Just a Bride Asking for Advice!?

Question

I am a bride getting next July and I currently have 8 women in my bridal party. Two of them are standing up because they are friends of my fiancee. My bridesmaid dresses are $150.00 and are really very cheap compared to most. I have already had 4 of my ladies complain about the price of the dresses. Have any of you brides out there had to deal with this and what did you do?

Answer 1

When your bridesmaids accepted the invitation of being your bridesmaid they also accepted all of the responsibility that comes along with the title. One of those responsibilities is buying their own dress. $150 is very reasonable for a bridesmaid dress. I've been in 3 weddings and I am getting married this upcoming June so I know. You pick the dress that you really want and if they don't want to pay for it then you need to be up front and honest with them and say that this is what you want and if they fon't want to buy it then they are not obligated to be in the wedding. They can back out. Explain to them that you all want them in the wedding and you will still look for a cheaper alternative but if you cannot find one then this is it. But don't not get what you want because you do not want to regret it later. Twenty years from now now and your only still friends with one of them you'll definitely regret their opinions. I am going with a pretty pale pink tea length dress and all my girls so far seem to be happy with it because they will be able to wear it again. I think it's $145 and they get a 15% discount because I bought my dress at the same bridal shop. But Good Luck!!! and Congratulations!!!

Answer 2

Well I am getting away really easy on this one........ I have only a maid of honor and I am letting her wear whatever she wants.....she knows my colours and all that fun stuff and she is very respectfully dressed all the time so I know she will look good. I was going to have maid of honor and 1 bridesmaid but that all changed and again I was going to let them pick what they wanted to wear as long as it was wiht my colours.
All I can say about your situation is well maybe try find dresses that are cheaper even though $150 isnt that bad but for some people its still alot of money.
With the hoildays come soon there are always great deals on nice dresses at stores so maybe think about checking those out with your bridal party.
I dont think that bridemaids dresses acutally have to come from a bridal shop.......those dresses are usually way over priced anyways.
I was alway told to only buy what I REALLY need to at those stores since they are all over priced anyways. As I have seen now with my own eyes!!
Alll the best to you!!!!!!

Answer 3

Well first of all 8 bridesmaids I think in my opinion is over doing it. where as 150 dollars seems not to bad still in my opinion seems expensive. When you are choosing dresses you should have considered 1. Can my girls afford it. 2. If they are buying these dresses is it just only for my wedding or can they wear it elsewhere.. I have been a bridesmaid before my sister in law's aunt maid all the dresses and they were beauitful. And practical enough for a nice dinner out. I would complain about the price if I was them too. You should have had a sit down conversation with them about if they are paying for the dress can they afford it.

Answer 4

My bridesmaids dresses are $150 as well. I feel kind of bad. I would LOVE to buy the dresses for them but my budget just won't allow it. I think most of my maids understand (and I was in 3 of my bridesmaid's weddings and had to buy the dress) I know that while they are not complaining to ME they are doing so to their spouses or other friends. Not about me necessarily but just the fact that they need money too and don't want to pay that much for a dress they'll never wear again.

As far as dealing with it I told all of them that I wish I could buy their dress for them and have said nothing else about it. I have really good friends so I know they will suck it up and just be happy anyway. It's part of being a friend and bridesmaid. I did it for them so i know they'll do it for me. good luck! Just don't let them bother you.

Answer 5

Take it on a case by case basis. If your best friend in the world is complaining about the price because she's broke and you just can't imagine your wedding without her by your side, then help her out. If its a distant cousin who's just a squeeky wheel and you don't really like anyway, offer to giver her a different role in your wedding. You could also try assuring them that you're not expecting a wedding gift from them and that might ease the burden. Just don't make it sound like a guilt trip. In the end it is your wedding and you should get to make the call. That being said it doesn't give you the right to morphe into a bridezilla because it will only leave a bad taste in people's mouths.

Answer 6

I told them to stop complaining! My bridesmaid dress was the same price and that is pretty cheap compared to a LOT of other brides I'd heard from. I bought their shoes and accessories so they didn't have to whine about that too :)

Good luck. My wedding day was the best ever, but the stress leading up to it was no fun.

Answer 7

This is an on-going problem.

When a bride asks a girl to be in her wedding, she should have an idea of what the costs should be for the lady to decide if she can participate or not. Their are some that would love to be in a wedding but just can't afford the ensemble. And it puts them in an embarrassing position to have accepted the honor and then be told what it's going to cost, and with their finances, just not be able to swing it.

Brides shoud be considerate of the dresses they chose, too. Most times it's a style & color that can be worn for this one occasion.

See if you can come to some sort of compromise since all this is already set in motion. But do not be upset if some of your girls have to decline.

Answer 8

you can go to a consignment shop and shop for bridesmaid dresses for cheap prices.
You can also shop for cheap bridesmaid dresses on eBay------> http://search.ebay.com/bridesmaid-dresses_W0QQfkrZ1QQfromZR8QQsubmitsearchZSearch

If your potential bridesmaid dresses still complain about the prices, tell them you did the best you could and you would be happy to pay for their dresses but you already have a lot of wedding expenses. You also don't have to have 8 bridesmaids, 4 or 5 bridesmaids is enough.

Answer 9

That's the going rate for some of the dresses I've checked out as well. Actually, they've got until July to save for it, right? I'm only having 3-4 girls in my wedding party for that very reason. Less drama! I would probably choose not to be in my friend's wedding if she asked me to pay that amount for the dress alone. You can also look on Windsor Fashion's website. They make bridesmaids dresses that are lower in cost. Good luck and congratulations!

Answer 10

I was very blessed in no complaints from my bridal party when I got married. However, are the dresses something you picked out? We went with the Alfred Angelo two pieces, that way they could pick out which top they wanted and it worked out great, both of them told me they would probably wear it again. Maybe if you went that way they would be a little more willing to cooperate. If not, then they have a choice on whether to participate, and they have a choice to bow out gracefully or make a spectacle of themselves. Good luck girls are finicky!