Oh, Wow, Your Dress Is So...

I have a friend who will be a bridesmaid in her best friend’s wedding this summer. She’s thrilled at being part of the wedding but less than thrilled about the bride’s dress. In fact, she thinks it’s ugly.

I haven’t seen the dress but according to my friend, it’s plain to the point of boring and not at all the type of gown you’d want to wear on your wedding day. Fortunately, the dress does flatter the bride-to-be’s body so my friend isn’t completely lying when she says that the bride-to-be looks great in the gown.

I told my friend that she’s doing the right thing by not sharing her true feelings on the dress; that all that matters is that the bride loves the dress and that it does look good on her, even if it’s not particularly memorable. She seems to agree that this is one situation where honesty is not necessarily the best policy.

While I would certainly want my friends to tell me if my wedding dress didn’t fit properly; if it made me look fat or short or deformed; I wouldn’t particularly care to hear their opinions on the overall style of the dress. After all, they aren’t the ones wearing (or paying) for it; I am and because of that all, all that really matters is that I love how it looks on me.

Even though the public (and pricey) nature of a wedding dress might seem to justify sharing one’s opinion on it; only share that opinion if it’s positive. No bride wants to be told that her dress is “boring” or “plain” or, on the other end of the spectrum, “tacky” or “trashy”. So if you ever find yourself in my friend’s position, having to comment on a dress that you’re less than impressed with, just smile sweetly and say, “It does look really great on you.”