Bridesmaids coordination issues - HELP ME

[mummyrunnerbean]

Getting married in July and turning my mind to bridesmaids dresses to avoid thinking about what the hell I'll wear. I'm having three bridesmaids who will be 7, 13 and 17. And my sister as maid of honour, who generally prefers to wear men's clothes, but has said she'll 'wear whatever you want to truss me up in' on this occasion.

How on earth do I get them all to look vaguely coordinating? 7-year old is easy- flower girl dress. The two older girls would look daft in flower girl outfits though but I think the 13 year old is too young for a 'grown-up ' dress. Is there a happy medium? And what about my DSis? I want her to be happy and comfortable and feel she looks nice, but she doesn't seem to have a clue what she could wear that would achieve that, so how in heaven's name am I meant to know what to get her to wear?

And how are they going to match???

My DD was a bridesmaid aged 7 alongside several others up to the age of about 17 and a female best man a couple of years ago, they got a dressmaker to make dresses for all of them in the same fabric and trim but different styles. So the youngest three had classic flower girl dresses, the older ones had full length dresses and the best "man" had a shift type dress.

Use the same colour and same fabric, but different styles of dress to suit each bridesmaid so they're all happy and comfortable and look good?

How about infinity dresses? I'm getting married in August and all my bridesmaids/flower girls etc are wearing them. I'm getting mine from inoneclothing.com

I think it might be best to get the flower girl to wear a pretty dress in a specific colour, then simply tell your other bridesmaids to buy a dress in the same colour, within whatever price range your budget is.

They won't all be in the same dresses, but they will still look like a unit in the same colour. Especially if they will also have bouquets or corsages.

If your sister needs a bit of help in choosing a dress, then go shopping with her.

Would you be happy for your sister to wear a trouser suit? I'm thinking slim fit Capri pants with a cropped jacket? You could have one made from material you choose for the 13 and 17 year olds.

I'd put the 17 yr old in something like this and the 13 yr old in a younger version with two straps (obviously in another colour unless you were thinking black).
Then the flower girl in cream / white with matching sash. They'd all look lovely and coordinated for the photos but individual as bridesmaid don't walk around in a pack after the ceremony

Jumpsuits are lovely and elegant for older ones. In colour that the flor girl then has as a band in her hair/round her waist?

I went to a wedding where the bride's sister and nieces were bridesmaids/maid of honour.

The 'mum' wore a suit and the nieces (ages 2 and 10) had dresses made of the same material, it was a grey chintz type that sounds awful but was really nice