Here come the kids
Dressing up for a bridal party, more than just child's play
By Catherine Burton
Dressing up for a bridal party, more than just child's play
By Catherine Burton
For most children, being a member of a bridal party marks their first real brush with formal attire. Some approach the experience as fun, like playing dress-up. Others will tend to lose whatever enthusiasm they started out with, becoming fractious and fidgety and causing their mothers to start acting in the same way. A few - usually the too young - will simply be terrified from start to finish.
A couple should consider carefully before asking a child to take part in their ceremony. Is he or she old enough to understand what is expected? Is the child easily bored or, conversely, likely to get over-excited? In either case, this could lead to problems on the big day.
Then there is the matter of what they should wear. Pageboys often don pint-sized tuxedos, but the recent trend towards dressing the head flowergirl in a miniature replica of the bridal gown is viewed by many people as inappropriate at best.
To aid parents of attendants-to-be, we asked Toronto-based experts Reagan Connaughton of Sposabella and Catherine Langlois of Catherine Langlois Bridal Design to give us their ideas on dressing children for bridal party success:
"I find girls are on their best behaviour when they come to me, since this is a real event for them," says Langlois. "I start off by consulting with the bride alone. She will tell me what she wants the outfit to look like, as it should be designed to compliment the rest of the wedding party. Then I'll have the child or children in for a measurement session.
"I generally do just one fitting after that, because I purposely like to leave the clothes a little loose. There are several reasons for this. One, the wedding may be several weeks or months away, and children tend to grow. Then too, this is a dress outfit that they should be able to wear - to church, for school pictures, to a party - for as long as possible.
Plus, you don't want little kids wearing skin-tight outfits. It doesn't look right."
Although some bridal magazines suggest satin or even cotton gingham dresses for flowergirls, Langlois prefers raw silk, a favourite fabric: "I like it because it's a durable but fancy fabric that doesn't crush easily, and it is hand-washable and ironable.
"I keep the styles relatively simple," she continues, "a full skirt with a crinoline, a sleeveless bodice with a round neck. In terms of colour, I often choose a more vibrant tonal variation of the bridesmaids' outfits, which helps the girls stand out in contrast."
The cost per dress can run anywhere from $150 to $300, depending on the details asked for, things such as ornamental buttons down the back, pleats and tucks, ruffles and sashes.
For the boys, a good look is a shirt made from a matching colour and fabric to the flowergirls' dresses, so they tie in with the rest of the bridal party, given that the rest of their outfit is usually rented.
Reagan Connaughton agrees that outfitting pageboys is not very demanding work, as they almost always join the groomsmen in her store's separate tuxedo rental department. But flowergirls are another matter: "There is a great deal more emphasis placed on the girls' dresses."
Often, she says, these are designed "along similar lines to the bride's or bridesmaids' dresses. Sometimes the fabric colour is matched to the bridesmaids, and sometimes it is bridal ivory with the matching colour brought in by way of accessories - flowers, shawls, sashes, bolero jackets and so on."
One further trend regarding children at weddings should also be noted: we will be seeing more in the future than in the past. Catherine Langlois says with the increase in second marriages and women marrying at a later age, it is becoming commonplace to see "two or three flowergirls, children from the first marriage or several nieces, acting as the bride's sole attendants in place of the bridesmaids."
