Totally Subjective Bates Wedding Dress Rundown

[JordynDarby5]

1. Tori, I love her wedding dress it was so beautiful and she looked great. I liked her hair and her wedding colors. 

2.Whitney, I really like her wedding dress, the bolero, and her wedding colors. I had never seen red and black for a wedding before. I really liked it. The only thing I didn't like was her hair.

3. I loved Alyssa's wedding dress, she looked beautiful and I loved her pink shoes. I didn't like her wedding colors but it definitely was bold.  Its tied with Michael's wedding, I liked her wedding colors the beige and pink was nice.

4. Erin's wedding colors were nice.  

5. Michael's wedding dress, tied with Erin's wedding dress. Both would have been great if not for the alternations. I still don't know why they don't go looking at modest dresses. There are tons of really pretty wedding dresses that are modest.    

I also can't wait to see what Carlin's wedding will look like. 

[freethemall]

Interesting bridesmaid rankings, I may be in the minority in that I don't despise Alyssa's BM dresses as most. The colors are undeniably too bright, but some of the cuts were okay (weren't there different styles or am I making that up?). I actually like the colors of Erin's too. But I can't get over the black of Whitney's, only appropriate for a funeral. I guess my BM rankings would be:

1. Tori

2. Michael

3. Alyssa

4. Erin

5. Whitney

But I mostly hate them all...

[HRM1216]

1- Tori

2- Alyssa

Erin, Whitney, and Michael all tie for last. I think Tori's is far and above every other Bates' daughters dress. I almost feel bad that they don't get a "do-over" with this more fashion forward approach. Especially Whitney, Erin, and Alyssa who all seem to care about style quite a bit. 

[Melissa1977]

Tori's is objectively the best dress/wedding, regardless of one loves the dress or not. The quality of the fabric, the design, the details... all of this makes the dress classy and the colours are trendy and really fit a winter wedding. Hairdo and make-up was beautiful and soft. Pictures were beautiful and not tacky/cheesy. The whole wedding looked way more elegant than the prior ones.

Alyssa wore a pretty dress&veil&shoes but the colours of the wedding were ridiculous and I'm sure she knows now and she'll do a vow renewal some day, in order to "fix it". However, she was very young and with tight budget and I give her a pass.

Whitney's wedding was OK, but she looked a bit old fashioned in the bolero, plus de hairdo was cheap. Red and black are too "hard" colours for a wedding.

Erin and Michael are the worst. I told before that Whitney looked old fashioned, but Erin was more than that. It looked like a 60's wedding but without glamour. And the Oscar to the worst hairdo is for... Michael Bates. The beige dresses of the bridesmaids gave a sad atmosphere to the ceremony.

[NachosFlandersStyle]

The dress Michael is wearing in the second dress-fitting photo is probably my favorite of the bunch; I'm surprised she didn't go with it. She seems like a lovely person but she has, uh, strange taste in clothes. See also: those beige bridesmaid dresses, her instagram full of weird spaghetti-strap-over-t-shirt looks.

Count me as another one who's underwhelmed by Tori's dress. It gestures towards sophistication, which is nice, but it doesn't look that good on her and I don't like the white-over-tan effect.

[nokidsmom]

Ranking the wedding dresses:

1.  Tori.  I liked the white over champagne and the styling was classy. 

2. Whitney.  I thought the bolero was a good choice to make it more modest rather than butcher the dress. 

3. Alyssa.  The dress modifications were OK, though it seems the dress sits "higher" on her so the additional straps/sleeves look more like sleeves than wide straps.  Dress seemed to fit OK.

4. Erin.  Dress was pretty as originally designed but that T-shirt style modification was weird.  Plus the color did not match the dress, so "modestifying" it was pretty obvious.

5. Michael.  I really wanted to like the dress but the overlay on the dress "interrupts" (sorry that's the best way I can say it) the design of the dress underneath.

Ranking the BM dress colors:

1. Tori.  Liked the rose color and lacy design.

2. Whitney.  I didn't mind the black and red.  Frankly I think she chose something that her BMs could wear again.  Short black dress would be the ticket with possible exception of MOH who was red.

