11 best flower girl dresses, plus the colour rules you should know

Besides your own dress as the bride, bridesmaids dresses are one of the top priorities of wedding planning. Trust me, if your bridesmaid doesn't like the dress, she'll let you know. You've got a bit more wiggle room with your flower girl dresses, with younger bridesmaids and their dresses being less expensive and let's face it, all the more cuter.

When it comes to flower girls, many brides choose to have a young member of their family, such as a niece, a daughter or a cousin, as flower girls who walk down the aisle to scatter petals ahead of the bridesmaids and the bride. 

Plenty of high street shops carry collections of these sweet frocks, with Monsoon flower girl dresses being among some of the most popular. Department stores like Next, John Lewis and Debenhams also sell them, from their own label plus brands, and online, it's niche wedding and occasionwear retailers like Roco and Chi Chi that carry a wider range of flower girl dresses to choose, from ivory to pink to navy blue.

But what are they actually meant to wear? If you're not sure where to begin when shopping for your flower girl dresses, keep scrolling…

Flower girls - expert advice

We asked HELLO! Weddings Editor Nichola Murphy for her expert insight:

What age should a flower girl be?

"Flower girls are the youngest members of the bridal party and tend to be from toddler ages of around three to ten, while junior bridesmaids are generally slightly older, around ten to fourteen," comments Nichola. "However, brides can choose to include younger members of the family."

Should flower girls wear the same dress as bridesmaids?

Not necessarily. "If you want uniformity in your wedding photos, try to choose the same colour or silhouette for your bridesmaids and flower girls, such as floor-length dresses or similar sleeves. However, the most important thing to consider is whether the flower girls have age-appropriate styles."

What colour dress is a flower girl supposed to wear?

Nichola suggests looking for inspiration, from royalty to Instagram. "If you look at the royal family for inspiration, most flower girls and bridesmaids wear white as it is a symbol of purity and it's historically believed it deters evil spirits," she explains. 

"But it is down to personal preference – some brides opt for white flower girls but coloured bridesmaids, or keep the entire bridal party in the same coordinating hue such as pastel blue or pale pink."

How I chose the sweetest flower girl dresses:

• Size: This edit focuses solely on flower girl dresses, with most available in baby, toddler and younger girl sizes. Some go up to age 13, but we've saved bridesmaid dresses for teens for our bridesmaid edit.
• Trending colours: We've picked the top trending flower girl dress colours to focus on; ivory and white, pink, green and blue. If the dresses are available in colours other than the one pictured, I've made sure to call that out.
• Brands: There's a lot of flower girl dresses out there but I've only included those from brands we personally have used, or trust, and are either high street retailers or specific wedding dress brands. You'll find a few from Etsy on there, but be sure to read the whole description online before ordering - many of these are custom made and returns aren't always accepted, so do your homework.

Shop our edit of the sweetest flower girl dresses...