On Say Yes to the Dress, I think some families try to elicit too much control over the bride wears. I mean--if it really looks bad, there is a polite way to convey that without sounding ultra-witchy. But in some instances, I really think the people that shop with the bride out to be shopping for their own bridal gowns for as much control they'd like to have over the purchase.
My sister went with me and her job was to be another set of eyes to make sure that dresses did not make me look like a beached whale and to support my decision on dresses I truly loved (and only point out glaring flaws of how it didn't flatter me).
I did Running of the Brides with my SIL in March of this year in Atlanta at Filene's Basement. There was a bunch of us with the bride--b/c you kind of need a bunch of people to help with running and fetching and all that. Pure craziness. I had never done it, glad to have done it--will pass on future invitations for such an event.
Our job was to grab dresses, assist with try ons (you literally tried on whereever a spot was available) and trade dresses and what not.
We didn't have time to be picky. Dresses were given a quick yes or no. If the Bride didn't like it at all--we didn't bother with a mirror at all. Have no idea how many dresses she tried on. But it was tons.
The interesting thing--we met two other brides in line who only came with one person. And in Survivor style Alliance format--we traded styles and sizes that we were all looking for and we helped each other.
Now this one girl---let's just say the dress she got, I would NEVER had worn to a wedding ever in my life. But the cool thing was--we LISTENED to what her lifestyle was like and what she enjoyed--and she was kind of going for this killer gothic style wedding--but classy. (I had seen one on tv before that looked cool and told her about it!) The dress she picked was just sooooo freakin' perfect for what she wanted.
Was it a dress I would wear--NO!!!! But it was a dress SHE would wear that fit who SHE was and the look she was going for for her wedding. (it was this antebellum style dress that I think was off color--but very gothic looking. VERY COOL---for her.
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We all helped each other and it wasn't our place to judge a bride based on what we would wear.
And I really think that is what some of these families do on the show. They just get freakin' crazy and if they wouldn't be caught dead in the dress--they get all fashion diva as though they know what they are talking about.
Our brides would have never found their dresses if any of us copped that attitude.
I think for our group we had about 6 or 7 people (plus a baby who was kept out of harm's way until the "rush" had passed) plus the bride. It was a fun experience and our whole reason to be their was to be on our bride's team and help her find the dress for her wedding.
And after 3 hours (the first hour was a big ol cluster-bleep of craziness!)--she found her dress. Absolutely perfect for her.
She would not ordinarily shop with that many people--but given the essence of the event--the more people meant she could just park it in one spot and have several ladies grabbing any dress they could find for her that fit her and the style she was going for.
They have no qualms about saying how fat they think the bride is, or how much they hate a dress that the bride clearly loves. It just amazes me!
It was an Amsale dress from a couple years prior that was gorgeous but even if I had found it, I couldn't have afforded it and there didn't seem to be any knockoffs out there.
that dress was horrible! So unflattering on my body and I looked 20 pounds heavier. 
I did end up going back there the next week with my mom, sisters, future sis her daughter. I found a beautiful A-line gown strapless, but I bought a bolero jacket to wear with it, and made some changes myself. it was all plain white fabric with no decorations, which is exactly what I wanted. I loved that dress! Best part was that it was on sale, and I got it for 350, and it's machine washable! I made my own veil from a plain one my mom picked up at a thrift store and cleaned, and then I was set!
It was the only 1 she cried for. And I loved it
