Who pays for the bridesmaid dresses?

lrr_2

Why would a bridemaid want to keep her dress anyway?

Its not her special day and you cant wear it again.

lic

panpipe wrote: »

Although we haven't really started looking yet, I'm already getting worried about the etiquette of buying the bridesmaid dresses. Is there even one?!

My sister is one of the bridesmaids and my grandmother has said that she would like to buy the outfits for me and her. We have a budget of £3000 for this!

The other bridesmaid is my fiance's sister. I'm really not sure whether I should ask her to buy her own dress, or whether I should buy it for her. The main issue is that we may pick out quite an expensive one from gran's money so I wouldn't want to ask her for a lot, although we probably wouldn't be able to afford it either!

Like I said we haven't started looking yet, we may well end up getting something cheap in the sale so problem solved! Can't help but look at the worst-case scenario though...

I do not wish to sound like a spoilsport, but £3000 on dresses is an awful lot of money!
When I got married the total cost for the wedding was about £3000. That included brides dress, 1 bridemaid dress, hire of 5 morning suits, hotel hire, wedding breakfast and photographer. That was 8 years ago.
The money we did not spend we put towards our house, which as it turns out was a good move.
I never understand why so many people spend so much on their wedding. Money is hard to come by, and all too easy to spend.
That said the responsibility of buying the dresses is yours, I would hire them if I were you.
I know I sound like a screwge, but I wish you and your future better half a long and happy marriage. Godd luck.

tinkerbell84

lrr wrote: »

Why would a bridemaid want to keep her dress anyway?

Its not her special day and you cant wear it again.

Some of them you can!

Most recent wedding I went to the bridesmaids were in gorgeous dresses from Monsoon. No reason you couldn't wear them again

tinkerbell84

lic wrote: »

I do not wish to sound like a spoilsport, but £3000 on dresses is an awful lot of money!

Couldn't agree more. :T :T :T

I'm well off, and the thought of spending that on a dress for 1 day is obscene to me

Sarri_2

I'm going to be bridesmaid to my little sister next year, and it hadn't even occurred to me that anyone apart from me would pay for the dress! They're getting hitched on a real budget and I want to help out as much as possible. My sis is giving me free choice as to what I wear and I'll certainly make sure I choose something I really like and will wear again - that said, it's going to be a relaxed summery wedding so a formal bridesmaid's dress wouldn't be right anyway.

lrr_2

tinkerbell84 wrote: »

Some of them you can!

Most recent wedding I went to the bridesmaids were in gorgeous dresses from Monsoon. No reason you couldn't wear them again

Yeah but the big pink meringue ones you cant!

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

When I got married it was a very simple affair with everyone wearing what they wanted but formal.

It was was a great day.

Just as good as the divorce 10 years later!!!

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

paddingtondoo

When I got married the first time my mum paid for the bridesmaid dresses and they kept them. All 5 of them :eek: my small bridesmaid refused to take hers off and wore it again the next day bless .

This time round we paid for the dresses and they kept them. £3000 is an awful lot for 3 dresses. We spent just over £300 for 3 bridesmaids plus mine and I'm still miffed that the the adult dress cost more than mine did :rotfl:

gill_81uk

We're paying for the bridesmaids dresses and shoes, both the two adults and the two children. I'm happy for them to keep them, although my cb did offer to let me have it back so i could sell it.

*Louise*

I wouldn't ask a bridesmaid to pay for her own dress. Especially since it sounds like it will be very expensive!!

Why don't you split the generous amount your gran is paying towards the dresses between the three outfits instead of just two?

emily_jackson

lrr wrote: »

Yeah but the big pink meringue ones you cant!

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

People may want to consider wearing them for a fancy night out such as a prom, or a fancy dress party. Usually young girls feel like princesses when they're bridesmaids and may want to keep them, to play dress-up in, or for a special occassion

Regarding the issue of who pays for the dresses, my personal opinion is that the bride and groom are deciding how many bridesmaids they are having and their age(s), and therefore inviting those people to be their bridesmaid(s) so it would be cheeky to ask them to pay for their own dress. These days, some people choose to have no bridesmaids or best men. When I married fortunately I didn't have to worry about the cost but I paid for both my bridesmaids dresses. I suppose if you are skint and your bridesmaid /their parent offers to pay for the dress, I would maybe accept a donation but not the full cost. As the bride, you're choosing the dresses to fit in with the style of your wedding so you may want a more elaborate, and therefore expensive, dress than the bridesmaid or their parents can afford