The only rule when it comes to planning your wedding: anything goes. If there was ever a time to be 100 percent authentic, your Big Day is THE day. And this doesn’t just apply to the bride and groom. The hottest trend is mismatching bridesmaids dresses so each girl gets to wear a gown that’s flattering to her body type AND makes her feel fantastic. Your bridesmaids will be into the idea because they’ll have the opportunity to contribute an original spin to your special ceremony, plus they won’t have to drop a ton of money on a dress that they don’t love. Win-win!
1. Shabby Chic to the Max: Boho brides, take a good, hard look at this set of mismatched maids. They’ve all stuck to a grey-and-white theme, but added their own flair with patterns. The bride even let them wear flat booties, which means there wasn’t a sore foot in the house. (via Jen Rodriguez)
2. All That Glitters: This set of bridesmaids has a very vintage feel, resembling a scene straight out of The Great Gatsby. They also prove that mismatched dresses don’t have to be different in just color or pattern. They can also be embellished differently. Keep all the lengths long for added glam. (via Erich McVey)
3. Pastel Party: Spring weddings call for soft colors, and now you don’t have to pick just one. These bridesmaids look ethereal in floor-length shades of purple, pink, peach and teal. Make sure you give all of your girls matching bouquets to tie the look together like this bride did. (via Skyla Walton)
4. Make Me Blush: Give your maids a color and let them run with it? Why not? Looks like that’s what this bride did, and it turned out fabulous. Each girl ended up with a unique, flattering frock within the blush color family — three ladies have floor-length gowns, which could signify that they’re maids or matrons of honor. That’s a pretty fashionable way to give a shout-out. (via Jacquelyn Poussot)
5. Mix-and-Match Times Two: This bride appears to have given her maids two inspiration colors: mint and blush pink. Other than that, they had free reign to choose their own lengths, fabrics and shoes. The key was the one patterned dress that had both colors and, thus, tied ‘em all together. (via Jen Rodriguez)
6. First Lace: All of these bridesmaids have on the same gown, but there’s a mix of shades. Envision the line-up of your bridesmaids before letting them pick colors so that no two girls in the same hue are side-by-side. (via Jose Villa)
7. Bright-smaids: You don’t have to shy away from color on your big day, as proven by these gals in cheery shades of pink. We’ve seen it done in every color of the rainbow — just give your girls a color and let them choose a shade that suits their skin tones. With enough colors, you could even have your girls line up to create an ombré effect! (via Wendy Laurel)
8. White Is Alright: These cream-colored dresses prove that wearing white to a wedding is no longer a no-no. In fact, it’s the perfect hue for a beach or summer wedding, where you want everything breezy, bright and clean. You can also tone down the white of your maids’ dresses if you want your dress to shine brightest. (via SugarLove Weddings)
9. Thinking Pink (and Glam): These gals make their mismatched-ness look glam, thanks to the sweeping length of each gown. They also keep things looking meant-to-be-mismatched by sticking to similar fabrics and colors and by toting bouquets that do match. (via Steve Steinhardt)
10. Simple Shading: In our final example, let’s just reiterate just how easy it is to mismatch your maids. Choose a single dress and a few shades that match your theme. Then, assign each girl a color based on her spot in your bridesmaid line. Voila. Now you’re ready to walk down the aisle in style. (via Style Unveiled)
Gone are the days where you must have the matchy-matchy bridesmaid dresses. The trend is creativity, and you can let yours shine with a mismatched set of gowns that will make you, your maids and your wedding day sparkle.
Which mismatched trend do you like best for your wedding day?
It can be intimidating to step out on your own and build a business from the ground up. As part of our collaboration with Office Depot, we're talking with Selfmade alum and solopreneur Colette Lawrence, the faith-based motivator and relationship builder behind The M.E.E. Movement, about ways in which women in business can find success.
B + C: How did you know M.E.E. Movement was your business to start?
The M.E.E Movement represents motivation, empowerment, and encouragement for women. It is what represents me. I did not know at first that it was my business to start, but then the thought of monetizing what I loved came to me. It scared me, however. I registered the business in July 2020 and have been slowly building my wings since.
B + C: What's one strategy that's helped you start your business?
Thinking through and researching what the requirements are to start my business, and then asking questions of people who are in the business. Not all advice worked; however, it helped me to figure out what I needed to do and not to do.
B + C: Did you always know life coaching would be your entrepreneurial path?
(Smiles) No, I did not. I 'stumbled" on it. I knew that people were always coming to me for advice and I found that I loved having conversations with them, especially with women, young and old.
B + C: What was your most valuable takeaway from Selfmade?
My most valuable takeaway was the first day of training: Get out of your own way. There were a lot of great moments and important takeaways from every presenter. However, getting out of my own way, pushing past doubts, was for me my most valuable takeaway. Doing something that I had never done before took courage. If I do not focus on what is happening with me mentally then I cannot deliver to my clients successfully.
B + C: What's one piece of advice you would give to female entrepreneurs on the brink of starting?
Get out of your head. You have something to offer. You have what you need to succeed so go ahead and do it.
B + C: How do you stay motivated?
I stay motivated by listening to music and listening to motivational speakers, and sometimes someone will just reach out and talk about the impact that I made in their life. That adds the extra juice or sauce I need to pummel through the day.
B + C: What's your best organizational tip?
Keep a diary and journal. It's the best way for me to keep organized and it also provides a source motivation as I record not only my "losses" but my wins as well.
B + C: Who inspires you in the entrepreneurial space?
Shirley Toliver – She motivates and empowers and makes me always want to show up.
B + C: What has receiving the Office Depot scholarship to Selfmade done to help you start or grow your business?
The scholarship was a blessing in that all the areas that were covered offered valuable information that I needed, from social media to HR. As a new business owner, I needed to know this to increase my own personal awareness in what it takes to run a successful business. The candidness of the presenters made it easy to see myself in their shoes and helped me to realize that I can also get there.
Thanks Colette! You can follow The M.E.E. Movement on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Want to feel motivated to take the next step for your business? Let Office Depot OfficeMax give you the confidence you need with a suite of business services & solutions to help you put your best foot forward. Make a good first impression with business cards & build the business pitch of your dreams with custom presentations. With Office Depot OfficeMax you'll find the tools to reach new customers with confidence.
Head to Office Depot's Selfmade page to check out even more amazing business resources (and discounts!) to help you accomplish more on your entrepreneurial journey. These offers are available for a limited time only, so be sure to take advantage of all this goodness while supplies last. Want to join the next Selfmade cohort this summer? Check out all of the scholarship details right here.