3.  Erin.  The shade of blue was OK, not too exciting but not terrible.  Typical fundie BM dress design.  The Maxwells would approve.

4. Alyssa.  Too screaming loud but I get that she was ecstatic (who would be, she was leaving that house and moving to Florida!) and I think this was her way of saying it.

5.  Michael.  Didn't like the peach and beige.  Too meh.  Peach dress design was OK but the beige ones were too ruffly.

[Runningfromreality]

On 12/18/2017 at 1:41 PM, freethemall said:

Even worse that in the BuB episode we saw 2 dresses that looked SO much better on her. Look at that first one, and even her hair just down like that, she would have looked gorgeous!

 

The second dress is my dress! But mine had a different colored sash and no modesty alterations. Knowing exactly what that dress looks like, I think it would have been really difficult to make it not look weird with modesty alterations. For reference, here's what it looked like without modesty alterations (but a lot of hemming for this 5'4" girl who refused to wear heels!) 

[Ivycoveredtower]

8 minutes ago, Runningfromreality said:

The second dress is my dress! But mine had a different colored sash and no modesty alterations. Knowing exactly what that dress looks like, I think it would have been really difficult to make it not look weird with modesty alterations. For reference, here's what it looked like without modesty alterations (but a lot of hemming for this 5'4" girl who refused to wear heels!) 

I think the older girls just got screwed. they had a set budget and if they went over it they had to pay out of pocket. which is why Micheal went for another dress. her wedding was on the show but it was still early in. I doubt Tori had as many restrictions as her elder sisters especially seeing as she had a custom made dress. 

[just_ordinary]

Sadly the Bates‘ wedding dresses are a bit underwhelming to me.

1. Alyssa- not the current style but still pretty enough. The straps are ok but the flower should go.

2. Tori- love the idea but to many things went wrong to be number one: the fit, the lace looked patchy at the arms, the champagne made a harsh contrast to the clear white. I think it is great that she choose a popular style that doesn’t need modesty alterations- so no holier than though sign here. Absolutely love the hair and veil though. In my superficial opinion she really is the prettiest Bates‘ daughter.

3. Whitney- clearly outdated today, her style was popular then. Like the bolero instead of modesty alterations.

4. Erin + Michael- Erin’s modesty alterations look like a shirt sewed into the dress. Michael‘s dress was only second choice for her which makes me sad. The other one looked nicer and she clearly preferred it. Her alterations were awful too. The fabric folder on her chest really look like an Arielle shell bra. Erin’s dress is still worse but her hair makes up for it while Michael‘s hair was a mess.

 

Bridesmaids

1. Tori- very nice dresses. Not my colour but whatever. 

2. Michael- while I could never wear so many lacy layers the women looked gorgeous.

3. Whitney+ Erin+ Alyssa- the seem to have a very generic (and not flattering) cut. Like sewed in a rush from old fabric. Neither colours are my taste, too.

 

Colour scheme 

1. Michael- maybe a bit beige but nice.

2. Tori- no fan of the dark purple and white mix. Very 2000 to me but it was executed all right.

3. Erin- baby blue is a classic, still no fan. Too cutesy for me.

4. Whitney and Alyssa- both colour schemes are very striking. The black could have been interesting but the mix with red took it down. Also there were no other black things iirc. The Malibu pink and blue is hurting the eyes but it was very Alyssa at that time. (Wonder if people say the same thing about my mix of yellow roses and pink orchids? But as there is no tradition of over the top colour matching decorations and having bridesmaids here, it was just the flowers. I probably would pick something different nine years later but at that time it was the right pick for us.)

 

Lastly: Why do so many fundie men/grooms wear those very wide cut pants? Didn’t they get the memo that this style died in the late 90‘s? Do they fear thighter pants might diminish their masculinity? I know there is no obligation to be on trend but many of them wear trendish styles (except the Duggar Boys) but then they put a suit on and I wonder if there is something glorified about 1995 that I missed.

It will be interesting how Carlin’s and Josie‘s weddings will look like. Tori was very up to date. Is UP putting more money into it?

[BeccaGrim]

Does anyone have a picture of Whitney's dress? I never saw it and can't find it. 

[Bajovane]

Erin's "modesty panel" only served to draw attention to the boobies instead of downplaying them.  Big mistake.

