Bridesmaids Paying for Dresses?

Typically they do pay for their own dresses. If you want them all to have the same dress, try to choose one that is inexpensive or if you don't care, just give them the color and maybe type of fabric and let them order their own dress in a style they like.

Every wedding I have been in I have paid for my own bridesmaid dress. So I don't think it should come as a surprise.

Before I started looking for dresses for my girls I made sure to ask them each individually what their budgets were, and stuck to that. I also gave them options at varying prices, all within the budget. I think as long as you talk to them about what they are comfortable spending before you choose the dresses, you will be fine.

Try azazie and DB They have dresses @100$ thats should be within most people’s budgets.

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Thanks Sherry! I felt like it was the norm to have them pay for the dresses, but when I thought about having to tell them I got unsure.

I felt the same way!! I ended up asking the BM's to pay for their dresses since I couldn't afford it, and it IS sort of something BM's expect to pay for. But I'm trying to pay for everything else like hair and makeup and their food and expenses for the wedding weekend, and being clear that "extra" stuff is optional (like bachelorette weekend). Good luck!

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I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you want to, make a girls day out of going to DB or something so that they can all try on dresses and they can see what like/can afford etc. and also get an idea of color. Maybe mention that they won't be expected to purchase that day but once the style is decided, they will have until x date to purchase to give plenty of time for alterations.

There are some cheap dresses on AliExpress. They have photo reviews too but it can be hit or miss. David’s Bridal has beautiful dresses but they range from 100-200. My sister has been in like 10 wedding parties and she’s paid for all of her dresses. I personally am paying for the dresses but this is largely because they live out of state. My mother was originally paying for them but we had a “falling out” so I’m paying for them now instead.

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Very true. I'll make sure to keep them in the loop about everything.

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Very nice! Thanks for the suggestion!

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Thanks! I do plan on paying for hair & makeup. Luckily I have family that are stylists to help out with this as well.

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Hm, I didn't really think about online boutiques. I feel everyone would be happy about the prices, but worried about how they will look once they arrive. I will definitely look into this just in case. Thanks!

We didn’t do proposals for any of the wedding party. They all kinda knew they’d be in it, so all we had to do was ask 🤷🏼‍♀️
They also assumed they would need to pay for their own attire, since it’s more customary to do it that way now. MOH gets to pick her dress in our color, BM was assigned attire. Both around $100.

I've always paid for my own dress as a bridesmaid. I think most people realize as a bridesmaid you're going to be paying for dress, hair, makeup, nails, etc. If you want to go the online route azzaie has alot and great reviews. We went to davids bridal to keep the cost down, most bridal stores bridesmaids dresses are expensive! Also find a local seamstress for your alterations, usually much cheaper than davids.

I let mine choose their own. They bought theirs. I only asked for it being a certain color scheme

View Quoted Comment That is awesome! I really wish someone in my family had some wedding related talent that would save me $. lol. Good luck!

View Quoted Comment Yeah, and keep in mind too, even if the dress is like $20-$30, you can still get them altered to fit them perfectly. Another hopefully helpful FYI, when I was looking in David’s bridal I was picking out all of these dresses with spaghetti straps or just different style dresses. If some of your bridesmaids don’t have the proper bra keep in mind the bras themselves will cost anywhere from like 40 bucks or more and if they have to wear any undergarments.(TMI) One of my bridesmaids will be breast-feeding, so that’s why I decided to just let them pick their own dress stylesBecause from what I’m told people wear certain brasWhen they’re breast-feeding I guess, so I wouldn’t want her to feel uncomfortable with minimal padding.My friend was actually the one who brought that thought to my attention and I was like wow that’s a really good thing to keep in mind so I hope this helps and congrats girl!!!!

So there are lots of options for bridesmaids now. As a bride I told them the color and fabric I wanted as well as it being floor length. Then I let them choose the dress. I figured if they were paying for it they should get more say. My maid of honor is renting hers from Renttherunway.com

As a bridesmaid for my brother's wedding in september, his fiance gave us a range of colors & requested floor length. I went to Poshmark and bought a BEAUTIFUL dress for 30$!!! Most listings are great and give sizes, but also body measurements for the bridesmaid dresses. They have a TON of options. All the sellers I messaged were very helpful and responded quickly.

It doesn't need to expensive, there are so many options now. hope this helps!

In the wedding I was in we paid for our dresses and I will be having my girls pay for theirs. However when choosing a style for them to wear I plan on keeping it around $130 max I’m also debating on letting them choose the style though in the color to allow them to keep it in their budget that’s what the bride did for us so I choose a $110 dress that was pretty affordable. The other girls choose $170 dresses. However if you were to choose the dress I think privately talking to each bridesmaid and asking their budget would be helpful if you’re unsure!

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It definitely helps! Most of my BMs are busty, so I want the dresses to be supportive where they don't have to constantly adjust or feel uncomfortable.

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Oh cool! Poshmark is a great idea; I've been looking there for my shoes since I've already spent so much on the dress. I'm starting to come around to letting the bridesmaids choose the style of their dress. I have slight OCD tendencies lol, which I why I lean more toward everyone getting their dresses from the same location to make sure the color is exact.