It seems pretty common these days to have a long distance bridal party. Couples often do not get married in their hometown or city. School and work can move people across the state, country, or world. However you slice it, geography is a challenge. Such is the case with my bridal party. My maid of honor, N, is my best friend from college and lives in New York. My bridesmaid, M, is my best friend from graduate school and also lives in New York. While I couldn’t imagine including anyone other than these dear friends in the wedding, the distance has caused some issues.

One of the biggest of those issues has been the bridesmaids dresses. From the beginning, I decided that I wanted to pay for the dresses myself. My ladies were hauling themselves all the way across the country. The least I could do was try and help them out with a few of the expenses, right? So I got the cost question out of the way quickly, but then it gets a bit dicey. I also wanted them to be able to try the dresses on themselves. I am a firm believer in trying on clothes before you purchase them because you truly never know what it will look like on you. (This makes internet shopping very difficult for me!)

I wrote a post many moons ago about dress lengths and colors. Well, I finally made some decisions (a huge deal for an indecisive girl like me).

Color: Black.
Length: Tea Length.
Style: Simple, elegant, with a hint of vintage.
Price: $150 or less.

While the choices seemed practically endless (little black dresses around the world, UNITE!), I scoured the internet for hours trying to find one dress that would fit the above criteria, flatter all body types, and also be housed in a store with locations in New York. Then I realized that I had failed to look at the one store with affordable dresses and locations across the country: David’s Bridal.

This weekend, I checked any negative assumptions of David’s Bridal at the door, and traveled to the closest store in Los Angeles. I say “negative assumptions” because I have read many bad reviews of this place in the past, and therefore was tentative of what I would find. But I tried to keep an open mind. Lucky for me I did keep an open mind, because who would’ve imagined my surprise when I found this dress (pictured in green, but I would buy my dresses in black):

The makings of a fabulous little black dress!! It fit the criteria and seemed to be very flattering for most body types (in particular, it isn’t too clingy and leaves room for an ample chest). Also, I am a bit of a stickler about fabric. I like to see the fabric in person and touch it. I have noticed that when browsing online, it is always a bit difficult for me to tell if fabric looks “cheap” or not. The above dress is made well and the fabric is nice: details that I would have never been able to differentiate if I hadn’t been able to see the dress in person. I only mention all of this because I originally had my heart set on a different dress that I saw on davidsbridal.com. In fact, I didn’t even notice my final choice when I browsed the website. So my advice? Try your best to see the dress in person. It could save you time and money in the end.

I will also mention that while I was there, I registered at David’s. Now all my ladies have to do is go to their nearest David’s store, give the salesperson my name, and they can pull up the color and style number. Voila! Long distance bridesmaids done easy. Now I am just hoping the ladies like it.

Do you have a long distance bridal party? How have you dealt with the difficulties of distance? Also, if you have had experience with bridesmaids dresses and David’s Bridal…I’d love to hear your feedback!

Image Source: David’s Bridal Spring 2009 Wedding Party Catalog, pg. 19.