Tessa Hartnett, owner of Bridesmaids Only, shares her expertise on mixing prints in bridesmaid dresses. According to Hartnett, couples are currently opting for romantic florals and embroidered details, seeking a styled, non-uniform look for their wedding party.

Mixing Prints and Solids

Hartnett recommends picking one thread that runs through everyone, usually the colour family or fabric. If every dress shares the same two or three colours, almost everything else can be varied. Hartnett also advises keeping one print as the star and letting everything else support it. When mixing a print with solids, she suggests pulling solid colours straight out of the print to tie the group together.

Pairing Prints and Solids

An easy hack is to alternate print and solid down the line, depending on how many bridesmaids you have. When pairing two prints, Hartnett recommends varying the scale, making one small and one larger, and keeping them in the same colour family to avoid competition.

For example, the maid of honour could wear one type of print and the bridesmaids match in another. If a bridesmaid is nervous about wearing a print, Hartnett suggests starting with a soft or tonal print, where the pattern sits close to the base colour, as it feels more like a dress they’d actually wear again.

Photography and Fabrics

Hartnett advises choosing mid-tone colours and soft, matte fabrics, as they photograph beautifully. Tonal prints also show up well from a distance. She recommends steering clear of very tiny, busy patterns, which can blur in photos, and neon brights that throw colour onto skin.

To ensure the dresses complement the overall wedding aesthetic, Hartnett suggests matching the dresses to the florals. Couples can build the bridesmaid palette from the flowers first or choose dress colours and prints that sit within the florist’s colour board or bouquet sample.

Ask your bridesmaids first, and order early. Hartnett wishes more couples asked their bridesmaids what they feel comfortable in before picking a look. Another big one is “When do we need to order?” Most designer bridesmaid dresses are made to order and can take up to 16 weeks, and it’s perfectly normal to need alterations, so starting early takes the stress out.