, but it’s not that big of a deal.

I love these silly shots of them! In the one below, they are all freaking out over Drew’s wedding ring, except that we took pictures before the ceremony and I forgot to give him the ring to wear for the picture! Oh well, it is still funny!

All of us:

So happy to have had all of these incredible people be a part of our lives and a part of our wedding day. 🙂

—————————————————————

All pictures taken by the wonderful Stephanie Milligan of Stephanie’s Photography. I highly recommend her if you are in need of a wonderful photographer! Check out her website, here.

To read about our wedding flowers, check out this post. To read about my bridal attire, check out this post.