There are no "rules" or "common choices" brides are all about individual, STATEMENT. I would wait until you see the brides maids dresses. I would chose a dress my daughter WOULD wear to Church once the wedding is over.

I agree with arcy...the bride takes the lead and sets the tone and you'll need to go from there in both color and style. Nowadays, it's hard to predict anything for a wedding when they have everything from full-blown cinderella princess weddings to brides in cowboy boots and groomsmen in denim.

My opinion - and that's all it is ;) is that flower girls' dresses ought to be a style appropriate for a child.

My DD was a FG in two weddings. In my sister's she wore a tea length dress that was in keeping with the style of my sister's gown, meaning it was more formal than a typical party dress. The fabric was quality, but the style was simple. She wore white patent Mary Janes & tights. She was five.

The following year my SIL had a gown made for her that was a miniature version of her bridesmaids' gowns. It was red satin (Fall wedding) and had a sheer bodice & a black sash.....I know. To me, it looked less like a flower girl and more like a costume.

I guess that's the bottom line advice I'd give. Try to get something that does not look like she's playing dress up.

So for example, a majority of the flower girl dresses I am seeing on etsy are white or ivory. I doubt the majority of bridesmaid dresses are white or ivory. But I would guess that it would be okay for me to include one or two white or ivory flower girl dresses in the ones I suggest? So obviously as I said upfront I will wait to see what information I get from the bride, but that's not necessarily completely determinative of what the flower girl might wear. . . . At least as best I can tell.

And to be completely clear, the bride asked us to choose the dress. So I'm not trying to keep the bride from her vision or anything. I just want to be thoughtful in suggesting some options that are in keeping with what is often done.

I see a lot of white or ivory with a sash that matches or coordinates with the brides chosen colors in various lengths but mostly tea or full length depending on time of day. But I also see more soft prints at some outdoor casual weddings too. I've seen children wearing ballet slippers, mary janes (patent or leather), boots (it was a casual outdoor wedding), but no sandals. I think sandals are rather casual.

I totally agree with amck2! Just my opinion, but I think children look ridiculous in miniature adult clothing. I really dislike little boys in tuxedos or suits! Very young boys look age appropriate in short pants outfits (seersucker or poplin in summer, velvet or very nice corduroy in winter) and older boys (who usually are too old to be ring bearers) look best in nice tie and navy blazer. Same with little girls...they are so precious they don't need to be overwhelmed by bright colors and sophisticated styles. Depending on the formality of the wedding, I would do a simple bodice with a full skirt and sash in either white (summer) or off-white (winter) raw silk or for a casual summer wedding, cotton. I am Southern, and that's just how we do! Check out www.OrientExpressed.com for some lovely dresses...the current catalogue might be mostly holiday, but the Spring one will have some beautiful options.

Thank you! I can work with that. And good to know about the shoes too!

I am a wedding officiant, and I see the same as OutsidePlaying describes: either the FG in colors matching the attendants, or in ivory/cream with a matching color sash, and the lengths vary as well. It is totally appropriate to ask the bride-to-be about either selection. I think that whatever choice, it should be comfortable for your DD. Let us know what you decide!

Great! Thank you all. I feel like I have a better grasp of what suggestions to make once I hear from the bride.

my opinion only...6 year old girls look cutest in tea-length dresses.

ML

A simple tea-length dress with ballet slippers or Mary Janes ... that would be precious and entirely appropriate!

When I was 7, I was a flower girl for my cousin's wedding. Mom made my dress to mimic what the bridesmaids wore (knee length), only scaled to my size. Of course, back then the dresses were very modest...it wasn't like I was going strapless. And, as it was in the 60s, I wore white patent leather shoes with a strap with white anklet socks that folded over and had a lace trim.

Beautiful pictures sueb!

Sueb, how lovely,

We just saw a wedding reception pass through our restaurant, the flower girl looked like a fairy, so cute. Not the flowery, glittery, beribboned kind, but a full tulle skirt, appropriate bodice, ballet slippers, she practically floated along. Adorable.

We ordered extra material of the MOH & BM's dress. Had a simple dress made for FG.

I just wanted to update you all. Dd and I chose five different dresses and sent them to the bride. I tried to present a range of choices, though Dd was pretty adamant that she wanted something simple--she didn't like anything with ruffles or beading or such. I also said in my email to her that we would be happy to do whatever she wanted so if she had something different in mind to please just let me know. Here's the moodboard I sent. (Dd did not like D, E, and F so I deleted them. A, B and C are from Nordstrom. G is from NextDirect. And H is from Gymboree.)

The bride said any of them would be just fine, but that she particularly liked G, with A as a second choice if G didn't fit well once we got it. As it turns out G was also dd's favorite, which is nice. I went ahead and ordered it. It's from NextDirect which tends to sell out of things and not restock so I decided to take a chance on size and order now.

I am going to wait on shoes as I find kid shoe sizes harder to predict than clothes. I'm hoping I will find comfortable white or gold Mary Janes or ballet flats. I will consult with the bride about those too.

Thank you all for your help!

I thought the FG was supposed to be a reflection of the bride, so in that case, either white or ivory. Each of my 3 dd's had flower girls, and they all wore white, same as the bride. Don't think i've been to a wedding where a flower girl wore a color.

Well, the bride chose the color that goes with the bridesmaid dresses. Her wedding. Her choice. And given the comments above, apparently not an unusual one.

Our DD had a short-lived career as a flower girl, serving only three times despite being the only suitable female child for many other potential couples (perhaps the word got out, lol). One dress (age 7) was a white cotton batiste ballet-length dress with short puffed sleeves and a pintucked empire bodice. It buttoned up all the way in the back and was our choice. Another was a formal dress that was a miniature version of the bridal gown, too much for a five year old IMO but it was the bride's choice. The one she wore when she was three---too young to be a flower girl really----was a beautiful pink below the knee dress with a fabulous pleated New Orleans-style portrait collar. She carried a single rose and had a large pink bow in her hair. Turned down white cotton lisle socks with a pink scalloped edge and white English buckle sandals. The pink dress was my favorite, and a crowd pleaser!

DD's flower girl (age 4). Simple little girl tea length white cotton with sash coordinating with the bridesmaids.