Another checkmark on the damned Knot Checklist

I've been belated in many decisions during the planning of this wedding. Some of my unmarked checkboxes with the screaming exclamation mark don't necessitate a cautionary icon -- things like take engagement shots and announce it in your local newspaper or reserve disco lights that project your wedding logo on the dance floor.

But one of these unchecked boxes cannot be messed with -- the bridesmaid attire.

I had toyed with the idea of having everyone wear their own dress in a certain color range and then looking at dress lines that you can choose unique silhouettes in the same fabric/color. I have no desire to have everyone be all matchy-matchy, but then I found this dress at Nordstrom and fell in love with the color.





Finding this dress was good on many levels: for one, I love it and think everyone will look great in it. (And I happened upon a Real Wedding on snippet & ink with these. Gorgeous!) But an added bonus is that I finally have a poster child for the wedding palette.

"What are your colors?" is usually the first question that people ask you if they're curious about how the planning is coming along. Almost a year into planning and I had no answer to give on this, purely because the answer sounds too wacky. I'm all about the palette consisting of 5-6 colors and materials, but when I try to explain that by saying "Plum and sage are the dominant colors, secondary colors of sky blue, ivory, and packing paper, and tertiary colors of antique-ish baby pink and gold metallic... ," they respond with a judgmental facial expression that says "get your shit together or your wedding is going to be tragic."

I like to blame The Knot for many things and one of them is for peddling the idea that everything needs to work within a range of two colors or things will be a mess. Whatever the case, I can just say that the bridesmaid dresses are purple and circumvent discussing the palette in all its crazy glory.