Bridesmaid Question?

Question

I have been reading everyones responses to bridemaids questions in regards to etiquette, buying presents and things like that. There is a concern from many who is responsible for what and costs incurred by the bridesmaids. I want my wedding to be accessible to everyone in my wedding party and I dont want them to have to spend a ton on themselves just for me.

Has anyone done anything different for their bridesmaids? I dont want them to go pick out an expensive dress they may only wear once, but i also dont want it to be tacky. Anything to help ease the costs from my bridesmaids WITHOUT spending tons of money myself? thanks!

Answer 1

Having gowns made custom costs more than buying them. You might want to look at Macy's or Lord and Taylor if they're all a similar size. Also David's Bridal has gowns for $100 that look nice and that is about as cheap as it gets. Chadwicks has some beautiful dresses for right around $100. Also go to your local bridal shop and ask them to show you dresses in a prices range. They should be able to help you stay in a budget, if they won't find another store. Bridal shops are a dime a dozen. A good way to keep down costs is to make sure you can wear a regular bra with the gown you pick out, a good strapless bra costs about $50. Get shoes at Payless, they have decent evening shoes and you can't see them under the gown so you don't need expensive shoes.

You are a really good friend, the dresses for the last two weddings I was in cost over $250 each, plus accesssories cost even more. Both gowns are ugly and unwearable again. Although I blame this on the sisters of the brides because that's what they wanted. Don't let one bridesmaid talk you into expensive dresses, have mercy on the other girls.

Answer 2

Pretty much the only expenses for bridesmaids are their dress, shoes and any travel expenses. They're not responsible for getting a present although if they choose to do so, it tends to be a group gift. They're not required to plan wedding showers or bachelorette parties because that falls under the Maid of Honour's responsibilities. Most of the weddings that I have helped plan have had the bridesmaids buying their dress and shoes and the bride pays for hair, makeup and provides a place for them to stay, other than a hotel, if it is necessary. As for saving money on those, why not just have everyone wear the same colour but choose a style that suits them. That way, as long as they can find the colour, they can probably buy a dress off the rack in a dress store in the mall rather than buying a specific bridesmaid dress that needs to be custom made. As for the shoes, as long as you don't ask them to dye the shoes to a certain colour, they can probably find something relatively inexpensive in a local shoe store, if they don't already have a suitable pair.

Hope those suggestions help.

Answer 3

For the dress-look for dresses that they could wear again. That means dresses like little black ones or ones that are less formal. Or you could also go with a theme-tell the bridesmaids that each girl should wear red or black etc. and have each bridesmaid pick out her own dress in that specified color.

As for the other bridesmaids responsibilities, they don't have to be expensive at all! Let the bridesmaids know you would be happy with a small bridal shower-they could have the shower over one of their houses and serve a few desserts and coffee.

Answer 4

I eased the costs for my bridesmaids by letting them be in more control of their costs. For example, I chose to use Alfred Angelo separates for the bridesmaid dresses. As a group, they chose the final dress color from a list of possible colors I provided them. I selected the bottom I liked the best (the fuller A-line that is flattering to all figures), and they picked their own tops. The cost of the dresses completely depended on which top they chose (the skirt was included in the price of the top). One bridesmaid paid $180 for her dress, another only $80.

Then, I let them decide for themselves how they wanted to wear their hair or if they wanted to have it done or do it themselves. It is a nice thought to pay for the girls to get their hair done, but this wouldn't have worked in my situation.

They chose their own shoes, which ranged from silver stillettos to fancy flip-flops, so they were able to buy shoes that they could afford and would wear again. I didn't tell them they needed wraps or shawls or anything like that, because that would only increase their costs.

In my experience, bridesmaids complain about the costs of being in the wedding when they do not like the things they have to pay for. If they have choices and can get what they like, then the costs become more managable.

Answer 5

I'm getting married in October. I had originally wanted to do the separates idea also, because I wanted each of my bridesmaids to get a style that was flattering and comfortable for them. But unfortunately the separates line never came out in the color I wanted. I was looking for a sage color and all they had was citrus green. In the end we found a style that would work for one of my tallest girls and that everyone else agreed on. And instead of different dress styles I have 4 different colors - Peridot (Green), Latte(Brown), Pearl Pink (Pink) and Banana (Yellow). My line up will be Peridot, Pearl Pink, Latte, Banana & Peridot. Fall is a season of many colors and I really like this color combonation. The skirt is long, so the girls can pick out whatever shoes they want. My tallest bridesmaid has requested that she be able to go barefoot. I giggled and told her I would either be in tennis shoes, flip flops or barefoot myself.

I have to agree - bridesmaids won't mind the price as much if they're comfortable. Their dresses ended up being $140 with the discount they recieved because I purchased my gown there also. The cost of shoes and hair are up to them.

** I ordered all the dresses on my credit card through the store, which is 0% interest until February. If you can trust your girls to pay you back this is a great option. It turns out to be less than $25 a month for my girls. **

Answer 6

Why not take your bridesmaids to a department store and have them each get a color of your choosing but in a style you've picked or the other way around. Also, depending on where you live, tuxedo stores sometimes rent dresses like they rent tuxedos. Problem with that is you can't do permanent alterations. I got my bridesmaids dresses after high school prom time at Dillard's and got them 75% off! Try ebay too. Good Luck

Answer 7

More and more brides are renting their gowns and the gowns of the bridesmaids so nobody gets stuck for a ton of cash and a dress they will never wear.

Another option...and it is your wedding...you can make any fashion statement you choose here...you can do simple timeless clothes such as the perfect little black dress that is knee length that everybody can wear anytime they want. It's totally inexpensive and worthwhile investment you can wear again and again.

Think outside the box. You don't have to do all the traditional stuff if it doesn't mean anything to you anyway. Design your wedding to suit you.

Answer 8

I took all the bridesmaid to the mall and found dresses for $25 each at Dillard's.You just have to look around and I'm sure you can find some deals. They were black dresses that the women could wear again if they wanted.We did everything for our wedding and saved a bunch of money.

Answer 9

I was a bridesmaid in a wedding. We rented our dresses in stead of buying them. So you might want to look into that. I found my bridesmaids dresses in the JCPenny Catalog, however I don't know if they still sell those anymore. Also you could check out a David's Bridal. Sometimes they have really good deals on bridesmaid dresses.

Answer 10

Find out if they're in a financial situation that affords them to participate in the wedding and what price range they can afford. Most people know that by accepting a request to be a bridesmaid is going to have to pay for a dress. And in most weddings the Bride picks the dresses. for my wedding I took a couple of bridesmaids with me to make sure everyone would be comfortable with what I picked and that they could afford the dress and shoes and having the shoes dyed. I Had women ranging from ages 16-49. One of the older women had a issue with her arms showing in the dress I choose , so we just had a half shawl made from the same material as there dresses and everyone was happy. I paid for my sisters dress because she was only 16. And I paid for everyones hair and make -up that day, with only one stipulation, everyone had to have a similar up-do. I sent them all except my maid of honor and myself [because we wanted to ensure I was totally relaxed, we went to my salon] to a very nice salon and then we all met up at my house for everyone to get dressed and wait for the limo and drink Champagne!! For their gift for being in the wedding I bought them all Jewelry to match they're dresses, Necklaces and earrings.I hope all this rambling helped , LOL!