the sweetheart slingback.

A coworker told me today that she has been in 12 weddings. Twelve. Like, a dozen. (Not a baker's dozen. A regular dozen.) Twelve is a lot. I am only on my third, with a fourth on deck for summer 2012. So far, I've made out pretty well in terms of my required dress. (And, honestly, isn't that the main concern when agreeing to be in someone's bridal party?) I can't really give an example for the first wedding I was in because it was for a family friend in 2002, I was 18, and really had no involvement prior to showing up for the rehearsal. The dresses weren't great (sorry, Ily!), and I wore black strappy shoes with a square heel. But I mean, this was the era when a "formal" hair-do involved cornrow-like twists across the front of your head. For a post-millenium wedding, it worked. And will still probably be the fanciest wedding I ever attend.

Weddings 2 and 3 were/are for my high school buds Kate and Rachael (respectively). I blogged quite a bit last year about preparing for Kate's Christmas-y extravaganza, but I haven't been quite as chatty about getting ready for Rachie's day (which is coming up in just about THREE WEEKS!). Both girls are totally classic, and also awesome brides who were pretty much open to anything that made their ladies feel comfortable and pretty. Here's a little side by side comparison:

dresses: the dessy group | black shoes: guess | grey shoes: nine west
Sweetheart necklines and peep-toe slingbacks anyone? Ha. I knew they were similar, but didn't realize how almost exact the details were until I put them side-by-side like that. Down to the pleating across the bust! It just goes to show that some styles can fit many personalities. In both wedding parties there are girls of all shapes, heights, and *ehem* bosoms. These dresses look drop-dead gorgeous on all the ladies. For reals, yo.

As for Number 4, the wedding of my good buddies Dan and Leah, we'll get to choose from a color palette and a couple styles. (I'm sticking with the Dessy options, since I am clearly a preferred customer already. My color choice is "meadow", btw.) Here's my top 3:


And look! Only one has a sweetheart neckline! (Who wants to bet that's the one I choose??) And just for s and g's, how about these nude beauties for my feet:

You know. Just to keep things consistent. (And yes, every girl has chosen a different color for shoes. And yes, that is the nude patent version of the pair I bought for Kate's wedding. They're ridic comfortable.)