Bridesmaids Dresses - CHECK!

Next to cross off of my list: my bridesmaids dresses. And this one was, by far, the easiest! Thanks completely to my sister/maid of honor who has been keeping a sharp eye out for deals.

My original plan was to let each girl pick out their own dress in a color I chose, like these lovely bridesmaids:

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I was considering the mismatched dress option to save my lovely ladies some money and let them find a style that was flattering on them. I am in two weddings this fall and both brides chose dresses around $100. Now, I rarely spend $100 on a dress. And when you add shoes, jewelry, gifts, parties, etc., the cost of standing up next to your BFF while she says, "I do!" can get a bit ridiculous.  Don't get me wrong, there is almost NOTHING out there for bridesmaids under $100 and both brides picked lovely dresses that I might even wear again (score!). They are simply another victim of the ridiculous wedding industry and their inflated prices the minute you say the W word.

So, I hadn't even begun to look, or asked the ladies to look, for dresses. My wedding is 8 months away and I still feel like I have tons of time (The joke is on me, right? I know...). My sister was out shopping one day and emailed me pictures of an absolutely adorable red dress at Stein Mart (of all places...) for under $40. They are classic, pretty and wearable as you can see from my little sis modeling it here:

Cute, right? I love it! So Liz begged Stein Mart to put a few dresses in various sizes on hold for a few days while bridesmaids came to try it on. It seems like a go, although not all 5 girls have been able to try on their size. Three are being ordered from stores out of the state, so we won't really know if this is THE DRESS until they've all tried their size on and given me a thumbs up. But, I'm feeling positive about it all. The dress seems to fit well and is a beautiful red. The best part? I didn't have to do a smidge of work to find them. Yes!!

We'll still have one more lady in the wedding party to dress, but I think (fingers crossed) we should be able to find her an option that complements this dress easily.