When Michael and I started planning out our wedding we both were in agreement that we didn’t want either bridesmaids or groomsmen to be in the exact same outfits. Our wedding was pretty casual and laid back and having everyone matching just didn’t seem to follow suit. So, in today’s post I’m going to share HOW we ended up being pretty successful in our endeavors.
Know what you’re getting into
Originally I thought having mismatched bridesmaids and groomsmen would be easier. People could shop wherever they wanted! Well, let me tell you how that ended up: HAHAHAHAHAH! Yea, mismatched wedding party isn’t easier or all that more cost effective for the party.
Set the bridesmaid’s colors and fabrics
I knew the color range I wanted my girls, so I sent them each out a range of colors that they could choose from. There are tons of great color palette options available all over if you don’t have an idea. I assigned each girl a color, to prevent everyone from ending up in the same color. Next, I let them know some basic guidelines (stick to chiffon or chiffon-like fabric, nothing shiny, no gems, belts, or sequins) to make sure that even when the colors were different, the dresses would still mesh. The hardest part for the girls was finding colors that were close, but not identical. A few times I thought that we weren’t going in the right direction but on the day of the girls all looked perfect together!
Oh, and of course I threw in a kink that I wanted my Maid of Honor in something “different.” I left that open-ended, whether she was going to be in something with sequins, a pattern, a maxi. She and I quickly decided that we would love to find a floral maxi that matched the rest of the girls. Enter months of online searches and fruitless shopping trips. Finally, we snagged the perfect one! See what determination can do? But, also see what I mean about mismatch not being easier.
Don’t OVER Mismatch
As explained a little in the above point, you want some aspects to mismatch (colors, style) but still keep some things cohesive so that the look still comes together (dress length, fabric type, embellishments.) Choose SOME items to not match, and some that should.
How to mismatch the Groomsmen
Michael really didn’t want the guys in matching suits because he wanted them to have the flexibility to get a style that fit their body type – you can see our guys weren’t all the same build. This worked out well for the guys and I think they all ended up purchasing which was the same price or not that much more than had they picked to rent, and they were able to keep the suit! I sent them a range of grey from a light-medium to a medium gray and just said, “keep it within this!” I was so surprised how close their suits all came, you almost can’t even tell they didn’t buy them together.
Ties was another story. I wanted the ties mismatched and didn’t really want them in the girls colors because blush pink ties rubbed me the wrong way. Instead, I opted to have them match Michael’s navy suit and just have small hints back to the girls with one guy in a floral tie with blush and sage, another with an off-white checkered pattern, and so on.
Let is go, let is goooo
If you didn’t read that like the song you should go back and do it again. But, at some point in mismatching your wedding party you just have to let go of your picture and hope for the best. The greens my girls ended up in skewed more mint than I orginally planned and the first idea of having a darker blush in the mix had to get pushed to the wayside. So long as you have a good basic idea, the beauty of a mismatched wedding party is that you get some wiggle room.
That does it! If you have any questions go ahead and leave them in the comments!