Love ’em or hate ’em, black bridesmaid dresses are here to stay. With so many brides now choosing black dresses for their attendants, it can be pretty easy for them all to blend into a sea of sameness from one wedding to the next. The key to avoiding this is to add special details in the cut of the dresses, accessories, and flowers to make your bridesmaids’ attire feel unique. These are some great ways to personalize black bridesmaid dresses.

Unique dresses are a good place to start. Of course a lot of brides choose black because it allows each bridesmaid to shop for her own dress, but it is reasonable to give your attendants some guidelines. You could ask them to select dresses with a striking neckline, such as a one shoulder or a tip of the shoulder design. Or perhaps you could request that your bridesmaids seek out dresses in a flirty fabric like silk chiffon. Without become a style dictator, a bride could also reasonably request that her bridesmaids seek out dresses with special details (it need not be the same detail for every bridesmaid), such as ruffles, tiered skirts, crystal accents, or interesting hemlines.

When choosing flowers for your bridesmaids to carry, black dresses are a very neutral backdrop. Almost anything will work, although you do have to be careful about how certain colors combine with black, such as orange (too Halloween) and yellow (hello, bumblebee!). The bouquets offer you an opportunity to send the black bridesmaid dresses in a more specific direction. For a summer wedding, try flowers in bright festive colors like lime green, fuchsia, and orange (pairing it with other colors negates the Halloween association). If yours is an evening wedding, cascade bouquets featuring lush purple orchids would be the height of style with the black bridesmaid dresses. Bright red roses are popular for winter weddings with black satin gowns, or create fall bouquets featuring reds, yellows, and oranges to carry against black silk dupioni dresses.

Jewelry is another excellent way to add character to black bridesmaid dresses. Consider having unique custom bridesmaid jewelry created for a really special accent. To give your dresses more of a classic style, pink pearl tin cup necklaces made with pearls in a large diameter would be very graceful and ladylike. Or opt for colorful custom Swarovski crystal bridesmaid jewelry which pulls in a color from their bouquets. Bold colors like peridot and siam red would be marvelous for statement jewelry. Certainly the timeless style of clear or “ab” finish crystals would also be gorgeous with black dresses, if you prefer to a more understated glamor.

Shoes are a fantastic way to personalize black bridesmaid dresses! Forget about black shoes to match the dresses, and seek out festive shoes with style. Silver high heeled sandals are always nice, although it would be fun to do something a bit wilder. Consider a sassy leopard print peep toe pump or a chartreuse green silk high heel Mary Jane. If flats are what your bridesmaids prefer, choose exciting ones with a rhinestone brooch at the toe or burgundy velvet flats for a holiday wedding. While their bags do not need to match the shoes, keep them in mind when seeking out fun coordinating bridesmaid accessories.

With so many ways to personalize black bridesmaid dresses, they never need look generic or funereal. From shoes to flowers to jewelry, there are an infinite number of possible combinations. Your personal touches can go a long way towards making your neutral bridesmaid dresses as unique as the rest of your wedding.

Author Bio: Bridget Mora writes for Silverland Jewelry about weddings, fashion, and trends. Let the designers at http://silverlandjewelry.com/ create fabulous custom bridesmaid jewelry your attendants will love! All jewelry orders over $99 receive free shipping.

Category: Marriage
Keywords: custom bridesmaid jewelry, black bridesmaid dresses, bridesmaid accessories