BM Costs

I don't think that is asking too much. I have been a BM for both of my sisters and both dresses were well over $200. If you gave them enough notice to save money, which 14 months is for sure, and they agreed to be in the wedding party, it pretty much means they are accepting of any expenses that come along with the role.

As a side note, I am only having 2 MOHs, no BMs (both my sisters) and since they are paying quite a bit of money to come to Jamaica next year for my wedding, I am buying their dresses for them, and paying for their updos the day of. An idea to soften the blow for each of your ladies (depending on how many you have) would be to offer to pay a portion of the cost of the dress for them. Hopefully you don't have too many or that would cost you a fortune! Good luck and happy planning!

Jenn

I know what you mean... my sister kind of picked my bm dresses and there were 3 bridesmaids that day that said they didn't care about the cost. It came to $178...so far everyone seems to be okay with it. I said I didn't want one that expensive and they said the quality is better than David's bridal and it was a much better made dress... ya ya ya so they talked me out of a cheaper dress!

That is a beautiful dress and they can wear it again. I think they expect to pay about that much because bm dresses start around $120 and go up. If anyone really cannot afford it they will let you know and then you can help them.

I bought my BM dresses. I figured they are spending well over $1000 to just go to the wedding. I can not ask them to spend more. Every situation is different. My day, my way, they are just along for the ride.

I think that it is great you are concerned about the costs for your BM's. I know that they will appreciate that. I personally don't think $200 is bad for a dress especially if it's something they can wear again. I would talk to the girls about it. For me, my MOH is a teacher and on a tight budget she agreed to be my MOH before we decided on a DW and I knew this was a huge stretch for her. I bought her dress for her and she agreed to make my cake for our at home ceremony and I bought her plane ticket. My other two BM's did buy their dresses which were $190. I made sure they were ok with this before they bought them. So I guess in the end my answer is to be aware of their situations and talk to them about it.

Since my BMs are paying so much to come to our wedding(we picked a semi expensive resort) we decided that we didn't want them to pay over 100.00 total. We picked up the rest of the cost for there dresses and charged them $75.00 and Then they voted on shoes all under 30.00 from 6pm.com so total they paid like 115.00. We are also picking up there hair and nails for the wedding.

I really don't think that 200 is to much to pay for a dress I think it depends on the cost that they had to spen to come to your wedding.

Since my BMs are paying so much to come to our wedding(we picked a semi expensive resort) we decided that we didn't want them to pay over 100.00 total. We picked up the rest of the cost for there dresses and charged them $75.00 and Then they voted on shoes all under 30.00 from 6pm.com so total they paid like 115.00. We are also picking up there hair and nails for the wedding.

I really don't think that 200 is to much to pay for a dress I think it depends on the cost that they had to spen to come to your wedding.

I know that this doesn't work for everybody but I went shopping with my bridesmaids at department stores and we found great dresses from JCPenney that were on sale plus a 15% off coupon. They ended up being $40 each. I only have 3 bridesmaids so I bought the dresses for them. I didn't tell them that I was buying them though, until we were at the register (so they would keep cost in mind)!

Everybody was happy!

If you're absolutely in love with the $200 dresses, I like the idea of only having them pay a certain amount, or you paying a certain amount. You might say, "I'll pay for $50-100 of each of your dresses"

They aren't expecting you to pay so it would be a nice surprise leaving them feeling like they got a deal!

What company is it? I started a thread about discount bridal & BM companies. it's on the forum somewhere. I've saved a big percentage on my last two BM dresses using these online companies.

I personally do think $200 is too much. I've been in too many weddings & just really get sick of spending $200 plus alterations on dresses. Luckily I learned about the discount dress sites, so that has helped out.

Being able to wear it again really isn't a big plus to me. I rarely spend over $30 on a dress for myself so a $200 BM dress that I might wear again is such a splurge, but you never get a choice. I only spent $230 on my own wedding dress, because I'm not someone who spends a lot on clothes.

For the last wedding I was in, the dresses were around $175. I was able to find mine for $100 online. It still made it the most expensive piece of clothing I bought all year, but it wasn't much different than a $20 dress I bought at Ross a couple of years ago.

But, then if you've already bought BM dresses for all of these girls wedding then maybe it's your turn. I just wish the whole overpriced BM dress tradition never got started.

here is the thread

http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t21375

I dont know what financial situations your bridesmaids are in but I agree with Morgan and think 200$ for a dress is a bit much. If you are dead set on the dresses would you be able to pay for 50% of each girls' dress?

For my wedding since i didnt buy the dresses for them, i let my MOH and BM pick their own dresses - i just gave them a color pallet, that way they could spend as little or as much as they wanted.

I wanted to add - that in the end u know your friends the best and probably what they would feel comfortable purchasing - good luck!