Don't underestimate the power of sleeves!

There was a collective cheer that arose from the wedding photographers of the world when Kate Middleton, now Princess Katherine, walked down the aisle with her arms covered! (GASP!) Now I realize that was partially because she was required by the church to be covered, but ladies... don't underestimate the power of a sleeve.

Here's my top reasons sleeves can be a Bride, and Bridesmaid's, best friend -

No Back Fat! Strapless dresses have to be tight enough to keep them up, thus producing back fat in even the skinniest of brides. A dress with even one shoulder can help eliminate the back fat issue as long as the dress is sized and altered correctly. (This sparks a thought about "plus sized brides" but I shall defer that to a later blog. Being a bigger girl I'm allowed to talk about it.)

You won't spend the day pulling your dress up! No matter how tight you get that strapless dress altered (resulting in even more severe cases of back fat) it's going to stretch as you go through the day sitting, hugging, crying, breathing. It's inevitable, and eventually you will find yourself pulling and readjusting your dress over and over so as not to reveal your prized possessions to all of your wedding guests. Imagine a day free of tugging at the top of your dress to keep the girls in check. Wouldn't that be lovely? Sigh.....

Leave something to the imagination! Less is more... less skin that is! You can be "modest" or at the least covered and still be sexy and beautiful. Leave your hubby wanting more (rather than getting the whole show up front) and leave your guests saying, "She was a beautiful bride!" Not, "Did you see those knockers?!" :)


I've worn plenty of strapless dresses and seen many a bride married in one. Will I scorn you for choosing one? No! But you have other options! Make sure you look like a dream come true on your wedding day! Find a dress that fits your body and makes you feel like a princess!

Welcome!

Welcome to The Quintessential Bridesmaid! The goal of this blog is to help you with tips and tricks that I've learned from being a bridesmaid and also working weddings in multiple capacities including planning and coordinating. I've seen enough to know what I want and what I don't want, what works and what fails miserably, and what could have been great, but missed the mark. I want to share that knowledge with you! I'll be sharing weekly Wednesday Wedding Tips as well as awesome ideas, blogs and my favorite wedding stuff on the web! So come back and visit!

Every girl dreams of her wedding day, let's make some dreams come true!