My cousin Leah is getting married in October, and she’s been ticking things off her checklist like crazy. It’s been eight years since I planned my wedding and I’d forgotten how far in advance so many things have to be taken care of. Leah picked out her wedding dress and our bridesmaid dresses a few weeks ago, which meant that the last thing we had to take care of was the flower girl dress, a.k.a. Annie’s dress.
Annie has been beyond excited to be the flower girl in this wedding. She’s asked me to show her videos of flower girls on YouTube, and loves hearing stories and looking at the pictures from when I was a flower girl (at about the same age, too). She was fairly patient (for a four-year-old) when Leah and I tried on dresses, so when she found out it was her turn, she flipped out.
We let her walk around the racks of dresses to show us what she wanted. At first, she wanted to try on the headgear and shoes. “Of course I’ll need beautiful hair and shoes!”
Eventually she started grabbing dresses, and to no one’s surprise, they were all pretty cute and along the lines of what Leah had in mind. Annie has style.
Most bridal places don’t let you take pictures, so I assumed this place was the same and took pictures of Annie when she was still in the dressing room. We found out at the end that they didn’t mind if we took flower girl photos. Oh well.
Annie knew that the final decision on the dress was going to be a group decision, but she was very lucky that Leah really wanted Annie’s opinion. These were Annie’s requirements for her dress:
1. Must be “spinny.”
2. Must be “poofy.” Don’t tell her a poofy dress doesn’t spin well, she’ll have none of it.
3. Must be purple (nope, the wedding colors are green).
4. Must be “so so beautiful and special and also sparkly.”
Dress #1, according to Annie:
1. “It’s so twirly!”
2. “It’s…kind of poofy.”
3. “I LOVE THE COLOR”
4. “Not sparkly enough.”
I liked this dress on her a lot, it was in my top 2.
Dress #2:
1. “Very twirly!”
2. “I think we could add some poofiness with your sewing machine, mommy.” (OMG)
3. “Do you think Tia Leah would let me get this in purple?”
4. “There are no sparkles, it’s not special enough.”
The color of this dress was right, but that’s about it. The sample was too big, which didn’t help.
Dress #3:
1. “This dress twirls out so high.”
2. “It almost has the right amount of poof, but it could have a little more.”
3. “Still not purple, Mommy.”
4. “I love the flowers!”
My mom loved this dress, and it was definitely a sweet option.
Dress #4:
1. “So, so twirly!”
2. “This has all the poofy stuff, Mommy. Can you make sure to get more of this for my other dresses?”
3. “Can I put some purple on it?” (She never stopped asking me about the color)
4. “This dress is pretty special, Mom.”
This one was my other favorite. She looked like she was floating on a cloud.
Dress #5:
1. “SO twirly”
2. “Not poofy. It has to be poofier, like a princess.”
3. “Can the butterflies be purple?” (They were flowers, and no.)
4. “I LOVE the butterflies!”
She looked cute, but I didn’t love this one. I could picture her standing up front, lifting up her dress up to inspect the petals on the front.
We had Annie try on our two favorites, dresses #1 & 4. While she was in dress #4 again, a saleswoman came over with a sage-colored sash. That pretty much sealed the deal.
My Matron of Honor dress is the same color as the sash, so it’s perfect.
Leah loved how the dress looked all gathered up around Annie when she was on the ground.
Trying on flower girl dresses was the perfect combo of all of Annie’s favorite things: wearing dresses, twirling, and looking in the mirror.
I don’t think anyone needs to worry about Annie getting nervous about walking down the aisle.
Vicky says:
I love what you picked – but let’s focus – where can I buy that skirt you are wearing?
Jordan says:
ditto. Annie is adorbs, but my eyes focused on that skirt immediately!
Nanette says:
Me, too!
Heather says:
At Varga on Main St, just a few doors from Lorraine Colour Bar! Tons of Maxi Skirts there, usually on racks outside. You have to look next time you visit Rosanna!
Heather says:
I bought it at a little shop in Santa Monica called Varga. I don’t know if it’s on their website or not: http://www.vargastore.com/ but you might be able to call if it isn’t!
Auntie_M says:
That was my favorite dress too & the sash definitely sealed the deal!!! So cute!!!!! Can’t wait to see pictures come October!!!
But, I hope you don’t purchase the dress until closer to the big day…My niece did a lovely growth spurt before her Auntie Roo’s big day last month. Green & white were her colors too. (Different green tho.) Love that combo–so fresh and pretty!
Lanie says:
Annie looks adorable as always! The dress is perfect!
RzDrms says:
Annie’s cool.
Mar says:
Beautiful dress
Damita says:
That was definitely my favorite too and, yes, the green sash made it more perfect. Annie looks so cute! I also loved #3. She looks so sweet in it.
Pattie says:
I love Annie’s commentary for each dress, especially the poofiness factor. The winning dress is beautiful, particularly with the sage-green sash.
Meg says:
Love it! When it comes to wedding planning, everything does get done so very far in advance. I bought my wedding dress six months before our big day last year and actually no longer fit in it by the time November rolled around… that was interesting! Annie looks fab, and I’m sure you’ll have a great time!
Nicole says:
The bride is going to have to watch out for Annie stealing the show!
Kelly says:
Absolutely adorable! I remember when I got married and went looking for my flower girl’s dress it was pretty funny. My bridesmaids were all wearing royal blue, but I could not find a royal blue dress for a four year old to save my life. So I found a white one with a royal blue sash and bows on the bottom. I told my flower girl about it, but hadn’t had a chance to tell her mom. Later that night I got a call from the mom asking me to explain to the girl that she was going to wear royal blue like my sister, not white like me. I had to break it to her and she sighed as she told me she had been arguing with a four year old for over two hours and the four year old had been right.
Cannot wait to see the pictures!
Anna says:
Radiah is going to be a flower girl in her babysitters wedding in September!!! She is SO excited!!!! Annie looks adorable:)
Kathy says:
My daughter is getting married in June and my granddaughter (same age as Annie) is the flower girl. We actually picked dress #5 for her! The flowers go with the theme of the wedding and since Jocelynn had basically the same requirements as Annie the dress was perfect! Loved seeiing “our” dress on your blog
Tammy M. says:
I can’t look at your blog without thinking, “Man, you’ve got cute kids!” All three of them! I love to see Maddie in the pictures of James.
Glenda says:
Love it!! Annie will look & do amazing…I’m sure!
Jess says:
Annie when I get married you can be in my wedding. My colors will be purple, the dress can be poofy, and I’ll be having butterflies in memory of my gran. Just don’t tell her yet wedding is in 2015.
She’s too cute and her style is amazing for a 4 year old! Better than mine!!
Nanette says:
Such a sweetie! Em is going to be a flower girl in my brother-in-law’s wedding. She actually asked him, “Can I be your wedding girl?”