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Looking for Affordable Bridesmaid Dresses Online? Here's Our Honest Take
Our wedding expert reviewed three different bridesmaid dresses from online retailer Birdy Grey. Here are her thoughts on the styles and the brand as a whole.
Irina Lev
It’s an honor to be a bridesmaid for a close friend or family member. But as a member of their bridal party, there’s usually a list of expectations that come with standing by their side on the big day. Between helping and preparing for the bridal shower and bachelorette party, you might find yourself checking things off your own bridesmaid to-do list. One of the most important things you’ll do is get your bridesmaid dress.
A big wedding trend in 2024 is around bridesmaid style. Couples are ditching the idea that their bridal party has to all wear the same thing. Instead, they are letting their bridesmaids pick out their dresses, giving them some guidance around color, style, or even the designer.
I have a handful of weddings this year where I’ll be a bridesmaid for close friends. In one of those weddings, the bride asked that we each pick a dress from Birdy Grey, an online bridesmaid dress company. I decided to try out three different styles from Birdy Grey, each under $120. Here’s what I liked and didn’t like about each dress.
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What to Know About Birdy Grey Bridesmaid Dresses
Birdy Grey has gained popularity in recent years because it’s an online bridesmaid dress brand that’s known to be affordable. The majority of dresses on Birdy Grey’s website are under $99. While some brands have a handful of dress styles to pick from, I found that Birdy Grey had a large selection of styles (around 50 different ones) and 165 different color options.
After learning more about the brand, the biggest benefit of buying from Birdy Grey was that they have an entire ready-to-ship section on their website. As a bridesmaid, you’re swamped with so many tasks that you may forget to buy your bridesmaid dress. But Birdy Grey’s ready to ship dresses can arrive in just 5 to 10 days.
Because I’m notorious for waiting until the last minute to order a bridesmaid dress, I decided to test out three styles from that category.
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How to Choose a Birdy Grey Bridesmaid Dress
If the person getting married gives you lots of flexibility around the styles you can pick, it can feel overwhelming to select one. The biggest downside of buying from an online retailer is not being able to try on the dress before you buy it. Birdy Grey has a 45-day return policy, but you are subject to a $13 return fee — which isn’t ideal, especially if you buy multiple bridesmaid dress styles with the intention of just keeping one.
I decided that I’d limit my options to three, and stomach the return fee in hopes of finding a bridesmaid dress that I loved enough to wear to multiple weddings this year.
When browsing for a bridesmaid dress online, do as much research as you can. As I browsed through the options on Birdy Grey’s website, looked at all of the images they provided, and read through the reviews. I also Googled the dress names to see more images of the styles on real people, who shared posts of their dresses on social media. This was helpful to get a clear picture of how the different pieces really looked.
I also thought about which style would look best on my body type based on previous dresses that I wore and loved.
In the end, I decided on three Bridy Grey bridesmaid dress styles that were unique and under $120.
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I Tried Three Birdy Grey Dresses Under $120
Courtesy of Jen Glantz
Pros:
In the past, I really loved wearing one-shoulder bridesmaid dresses. I felt like they had an elegant look to them and were more comfortable to wear all day. The Kira Dress from Birdy Grey had a Grecian one-shoulder cut that draped nicely across my neckline. It was nicely lined and felt well made.
Cons:
While the built-in cups could provide support to some, It didn’t provide enough for me. It was tricky finding a bra that sat nicely behind the built-in cups without ruining the look of the top of the dress. I wish the built-in cups were removable, but I could not find a way to take them out.
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Courtesy of Jen Glantz
Pros:
I love a bridesmaid dress that’s convertible because you can change how you wear the straps, or take them off completely, which really changes how the dress looks. Because of this, the dress felt elegant and had potential to work for multiple weddings this year.
Cons:
The dress had boning, giving it a structured and fitted look. I felt like this was more constraining to wear and because it wasn’t custom made. It squeezed me too tightly in some areas and was loose in others.
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Courtesy of Jen Glantz
Pros:
I was drawn to this dress because of the beautiful cowl neckline. It looked modern and trendy. Plus, the skirt had a slit, which made it more comfortable to wear and not as heavy to walk around in. I also loved how the straps were adjustable. This helped the dress fit perfectly on my body.
Cons:
While the dress was fully lined, this style hugged my body more than the others. It showed off my curves in a way I wasn’t sure I was comfortable with. I tried the dress again with shapewear and it looked better on me. However, because of the multiple layers of lining, wearing the dress with shapewear did feel heavy and thick.
I ended up choosing this dress because the neckline was gorgeous and I felt confident wearing it.
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Bottom Line:
Buying a bridesmaid dress from Birdy Grey is a great option for someone who wants to have a lot of different style and color options to pick from. However, figuring out sizing and a style that fits you best is tough to do when you can’t try a bridesmaid dress on before buying it. Because of their $13 return fee, it’s best to spend quality time researching each Birdy Grey bridesmaid dress style before picking a few options to try on.
In the end, Birdy Grey dresses are high quality at a low price-point. That alone felt like the best deal for a bridesmaid who wants to look good, but not spend a lot of money on a dress they might only wear once.
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