Match Your Bridesmaid Dresses to Your Wedding Theme

Black bridesmaid dresses are very au courant right now. Black is a universally flattering color for all shapes and sizes, and black details in your decor can work for a day or night wedding. Maybe you want your whole squad to wear LBDs. Or if you're keen on the mismatched bridesmaid trend, black satin, lace, and metallics all look amazing.

With a common color, it's hard for your bridal party not to look cohesive, even if they're wearing styles and materials of their choosing.

All-white weddings are chic. You can give your bride tribe guidance about possible silhouettes so your white wedding dress can still stand out in group photos, and it's obvious who the bride is on the big day.

Or, to be on the safe side, select a style that will look good on all the ladies (or gents) in your squad. Fit and flare silhouettes are a safe bet.

You can have so much fun with an elegant throwback theme matching your vintage big day decor. Shirt dresses with pleated skirts, cinched waists, and cuffed sleeves are modern meets retro. Think Old Hollywood glam and opt for a one-shoulder feather trim dress, or go for voluminous sleeves and buttons down the back of a dress.

Off-the-shoulder necklines are keepers from the 1950s, and fringed Great Gatsby flapper dresses from the Roaring Twenties are also winners. Embroidery is a significant element in vintage themes too.

Emerald, sapphire, and ruby-colored dresses barely scratch the surface of this category. Deep hues can reinforce your theme, and bring all the drama, and you don't have to restrict them to fall. It's your wedding—you make the rules.

Square necklines are very in at the moment, as are high-low hems to show off snazzy shoes. Full-length dresses add supermodel flair.

If you're going for the watercolor cake design that's all the rage these days, draped satin dresses in pastel colors are subtle but stunning. Structured crepe dresses with cowl necks are so pretty too, especially for weddings with more formal dress codes. Empire waistlines work for petite bridesmaids if you have shorties in your crew.

Get your girls to wear an ice cream color of their choice but select a style, or stick to one pastel shade with carte blanche on the type of dress.

If your theme is minimalist, sleek bias-cut dresses fit the bill. A tastefully simple slip dress like the one Victoria Beckham wore to her son Brooklyn's wedding is also en vogue—slip dresses are versatile and timeless.

Minimalist high-neck halters with low backs look fantastic, and asymmetric necklines and puff sleeves are trendy.

Note, we're not recommending your bridesmaids arrive au naturel—that might violate some public indecency laws. There are two ways to interpret this theme. You can have rustic bridesmaid dresses in muted colors and a botanical thread running through your decor. Or, if you're passionate about the environment and saving the planet, your bridesmaid outfits can get on board with your mission.

Your one request to your bridal party might be to use eco-friendly, sustainable fabrics, or you could ask your friends to thrift an outfit or upcycle one they already own.

You're having a Christmas wedding because that's when all your loved ones have time off and can gather to celebrate your nuptials. Winter weddings are special. You can turn up the thermostat and stick to similar styles you'd wear in summer. Or you can go full Snow Queen and have your bridesmaids wear three-quarter or long sleeves, velvet, capes, shawls, or fur.

Your wedding is going to be a glitzy affair. You plan on shining bright like a diamond and want your gal pals to shimmer too. Imagine sequins and deep-V-necklines, lustrous metallic gowns, and festive neutrals.

You can all sparkle under that mirrorball on the dance floor and make memories to last a lifetime.

If you're tossing a lot of traditional expectations out the window for your wedding theme, don't forget your bridesmaids! Make the styles as quirky as you like. You can go for the more popular unconventional looks like sexy jumpsuits, vibrant minidresses, tailored-to-perfection tuxes, and gorgeous two-pieces.

Or, dream up something unique, on-theme, and very you; just make sure your bridesmaids are truly happy to go this route with you.