Michael's dress - ugh - horrid.

[Ivycoveredtower]

4 hours ago, BeccaGrim said:

Does anyone have a picture of Whitney's dress? I never saw it and can't find it. 

https://thebatesfamily.com/2014/01/zach-and-whits-wedding/

[VelociRapture]

Here are the various dresses for anyone new to the thread who hasn’t seen them:

Erin (Nov. 2, 2013):

Whitney (Dec. 14, 2013):

Spoiler

Alyssa (May 24, 2014):

Spoiler

Michael (Aug. 15, 2015):

Spoiler

Tori (Dec. 16, 2017):

Spoiler

 

[BeccaGrim]

THANK YOU. I hadn't seen them all. 

[habert]

I love that Tori did her hair up. It looks nice. I don’t know why that’s been not the norm between duggars/bates (and other fundies maybe I dunno I don’t really follow other families)

[Joyfully_Unavailable]

Would anyone like to start guessing what style of dress Carlin and Josie will be wearing? I’d love to see!

[ihaveanexamintwodays]

On 12/18/2017 at 11:35 PM, ihaveanexamintwodays said:

--SNIP--

Bonus, bc I love dress-browsing on pinterest, and we know we're gonna see Carlin and Josie down the aisle in the next year or so.....

  Reveal hidden contents

I could see Carlin in something like this, girly and twirly, not super structured or super poofy or anything. Maybe more sparkle to the lace.

  Reveal hidden contents

 I would LOVE to see Josie in something like this, plus shoulder coverage and minus the flower on the sash. I think she has the figure and is stylish enough to pull it off. It's simple with just a few unique details that give it personality.

 

@Joyfully_Unavailable here's my two ideal dresses for Carlin & Josie!

Edited April 6, 2018 by ihaveanexamintwodays

[Joyfully_Unavailable]

6 hours ago, ihaveanexamintwodays said:

@Joyfully_Unavailable here's my two ideal dresses for Carlin & Josie!

Ooh I especially like the option you picked for Josie! I really hope she does something a little less traditional since she's younger. These are my picks!

Josie: a really detailed but light fabric that won't overwhelm her small frame and with a bodice that accentuates her waist 

Spoiler

I really would love to see her in something like this. The lacy pattern isn't too mature for her.

Spoiler

This pattern is super pretty as well!

Carlin: I haven't seen her in too many dresses that were fitted at the waist like Josie wears, so these seem like they might be more her style

Spoiler

 

I may have seen her in a dress that tied above the knee which is why I thought of this for her!

 

Spoiler

 

I could see her in this dress with either a cap sleeve or an above-the-elbow-sleeve as well!

 

 

[Pecansforeveryone]

I am not a fan of any of the dresses. I do think Tori's had the most potential and some pretty details. I have seen black as bridesmaid color in fall/winter weddings. It can be beautiful. The Bates girls are certainly beautiful, regardless.  

[19dageld]

I made a collage of all the Bates wedding dresses so far.

[BeccaGrim]

On 4/6/2018 at 3:36 PM, mommagoose said:

I made a collage of all the Bates wedding dresses so far.

Thank you for this. I loved it laid out like this. 

[Oh_Dear!]

I got sucked into looking at wedding dresses. 

Here is what I’m thinking for Josie...

 

Spoiler

 

 

Spoiler

 

I feel like Carlin would go more flashy and bigger. 

 

Spoiler

 

 

Spoiler

 

Edited April 10, 2018 by Jellybean
Spoilers for multiple images

[moreorlessnu]

I loved the 3rd wedding dress that Tori tried on. I thought it was the perfect dress for her. She could have put long lace sleeves on that dress.

I'm not wild about the dress she chose. I don't think the style flattered her figure although the dress itself had some lovely components. From far away, it looks "nightgown-ish".

[wandering woman]

I think that Josie's dress will be the best of all. She has a great fashion sense and will go for something a bit different than her sisters' dresses. I am not a fan of Tori's dress. It was ill fitting and not a flattering color. 

[Tangy Bee]

I agree about Tori's dress being ill fitting. Should have been more snug on hips to show off her curves. But then again...a fundie bride doesn't want to defraud anyone.