Every bride seems to want to choose a dress that "can be worn after the wedding"--something that is fun and flirty or elegant and romantic--some may be close to achieving their goal, and others can be way off. Either way, choosing the perfect bridesmaids dress is easier said than done; you have plenty of factors to consider, including budget, theme, color style and more. Here are just a few things to consider when choosing your perfect bridesmaids dress:

Budget - First and foremost needs to be your budget, or should we say, your bridesmaids' budgets. Typically your bridesmaids will be buying their own dresses, meaning it's important to know, or ask, how much they can handle spending. When thinking of your bridesmaids' budget, keep in mind that they will be purchasing gifts for your engagement party, bridal shower and wedding, while also throwing you a bachelorette party and paying for their dress, shoes, hair and makeup. Also, if any of your bridesmaids will be joining from out of town, they may be looking at hefty travel expenses, so you might want to go easy on them. Some brides will pay a portion of each dress to help cut costs for their bridesmaids, say if they love a $150 dress, they may only ask their bridesmaids to pay $50 or $75, and they cover the rest of the expense, possibly as their bridesmaids gifts. Just keep in mind that while it is your special day, but your friends are doing as much as possible to make you happy, so it's important to consider them as well. Colors - The colors you select will most likely go with the color and theme of your overall wedding. Are you doing a bright spring wedding? Or maybe a fall wedding with burnt oranges and neutral colors? Whatever colors you decide to go with, try to consider your bridesmaids' skin tones. It may not be something that strikes you when you see a beautiful gown in a magazine or on a manikin, but sometimes bright colors can wash out the color on a fair-skinned bridesmaid, or a rust color may clash with a bridesmaids' olive complexion. Considering hair colors is also a good idea; for the most part your bridesmaids will have natural hair colors with either ash or golden undertones, but for more adventurous bridesmaids, they may play with deep plum colors, bluish blacks or platinum blondes. These are the kinds of colors that can easily clash, so it's important to see each bridesmaid in the dress before deciding.