Bridesmaids

I've asked three friends to be my bridesmaids. Hopefully they'll all get along. They are from different groups and parts of my life and represent the current circle that I hang out with. One is a friendship from over a decade ago. One represents my hobbies and interests side. One represents the social circle side. All three represent the groups that I find myself spending regular time with and they all have beautiful, caring and thoughtful personalities. I know that I can trust them with anything on the day and that they'll look after the duties just as I would have done myself if only I had 8 pairs of hands.

It's easy to become a control freak but I just know the day will be busy and will require delegations. I aim to do as much as possible myself before the wedding day and hopefully their duties won't be that burdensome. I already feel guilty at the thought of monopolising their weekends simply for wedding planning when I know how busy and stressful their lives are without that on top. It's suppose to be a happy day right?

As long as the planning is all done, the day should come together like clockwork. I've offered to pay for the dresses and shoes so I can't go too overboard with all the other expenses coming along however finding a dress that looks beautiful on all three will be no easy task.

Sydney Wedding magazine had a breakdown of the budget for expenses on each bridesmaids:

* Dress $200~$50?
* Shoes up to $150?
* Hair on the day - up to $100 each? Not sure how much it costs these days
* Makeup on the day - up to $100 each? Again - will need to get quotes
* Bridesmaids gifts and helper gifts - $? Unsure
* Accessories? $50~$80 Not sure if it's self provided or I'll need to buy some?

Budget - will need to multiply the sum of the above by my three bridesmaids. We've yet to start shopping so prices and costs are currently not yet known.

Time to plan and allocate for

* Dress shopping/fittings
* Shoe and accessory shopping?
* Parties to organise and invites to send (Hens stuff)
* Shopping for gifts for bridesmaids/groomsmen + family/friends who have contributed a lot in time and effort
* Hair/makeup trials
* Invitation writing/making and envelope stuffing (most likely will get family to help with this)
* Wearing the shoes in before the day so that they're more comfortable

Perhaps I should ask them to wear their own shoes and I'll supply the accesories because what if I bought them all had brand new, matching shoes and then they all end up with matching blisters on the day due to shoe discomfort?!! I'd feel so guilty!

Bridesmaids dress colour

I've got a few colours I'd like them to try dresses in to see which colour looks best on everyone: Red, dark pink, fuschia, magenta, violet, lavender, mauve, purple and lilac. They're all such pretty colours and are what I like to surround myself in when I buy flowers/plants/clothing/accessories. I'd like the deeper hues than the pastel ones because they're more dramatic and add a bigger splash of colour. I can already imagine using shiny, purple violet ribbons across the invitations.