“I look ridiculous,” my maid of honor said as she stepped from a dressing room in a Las Vegas wedding dress shop. She glanced down at the strapless, short-skirted bridesmaid gown I had asked her to wear and stuck out her tongue.

“It might work,” I said, crossing my arms. “Check it out in the mirror.”

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Earlier that week, I had been into the bridal dress boutique to choose my bridesmaid dresses. Amidst all the styles I had tried on myself, this had been one of my favorite bridesmaid gowns. I couldn’t wait to have my sister, the maid of honor, visit the wedding dress store to try it. Even though she didn’t like it immediately, I didn’t want to give up on this gown, especially after the time I had taken to select this style from the many dress designs hanging on the store racks.

But when my maid of honor caught a glimpse of herself in the three-way mirror, all traces of a smile vanished from her face. “I know you’re the bride,” she said, “but, seriously, I am not wearing this.” With her arms hanging limply at her sides, she turned away from the mirror.

Seeing her reaction, I realized it was time for me to reconsider. Sure, this bridesmaid gown looked great on me. But my maid of honor had a different body type than I did. Since she stands at a model’s height of 5’11” with a bust that’s twice the size of mine, her athletic build was not well-supported by this petite gown. In a store filled with beautiful gown opportunities of all designs, I had focused only on finding something that fit my style. Unfortunately, this left my maid of honor feeling, as she said, ridiculous.

Myth #1: If a bridesmaid dress looks good on you, it will look good on your bridesmaids.

As much as I hated to admit it, my maid of honor was right. The gown that fit me best was not the gown for her. I needed to take her body type, bust size, and height into consideration to find a gown that would complement her natural beauty and body features. Then bye-bye, self-consciousness! Instead for the Las Vegas wedding day, we’ll be saying hello to gorgeous girls with confidence in their bodies and their bridesmaid dresses!

Author’s Note: Want to know the top myths about choosing bridesmaid dresses? Read every day this week for a real bride’s stories to find out each myth and how to break it. Then, you can become a bride who chooses bridesmaid gowns your girls will love!

(Author: Allyson Siwajian © 2010)